Men’s Basketball Fends Off South’s Third-Ranked Citrus

It was a chippy game from the opening tip as two of the South's top squads went to war.

The Riverside City College men's basketball team played host to the Citrus College Owls in non-conference action on Saturday evening in Wheelock Gymnasium. Riverside held a lead as large as 17, but the Owls fought back to grab a late second-half advantage. Nevertheless, the Tigers stayed true to their game plan leading to an 84-78 triumph.

The Tigers stay undefeated while leaning on sophomore point guard Courtland Moffatt who dropped a career-high 29 points. He also added five rebounds, five assists and five steals.

"It was a good game and we still have things to work on," said Moffatt.

Moffatt's career-high mark was set under the mindset of winning at all costs; a mantra that was established early on his career.

"I needed to do anything to lead us to a win. I saw we were getting down and I worked to get us back into it."

Moffatt made it to the line a career-high 23 times and hit 17 of his free throws. Additionally, he went 6-for-7 from the field, which included a pair of three-point plays.

Freshman Tomi Adesiji set a career mark with 21 points which included hitting five three pointers and a flawless 6-for-6 from the line.

The Tigers outrebounded the Owls by 10 boards while also outshooting them from three-point land (33.3%) and the floor (44.9%).

The Tigers led by as much as 17 points. But with just under four minutes left in the game,  the Owls put together an impressive 16-2 run that tied the game up just before the 16 minute mark in the second half.  The owls took a five-point lead two minutes later to make things interesting.

Both teams traded the lead five times throughout the course of the final eight minutes. Moffatt kept the Owls at bay by working his way to the line and hitting his free throws. Adesiji joined him by hitting four free throws down the stretch to put the final nail in the Owl's coffin.

Freshman Reggie Ward recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore center Raymond Hawkins finished with six points including two emphatic dunks.