Men’s Basketball team falls at Citrus
The Irvine Valley College men’s basketball team lost 64-71 in their regional semi-final match-up against Citrus College in Glendora on Saturday.
IVC looked hopeful in the first half where they led by seven points, but Citrus kept up with their high speed attack which affected the final score.
Citrus began the game strong by scoring the first points and was up 2-5 until the Lasers got into the rhythm, leading off with a lay-up by sophomore forward, Joe Eberhard, 5 minutes into the game.
Later, Eberhard drove to the basket with an assist by freshman guard Kalob Hatcher making the score 21-14.
Citrus eventually gained some momentum, scoring seven straight points to tie the game at 21.
Sophomore forward Travis Fulton scored a 3-pointer for IVC, making the score 25-21 with 8:39 remaining in the quarter.
With the closing minutes of the first half, Fulton scored another 3-pointer, advancing the IVC lead 32-27.
Citrus finished the half with a 7 point run to leave the score 34-32 for the half.
Citrus never fell behind in the second half and led by as many as 12 points. With opportunities to score, IVC guard Christian Mack made two free throws making the score to 43-42 with 10:52 to play.
Only until the final minutes did IVC get within points of Citrus when Hatcher making two free throw points making it 67-62.
With seconds left to play, Citrus made four free throws to win.
Fulton led the Lasers with 19 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Eberhard with 13 points and Mack with 10 points. IVC’s total shot percent was 43.1.
This playoff loss left the Lasers with a final record of 23-8.