Cougars Claim Fourth Straight in 90-77 Road Win at El Camino

Guards Michael Kalu (30 points) and Jacob Lilley (25 points) lead the way as Canyons (9-10) has now won five of the last six games.

Cougars Claim Fourth Straight in 90-77 Road Win at El Camino
Box Score

Team Stats

January 12, 2017

The College of the Canyons men's basketball team won its fourth straight game behind 30 points from freshman Michael Kalu, defeating host El Camino College 90-77 on Wednesday night. 

Canyons (9-10) held a 20-point lead by halftime and never looked back despite a late run from El Camino (8-8) that briefly swayed the momentum and brought about the final score. 

Kalu was 13-of-17 from the floor including 2-of-2 from downtown. His 30 points represented a new season high, with the freshman now having scored 20 or more points on nine occasions. Kalu leads the Cougars in scoring (18.9 ppg) and is shooting 47.4 percent from the field through the first 19 games. Those marks also rank Kalu fifth in the Western State Conference (WSC) in scoring.

As a team, Canyons shot 64.3 percent from behind the arc vs. the Warriors, paced by a 4-of-7 mark by COC freshman guard Jacob Lilley.

Lilley also established a new season-high with 25 points to go with four assists and three rebounds. The freshman's 4.5 assists per game rank fifth in the conference.

Sophomore forward Chris Collins was the leading rebounder for the Cougars, pulling down 12 boards to go with 12 points in the paint. Collins also recorded a game-high four blocks.

Cougar sophomore guard Garrett Mike provided an offensive spark off the bench with nine points and five assists, while freshman guard Jason Horosny added seven points and seven rebounds. 

The Warriors received a 25-point performance from guard Jamal Heckard, but ultimately could not keep pace with the surging Cougars. The 16 points from Munachiso Nwodili were next best for the Warriors.

COC head coach Howard Fisher has now led his team to victories in five of the last six games dating back to Dec. 16. Over that span COC has scored an average of 83.1 points per game and limited opponents to 75.6 each night out.   

With nine regular season games remaining, Canyons has nearly doubled its win total from a season ago.

The Cougars return to action Friday Jan. 13, when they travel to L.A. Harbor College for a 5 p.m. tip-off.

COC will then begin its WSC, South schedule on Saturday, Jan. 21, vs. L.A. Pierce College in the Cougar Cage.