Owls Go 2–0 at Home Holiday Classic with Wins Over Southwestern and Cerritos

No. 4–ranked Citrus College Men's Basketball team turned in an impressive weekend on their home floor, going 2–0 at the 2025 Citrus College Men's Basketball Holiday Classic. The Owls defeated Southwestern College 110–101 on Friday, December 5, and closed the event with an 84–71 win over No. 10 Cerritos College on Saturday, December 6.

This year's Classic featured six total games and a competitive field that included Citrus, Cerritos, Southwestern, Santiago Canyon, Santa Monica, and Cerro Coso. With two strong performances, Citrus moves to 8–1 overall on the season.

Citrus opened the Classic with a high-scoring 110–101 win over Southwestern. The Owls struggled early from three, going 5-for-18 in the first half, and trailed for much of the opening half. However, a late surge, sparked by 22 first-half points from Leo Ricketts, pushed Citrus into a 57–40 halftime lead. The Owls' defense created 15 first-half turnovers, which led to transition scoring and allowed Citrus to take control.

Southwestern connected on 8-of-18 threes in the second half and made several pushes, but Citrus responded each time to maintain the lead. The Owls finished 38-of-76 from the field and 27-of-34 from the line, forced 22 turnovers, scored 30 points off those turnovers, and outscored the Jaguars 54–32 in the paint. Their largest lead reached 20 points late in the first half.

Citrus was paced by a career night from Ricketts, who posted 40 points, five assists and three steals. Dylan Victorio added 15 points and three rebounds, while Alek Sanchez provided 14 points and five boards off the bench. Dev Hamilton scored 11 points with four rebounds and three assists, and Amiri Meadows added 10 points with three assists and three steals. JJ Sanchez contributed six points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Rockwell Reynolds chipped in eight points, seven rebounds and two steals.

Citrus closed out the Classic with an 84–71 win over No. 10 Cerritos. The opening minutes were closely contested, but the Owls went on a major run to build an 18–5 lead midway through the first half. By halftime, Citrus held a 50–29 advantage thanks to efficient shooting (18-of-35 from the field, 12-of-14 at the line) and a defense that forced nine Cerritos turnovers.

Cerritos battled back in the second half, outscoring Citrus 42–34, but the Owls kept control throughout. Citrus forced 21 total turnovers, won the rebounding battle 38–29, and never allowed Cerritos to get within striking distance for a full comeback.

Leo Ricketts finished 2-for-7 from the field and scored 4 points with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Amiri Meadows added 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting and a perfect 7-of-7 at the line, along with 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Dylan Victorio scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting while adding 6 rebounds, a steal and 2 blocks. JJ Sanchez delivered 16 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-5 from three and 6-of-6 at the line, while adding 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block. Rockwell Reynolds contributed 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting and 5-of-6 from the line to go with 6 rebounds and 2 blocks.

Off the bench, Alek Sanchez provided 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and 3-of-5 from three, along with 3 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block. Dev Hamilton added 6 points and 3 rebounds, while Grayson Boustead added 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 points.

As a team, Citrus shot 27-for-59 from the field, 6-for-21 from three and 24-for-29 from the free-throw line, while totaling 38 rebounds, 17 assists, 12 steals, 6 blocks and 84 points. Citrus finished with advantages in rebounds (38–29), assists (17–14), points off turnovers (19–11), second-chance points (14–6) and bench points (20–14). The Owls also held the largest lead of the game at 24 points late in the first half.

Citrus now enters a challenging three-game road stretch, traveling to Long Beach City College on December 9, East Los Angeles College on December 12 and Fresno City College on December 16.