Canyons Claims Third Straight Conference Win, 77-70 at Glendale

By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

 GLENDALE — College of the Canyons claimed a third straight conference victory on Wednesday night, this time storming past host Glendale College 77-70 behind a game-high 15 points from Gilad Ziegel. 

Canyons (9-14, 5-4) used the victory to get above .500 in conference play. The Cougars have now won three in a row dating back to Jan. 29 with wins over Western State Conference (WSC) opponents Bakersfield, Antelope Valley and most recently Glendale (9-13, 3-5). 

COC took a 35-34 lead into halftime despite the 13-point outburst from Glendale leading scorer Nigel Dickens in the opening frame. Dickens finished with a game-high 19 points but scored just six in the second half before fouling out of the game.

Meanwhile, Canyons combined to shoot nearly 54 percent in the final half with Ziegel leading the reserves with 11 points down the stretch. Wyatt Wilson also got hot finishing the period 4-of-4 including a three-pointer. Wilson ended the night with 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds, with two steals.

Ziegel's team-best 15 points came alongside four rebounds. Raz Orbach also added 11 points and six rebounds. Those totals helped the Cougars to a 36-22 rebounding advantage over the host Vaqueros.

Glendale got within four points of the Cougars at 69-65 after a three-pointer from Noah Smith with 1:33 to go in the game. Following a pair of successful Ziegel free-throws the Vaqueros again struck with a long ball, this time off the hand Tyson Jackson making it a 71-68 ballgame. 

On COC's next possession Orbach answered back with a jumper of his own. In the Cougars' next possession Donovan Chapman scored and completed the three-point play at the charity stripe. 

The Vaqueros scored once more in the final 50 seconds before Ziegel iced the game with another pair of free throws for the 77-70 final.  

Canyons is back at Lee Smelser Court on Saturday, Feb. 8, for a home matchup with No. 5 state ranked Citrus College. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. with that game being livestreamed to fans free of charge on the Cougars Sports Network. 

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