Surging Owls end men’s post season

    Santa Ana’s season came to an end in a second round playoff game at No. 2-ranked Citrus College. Victory seemed within grasp earlier, but the Dons fell 81-65 in the Feb. 27 game.
   The Dons jumped out to a quick 11-1 lead but Citrus gained control late in the first half, closing with an 18-6 run. The Owls opened the second half with a 10-2 run, putting the game out of reach for Santa Ana.
   All-Orange Empire Conference Honorable Mention forward Thurman Woods was among three Dons players to foul out in the game.
   “Foul trouble hurt us. Thurman got in foul trouble, he fouled out I believe early in the second. He only played 12 minutes,” Head Coach David Breig said.
   Woods, Santa Ana’s leading rebounder, is a key player who must be on the court, Breig said.
   Six-foot-six forward Wendall Wright, who earned First Team All-OEC honors, scored 21 points in the losing effort. Wright was the team’s overall leading scorer, ranking him fourth in the conference.
   After finishing OEC play at 4-8, Santa Ana qualified for the California Community College Basketball Playoffs as the No. 18 seed. 
   In the first-round game, the Dons played at No. 15-ranked L.A. Trade Tech College winning 63-57.
   The Dons took a 17-point lead late in the game and overcame a 16-3 rally from the Beavers. Woods scored a team high of 21 points and 11 rebounds.
   “I knew we could get them. To tell you the truth, I was pretty confident going out there,” Breig said.
   Three years marks the last time the Dons won a playoff game.
   “Good season, you know,” said Breig. “Basically our main goal was get into the playoffs from day one.”
   Playoff hope was gone after a 1-8 OEC start. Unexpectedly, the Dons went on a three-game win streak, including a buzzer-beating win over the fifth-ranked team in the state, Saddleback College.
   Both Wright and Woods played injured, keeping the Dons from getting a sense of team chemistry.
   “Wendall got a little bit healthier, Thurman got healthier, so you know they started playing better. They knew they had to win those last three games to get in,” Breig said.
   The loss to Citrus wraps up the season with a 13-15 record for Santa Ana. The Dons have not had a winning season since ’07. 
   Santa Ana also saw the lowest team scoring performance since the ’05 season with an average of 65.9 points per game.
   “The season went the way we wanted; of course, we wanted a few more wins. We reached our goal of making the playoffs,” Breig said.