Citrus College Reflects on Nearly Perfect Season

A crushing loss to the City College of San Francisco on Sunday at Ventura College, in the California Community College Athletic Association men’s basketball championship game, did not dampen what was a magical season for the Citrus College men’s basketball team.

With 2.4 seconds left, the City College of San Francisco’s DeEnd Parker tipped in a 3-point miss for the game-winning basket. CCSF finished 32-1, finishing a 27-game win streak.

Citrus finished 27-6 (9-3 in Western State Conference, 16-1 at home) and won the state championship in 2008.

“It was an extremely tough loss,” said first-year Citrus College head coach Chris Victor. “San Francisco is a great team. We knew it was going to be an extremely tough game. But we played well, we played hard, we had a chance to win it. To lose a state final is never easy. But we played hard, we have no regrets, we left everything out on that court.”

CCSF had the biggest lead at 59-50 with 16:47 left, before the Owls began a 3-point barrage.

Every Citrus field goal over a 12-minute span was a 3-pointer – nine in all and four by all-tourney guard Lateef McMullan. The Owls led, 73-70, after McMullan’s last three, with 5:57 left, but Citrus made no more threes. McMullan led Citrus with 23 points.

Citrus had regained the lead in the tight contest for the last time at 81-79 with 1:49 left on a basket and free throw by Donte Archie. But CCSF responded with a pair of free throws by Daryl Cooper to tie it for the tenth time at 81 with 1:36 left.

The Owls were able to win 27 games, the third-most in team history. They were the No. 1 seed from Southern California, after defeating Irvine Valley College in Round 4 of the CCCAA playoffs. They also downed Fresno City College, 94-84, on Friday in the state semifinals.

“Making it to the Final Four was one of our goals from the beginning of the season,” Victor said. “Making into the state finals was a reward to our players and what they’ve done this season. To be able to make it to that Final Four game at Ventura at that stage was a reward for our guys and what they’ve done all year. They deserved it, they had a great season. For a chance to play for a state championship is special for the guys.”

The road for Citrus, the No. 5 seed in the CCCAA Southern California playoffs, started with an 88-63 rout on Feb. 26 of Antelope Valley College of Lancaster. They beat Chaffey College of Ontario, 72-62, before beating Irvine Valley College, who had earlier pulled off a last-second upset victory at Mt. San Antonio College.

“This is the first year that in order to reach the Final Four, you had to win three games,” Victor said. “This year was tough. We played very tough teams, all very tough games. Fresno City had won more than 20 games in a row, so for us to beat them was big for us, too. The season was great, our guys had a great year. We were able to play our best basketball in March, it was a great season.”

Donnel Phifer and McMullan both made it to the all-state tournament team. McMullan averaged 16.3 points per game this season, Phifer scored 7.4 points per game and led with 4.9 assists per game, and he had nine points, six assists and five rebounds in the title game.

“They both were amazing all season,” Victor said. “They played great all year, especially the last two games. We played a tough Fresno team, they pressure real well. They were able to handle the pressure, proved how tough they were. We counted on them all year. They were able to step up all year. I’m proud to see them rewarded for that.”

Citrus College showed some strong resolve in coming back from the nine-point deficit and another deficit in the game.

“To be able to be down and come back, that’s our biggest strength our team had all season,” Victor said. “Was with the guys’ trust in one another. At no point when we were down, did anyone look to see, did anyone even question whether we were able to come back. We’re a special group, and that was their biggest strength, was their belief in each other. I think that showed pretty clearly in that game.”

As for Victor’s first year coaching he had several highlights.

“The biggest reward is seeing your guys succeed and seeing your players being rewarded for their hard work,” Victor said. “To see them now recruited to be in four-year schools is nice.”

Jacob Granger (10.5 points per game) has signed with Cal State San Marcos.

DJ Shelton (12 points per game, team-leading 6.7 rebounds per game), Phifer, Granger and McMullan were all named to the all-conference team.