Sophomores Shine as Owls Roll Past West Los Angeles College to Stay Perfect in Conference

No. 3 in the state ranked Citrus College Men's Basketball celebrated Sophomore Night in style, picking up a 111-90 win over No. 18 ranked West Los Angeles College in thier final regular season home game. The victory keeps the Western State Conference-South champion Owls rolling at 26-1 overall and a perfect 13-0 in conference with 21 consecutive wins, while West LA drops to 19-8 overall and 9-4 in conference.

Citrus set the tone early, shooting 56.4 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from 3-point range to take a strong offensive showing into halftime with 57 points. Amiri Meadows led the way with 13 points, four assists, two rebounds, one steal and one block, while Leo Ricketts added 11 points and three rebounds. Rockwell Reynolds scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting, and Dev Hamilton chipped in seven points. Alek Sanchez provided eight points off the bench, and Dylan Victorio contributed five points, three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. JJ Sanchez paced the team with five assists as Citrus totaled 18 assists to just two turnovers, forced 10 turnovers defensively and held West LA to 2-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc while maintaining a 15-11 rebounding edge.

The Owls stayed sharp in the second half, shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc while adding 54 points. Reynolds led Citrus after the break with 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting and six rebounds. Ricketts followed with nine points, and Hamilton added eight points on 3-of-4 shooting. Victorio knocked down two 3-pointers for six points off the bench, and JJ Sanchez filled the stat sheet with four points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist. Citrus controlled the glass 20-18 in the half and shot 90.0 percent from the free-throw line while recording 12 assists.

Overall, the Owls shot 53.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point range while dishing out 30 assists to just seven turnovers. Their unselfish ball movement helped build a lead that grew as large as 28 points midway through the second half, and they never trailed. Citrus also dominated key hustle categories, outrebounding West LA 40-38, scoring 28 points off turnovers compared to seven, and holding advantages in second-chance points (18-7) and points in the paint (52-44). West LA finished 33-of-71 (46.5 percent) from the floor and 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) from deep, while Citrus went 42-of-79 overall and 15-of-17 from the line.

On Sophomore Night, the Owls' second-year standouts delivered. Reynolds led all scorers with 30 points, tying his Citrus career high on 14-of-19 shooting while adding eight rebounds and a steal. Sophomore Leo Ricketts followed with 20 points, five assists and four rebounds, knocking down four 3-pointers, and sophomore Amiri Meadows turned in a complete performance with 15 points, seven assists, three rebounds, a steal and a block. Hamilton also scored 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while JJ Sanchez orchestrated the offense with six assists, four rebounds and three steals.

Off the bench, sophomore Dylan Victorio added 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep with four rebounds and a block, and Alek Sanchez contributed 10 points, four rebounds and two steals. Brady Orr chipped in two points and two assists, and Grayson Boustead supplied four assists and a block as Citrus showcased the depth and balance of a veteran group honored before tipoff.

Up next, the Owls close the regular season on the road at Glendale College on Friday, February 20 at 5 p.m.