Junior College BASKETBALL : Canyons Stays in First With a Strong Second Half, 78-68

College of the Canyons outscored West Los Angeles, 30-10, to open the second half and coasted to an easy 78-68 win Wednesday night in Valencia.

The Cougars improved their Mountain Valley Conference-leading record to 4-0 and 16-4 overall. West L.A., which entered the game with a 10-game losing streak, led most of the first half before falling behind, 41-40, at the half.

Five Cougars were in double figures, led by freshman guard James Mixon with 15. Vincent Ray was next with 14, followed by Pete Coeler with 12, and Karl Tompkins and David Strauss with 10 each. Deron White had 14 assists and eight points.

Sophomore center Robert Bloom led West L.A. with 18 points. Jonathan Grind had 10 of his 14 points for the Oilers in the second half when the team made just 11 of 29 shots.

Canyons made 33 of 59 shots from the field (55.9%) while West L.A. made 29 of 57 (50.9%). West L.A. had a 38-21 rebound advantage despite giving up a couple inches per man at every frontline position. Canyons was the quicker team with 13 steals that played a big part in 21 Oiler turnovers to 11 for Canyons.

Glendale 109, Cerro Coso 79

Freshman forward John Hoffman had 25 points and Randy Alexander added 21 to lead Glendale to an easy win in Ridgecrest.

The Inland Valley Conference-leading Vaqueros are 9-1 in league and 12-9 overall after winning 11 of their last 13 games. Glendale made 46 of 77 shots from the field (59.7%) and 17 of 21 free throws (81.0%) to drop the Coyotes’ record to 0-10 and 1-13 overall.

Glendale’s Toros Yetenekian scored 15 points with six rebounds and six assists while Ted Grissom had 10 assists. Scott Fulton led Cerro Coso with 26 points and 15 rebounds.