MSJC rallies past Citrus in CCCAA SoCal regional

SAN JACINTO – Even with all of the offensive fireworks, it's been the Mt. San Jacinto defense that's propelled the team during its run to the playoffs.

After a sluggish first half in Friday's CCCAA Southern California regional matchup with Citrus College, it was the Eagles defense that sparked a rally, and the high-flying offense eventually finished it off, 87-69.

MSJC (23-7) will face the winner of Saturday's game between No.2 Saddleback and No.15 L.A. Pierce on Wednesday.

The Eagles, seeded No.7, erased a halftime deficit and outscored the Owls, 50-29, in the second half. Sophomore Sam Williams provided the late fireworks with two breakaway dunks in the closing minutes and finished with 29 points.

"We knew we had to start offensive rebounding and defending better if we wanted to win," sophomore Blake O'Donnell said of the Eagles' second-half surge. "That's what got us this far, our defense. The first half, our defense was very bad."

MSJC had won 10 of 11 entering the postseason and Coach Trent Skinner credited the defense for the team's turnaround after consecutive losses early in conference play.

The Owls, seeded 10^th after finishing second in the Western State South Division, outplayed MSJC for the first 20 minutes. Citrus (16-11) led 33-24 and nearly extended its lead to double digits late in the first half. Austin Klug came off the bench for MSJC and scored seven straight points for the Eagles to close the gap.

Despite the slow first half and missing 8 of 18 free throws, MSJC trailed just 40-37 at the break.

Things changed quickly in the second half as the Eagles started controlling the boards and the offense started clicking. A layup by O'Donnell tied the game at 48-48 and Klug, a sophomore out of Riverside Arlington, got inside for consecutive scores as MSJC put together a 10-2 run.

"Maybe we forced some shots we shouldn't have taken," Skinner said of the first half. "We talked about that, and it boiled down on defense to have some pride and go rebound the ball."

Citrus, which seemed to hit a 3-pointer every time MSJC made a run in the first half, started missing shots and the Eagles corralled the rebounds.

Williams, the state's leading scorer at 25.8 points per game, heated up. His jumper at 6:56 put the Eagles up 65-54 and forced a timeout by Citrus. The Owls got within eight points, but MSJC pulled away and hit its free throws down the stretch. Citrus shot just 27 percent in the second half.

O'Donnell finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, 10 on the offensive end. Klug scored a career high 14 points and added five assists. Isaiah Jones added 10 rebounds.

"We knew they were going to try and double Sam most of the game, so we knew others had to step up," O'Donnell said. "That was a big game for the sophomores to step and lead."