Canyons Comes Up Short vs. Orange Coast

COC sophomore guard Coley Apsay leads team with 24 points

Canyons Comes Up Short vs. Orange Coast
Photos Box Score

Team Stats

December 29, 2014

The College of the Canyons men's basketball team could not pull off a last-second comeback, losing a heartbreaker 70-69 against Orange Coast in the championship game of the 25th Annual Cougar Holiday Classic tournament.

Sophomore guard Coley Apsay led the team in scoring with 24 points. Apsay also added six rebounds and three assists on the night.

The Cougars trailed by as many as 15 points but entered halftime down nine points despite shooting a combined 32.4 percent from the floor.

By comparison, Orange Coast shot 64.3 percent in the first half.

Despite the shooting differential, the Cougars had a chance to win the game, trailing by a single point with 0.4 seconds on the clock. On the final sequence Apsay inbounded the ball to COC forward Ricardo Greaves — who was already airborne — for a quick shot that bounced off the rim to end the game.

Canyons outrebounded Orange Coast in the game, 40-24, but also committed 26 turnovers, which proved to be the difference.

COC forward Tullio Parry added 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and grabbed nine rebounds. Guard Victor Nwaba also added 10 points.

COC sophomore Brodric Smith supplied a bit of offense off the bench, scoring eight points to go along with three assists in 20 minutes.

The loss snaps COC's four-game winning streak, and drops the Cougars' record to 8-5 on the season.

College of the Canyons begins its Western State Conference (WSC) schedule vs. Antelope Valley College at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the Cougar Cage.