The Hawks season officially came to an end in the first round of the state championship tournament. They were outclassed in a 112-73 loss to the Citrus Owls on March 13.
The Owls — the No. 2 ranked JUCO squad in California and the No. 2 team from the South regions — showcased their prolific offense, which came in as the top-scoring team in the state. They cooked the Hawks’ defense without their top weapon from the regular season: their three-point shooting. In the first half, they made just 1-of-15 attempts from behind the arc. Citrus still managed 58 points. Las Positas, the No. 3-ranked team from the North, couldn’t match the firepower.
In the second half, the deep-ball threat returned to form. The Owls made 7-of-14 from deep, turning the showdown into a romp. Owls guard KJ Perry — the freshman sitting on Division I offers from UC Berkeley, Fresno State, Arizona State and TCU — carried the load for the Owls. He scored 23 of his game-high 29 points in the first half. He spent much of the second half on the bench. Four other Citrus players scored in double digits, including 14 from sophomore guard Tyler Isaak, who came in as the Owls’ leading scorer.
The Hawks’ offense, which came in ranked No. 6 in the state at 86.3 points per game, failed to get anything going against the Owls. Sophomore guard Elijah Mobley, the Hawks’ leading scorer this season, was the lone bright spot in a tumultuous first half. He scored 15 of the team’s 34 first-half points. He finished with 19. Outside of him, the Hawks got next to nothing on offense. Sophomore guard Jorren Edmonds, the only member of the team who had made this stage before, totaled seven points. Freshman forward Jaden Woodard led the team with 21 points, much of which came after the game was all but decided.
Las Positas missed 23 of its 27 three-point attempts. The Hawks had to make threes to keep up with Citrus’ offense, which averaged 102.5 points per game coming in. But the Hawks picked the wrong time to go ice cold from three-point range. They shot multiple airballs. Sophomore guard Sterling McClanahan, the team’s most prolific deep scorer, failed to make any of his six attempts and finished with just five points.
Citrus will advance to the second round to face San Francisco, the No. 1 team from the North. The Hawks are done, finishing with a 26-5 record and the school’s second-ever trip to the state tournament. The Hawks still have never won a tournament game.
The first 20 minutes of the game belonged to the Owls. They doubled the amount of Hawks’ rebounds, forced 12 Hawks turnovers, scoring 18 points off them. The biggest difference came from the glass, with the Owls grabbing 12 offensive rebounds and scoring 11 more second-chance points than the Hawks.
The Owls (29-2) caught the Hawks flat-footed with a full-court press. It was a dose of the Hawks’ own medicine as they like to pressure teams. The Citrus press sped up the Hawks’ ball handlers and forced them into mistakes.
The turnover numbers evened out in the second half. The Owls finished with one more turnover than the Hawks, who totaled 19. But Citrus scored 25 points off LPC turnovers. The Hawks managed 22 points off the 19 turnovers by Citrus. But the Owls’ damage was done in the first half as they stepped on the gas early. The Hawks didn’t apply any real pressure until the teams had cleared their benches with over 10 minutes remaining in the second half.
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TOP PHOTO: Hawks coach James Giacomazzi, recently named NorCal Coach of the Year, comforts sophomore guard Elliot Mobley after his Las Positas career ended in embarrassing fashion on March 13, 2025 at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut Calif. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
Jakob Arnarsson is the Managing Editor and Sports Editor of The Express. Follow him on X, formally Twitter, @JakobA2004
