College of the Canyons men’s basketball appears to have found a groove.
After Thursday night’s 70-58 home win over Ventura College, the Cougars have won four of their last five games, a promising sign with Western State Conference, South Division play looming at the end of the month.
Alex Sanchez led COC (8-10) with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Michael Kalu followed with 17 points and Jason Horosny added 12 points.
Jacob Lilley dished out five assists for the Cougars, who started the season 4-9 before a recent surge.
COC led just 27-25 at the half but shot 66 percent from the floor after the break to pull away.
Kalu and Sanchez combined for 10 of COC’s fist 12 points of the second half, propelling the Cougars to a seven-point lead.
The Cougars shot 50 percent for the game, but made just 3-of-9 tries from behind the arc.
COC’s Chris Collins scored eight points, while Lilley and Garrett Mike each had seven.
The Cougars will take on El Camino and LA Harbor on the road before opening conference play on Jan. 21 at home against Pierce.
Canyons almost hit their average points per game on the nose Thursday. COC is averaging 71.6 points through its first 18 games. The Cougars are now 4-2 at home. They are 0-3 on the road and 4-5 at neutral sites.
