Cougars Fall in Final Minutes To Santa Monica College at San Juan Hills Classic

IRVINE, Calif. - In a game that featured eight ties and 15 lead changes, the College of the Canyons men's basketball could not sustain Santa Monica College who was perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line down the stretch and COC dropped a 79-73 decision in the consolation bracket of the San Juan Hills Classic on Friday afternoon. 

Sophomore guard David Horst led COC with 22 points and nine rebounds in the loss. Ilya Ilyayev had 16 points, while Zach Davis had 13 points and eight rebounds and Roman Delgado contributed 12 points. 

The Cougars opened up the second half with a 3-pointer from Horst, who was 5-of-8 from behind the line, to close in on the Corsairs, 27-25. Canyons continued to rally with the help of Davis, who turned in six points in a 2:30 minute stretch, helping COC take a 39-38 lead with 15 minutes left in regulation. 

COC held onto the lead until the 9:22 mark when the Corsairs took over the lead, 53-52. Canyons would come as close as four points with less than three minutes left in the game, but SMC's Keilan Horton could not be stopped as he went 4-for-4 from the free throw line and added five points from the field. 

Canyons was outscored 38-10 on the bench and committed a season high 26 turnovers. The Cougars shot 47.3 percent (26-55) from the field and held Santa Monica to 38.6 percent (22-57) and 30.0 percent (6-20) from the 3-point line, but allowed the Corsairs to make 29-of-31 free throw shots. 

Canyons will return to action on Dec. 6 as they travel to the Gregg Anderson Memorial Tournament to play against host Antelope Valley College at 7 p.m.