No. 23 Canyons Outlasts Visiting Rio Hondo 74-68

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director 

No. 23 College of the Canyons continued its recent trend of alternating wins and losses, this time coming out on the right side in a 74-68 home win over Rio Hondo College at the Cougar Cage on Saturday.

Canyons (7-3) saw starters Andrew Henderson and Corwin Smith combine for 40 points in the winning effort.

Smith was 9-of-10 from the foul line and also had two blocks and seven rebounds, finishing with 17 points in the game.

Henderson meanwhile was 10-of-20 from the field with 12 total rebounds, six of each variety, and two steals. He led all scorers with 23 points in the game and is now averaging 19.2 points per game on the season to rank 17th in the state and first in the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division. His 8.9 rebounds each night also leads the conference.

The Cougars are 2-2 over their last four games. COC lost on the road at Long Beach City College on Nov. 30, then defeated San Diego Mesa College at home on Dec. 3. Canyons suffered a slight setback in a home loss to Cypress on Friday before getting back on track vs. the Roadrunners.

Rio Hondo (1-12) had four of its starters reach double digits with Shymar Wiggins leading the way at 18 points, five assists and nine rebounds. Sebastian Lara was next with 17 points.

The Roadrunners managed to keep pace with Canyons throughout a tightly contested opening half, sinking a pair of free throws to get close at 29-27 just before the half.

Rio Hondo continued to pressure, shooting better than 48 percent from the floor in the second half. Smith and Henderson kept Canyons afloat with each scoring 15 points in the half. 

COC went 14-of-19 from the foul line in the second half to cushion its lead. Starter Jimmy Galgano finished the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

Caden Arnold led the team with four assists, while Dillon Barrientos added six rebounds and five points.

Canyons currently ranks No. 23 in the state according to the most recent CCCMBCA statewide coaches poll released on Dec. 7.

The Cougars have four games remaining on the 2021 portion of its schedule and next travel to West Hills Lemoore for a 6 p.m. tip on Wednesday, Dec. 15.

COC stays on the road for a 1 p.m. tilt at Pasadena City College on Tuesday, Dec. 21.

Head coach Howard Fisher's squad then returns home to host the 31st Annual Cougar Holiday Classic Dec. 28-29 at the Cougar Cage. The field for the four-team tourney includes L.A. Trade Tech, Orange Coast and Mt. San Antonio College.

WSC, South Division play will begin on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022 vs. Antelope Valley College.

All Canyons home games, and all four upcomingtournament games, will be broadcast live to fans on YouTube via the Cougars Sports Network. Continue to check COCathletics.com for game day live stream links.

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.