Canyons Suffers Pair of Close Losses at IVC Classic

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

IRVINE — College of the Canyons dropped a pair of close contests at the annual Irvine Valley College Classic tourney losing the two games by a combined 14 points. 

Canyons (1-3) was bested by the host Lasers (2-1) in a 77-72 final score during Thursday's opening night action. The following day the Cougars fell 67-58 to Cerritos College (1-2).  

In its matchup vs. Irvine COC saw three starters finish in double figures, led by 19 from freshman Justin Perez. Sophomore Raz Orbach was next with 18 points and freshman Donovan Cornelius followed with 11 points.  

Cornelius was also the team leader with six rebounds and eight assists. Gianmarco Figueroa added 10 points in his 10 minutes off the bench. 

Canyons was the beneficiary of a Georges Abdulnour layup with 21 second to go in the half that tied the game at 39-39 headed into halftime. Earlier in the sequence it was Figueroa with back-to-back three-pointers that pulled the Cougars to within a bucket. 

COC held a close lead for the bulk of the second half in what was a back-and-forth affair. But Irvine Valley pulled ahead on a pair of free throws with 6:14 to go in the game and didn't relinquish the lead again. 

The Cougars got to within a basket at 74-72 with 1:11 to play after Figueroa recorded a steal and cashed in for an easy layup. However, the Lasers closed things out on four straight free throws down the stretch to eventually close things out. 

Irvine Valley combined to shoot 51 percent from the field for the game and was also an efficient 11-of-13 at the foul line in the second half. IVC was also aided by its 41 bench points. Allen Moser led the Irvine Valley starters with 17 points with Matt Mowers leading the reserves at 12 points. 

The Cougars forced IVC into 15 turnovers to help keep pace but were outrebounded by a 42-31 margin in the contest. 

Canyons Falls 67-58 to Cerritos in Day Two Action

Donovan Chapman came off the bench for a team-high 15 points and five rebounds to give Canyons a welcomed boost. Perez at 14 and Wyatt Wilson with 13 points were also key contributors for the Cougars. Perez' five boards tied with Chapman for the team lead.

Collectively though, COC struggled to get going offensively vs. Cerritos shooting just under 38 percent for the game and 6-of-17 from long range.

Canyons trailed 34-27 at the break which is about where things stayed throughout the duration. 

Chapman's three-pointer with 7:45 to go got Canyons to within six at 53-47. But Cerritos answered right back with a run of its own to open a 63-50 lead with under three minutes to play.

The Falcons were led by Spencer Ezewiro's 19 points with 12 more coming from Andrew Mata.

The Cougars have now lost three straight following a season-opening victory over Oxnard College. 

COC is back on the court Saturday, Nov. 16 with a trip to Chaffey College. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. 

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 X, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 

—Photo by Robert Hanashiro/COC Sports Information