Mixon, Ray Dig Canyons Out, 77-68

Riding the shooting of James Mixon and Vincent Ray, College of the Canyons overcame a 10-point deficit and beat Santa Monica, 77-68, at Canyons on Tuesday night.

Mixon, a six-foot sophomore guard from San Fernando High, led all scorers with 24 points, while Ray scored 21.

The win gives the Cougars a 3-3 record as they prepare to enter the Mid-State Tournament in San Luis Obispo on Thursday. Canyons last week finished at the top of the consolation bracket in the Moorpark College/Camarillo Kiwanis Tournament.

The Corsairs clamped down on the Cougars’ running game early on, but after the half Canyons managed to turn a run-and-wheeze offense into its run-and-gun.

“We talked about it at halftime,” Canyons Coach Lee Smelser said. “We knew that if Santa Monica’s Brian Fogel continued to hit from the outside, we might be in trouble. He only missed one in the first half, but he didn’t get those shots in the second.

“In the second half, we got some rebounds, got to fast-break a little and hit the shots.”

Down, 59-58, with 10 minutes left in the game, the Cougars went on a shooting spree, outscoring Santa Monica, 19-9 the rest of the way. Ray scored 10 of his points in that span.

“We came out with a lot of intensity in the second half,” Smelser said. “They seemed to have put guys right where we were running, and it was hard to run the offense in the first half. We didn’t let that happen in the second half, and I think that made the difference.”

Mixon was 11 of 14 from the field and Ray was 11 of 22.

Of Mixon, Smelser said: “He’s capable of shooting like that every night. If he misses a shot, he doesn’t get down on himself. He comes right back and scores.”