3-21-12 Love Named First-Team All-State
Complete Release
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – College of the Canyons men's basketball player Rafael Love has been named a First-Team All-State honoree by the California Community College Athletic Associations Men's Basketball Coaches Association. Love is the 11th Cougar in school history to be named to the All-State team, and the first since Andre Murray was named to the squad in 2007.

2-21-12 Cougars Make First Appearance In Post Season Since 2007
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SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – College of the Canyons men's basketball team earned a No. 20 seed in the Southern California Regional Playoffs and will travel to No. 13 L.A. Valley on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. for a first round game. The playoff bid marks the first time since 2007 that COC will be participating in the post season.

2-4-12 Canyons Dominates Bakersfield
Bakersfield Box Score
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - Three College of the Canyons men's basketball starters scored in double figures to help lead the Cougar basketball team to a 75-59 victory over Bakersfield College in the Cougar Cage on Saturday night. Bakesfield College jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening minutes of Saturday's game, but the rest of the night belonged to the Cougars, who smothered the Renegades offense, limiting them to 35.7 percent shooting from the field. COC led by as many as 20 points in the second half. The Cougar bench also saw a lot of action, and four of the five players notched points in the victory. Wes Bartole led Canyons with 12 points, while Jawhar Purdy added 11 points and seven assists. The College of the Canyons will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 8 as they travel to West L.A. for a 7 p.m. game.

2-1-12 Cougars Falter In Second Half
Citrus Box Score
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - The College of the Canyons men's basketball team dropped a close one, 87-82, to No. 2 Citrus College on Wednesday night at the Cougar Cage. Sophomore Rafael Love had 19 points and 10 rebounds and freshman Roman Delgado turned in 14 points in the start. College of the Canyons led for most of the game, but let the conference-leading Owls back in the game at the 7:35 mark of the second half, 71-71. The Owls would hold on to the lead for the rest of the game, despite the Cougars having multiple chances to score in the final minute. COC was outscored 47-36 in the second half and 31.6 percent after shooting 56.7 percent from the field in the first half. Canyons will host Bakersfield on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 5 p.m.

1-18-12 COC Squeaks By Santa Monica
Santa Monica Box Score
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - The College of the Canyons men's basketball team survived a late run by visiting Santa Monica College on Wednesday night, to beat the Corsairs 82-77. Sophomore Rafael Love scored a game-high 27 points for COC and four Cougars scored in double figures. Following a 41-33 halftime lead for the Cougars, the College of the Canyons allowed the Corsairs to tie the game up at the 5:30 mark of the second half. After going back and forth, COC finally took control in the final minutes with a Love three and by forcing a Corsair turnover. COC shot 55.3 percent from the field and held Santa Monica to 41.4 percent. The Cougars will travel to Glendale College on Saturday, Jan. 21 for a 7 p.m. game.

1-14-12 COC Drops Contest To West LA
West LA Box Score
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - The College of the Canyons men's basketball team dropped a 74-68 decision to West L.A. College at the Cougar Cage on Saturday night. Sophomore Wes Bartole led the Cougars with 22 points. Sophomore Rafael Love added 13 points and 11 rebounds while freshman Ron Harris had six points and a team-high 14 rebounds. Leading by two after the intermission, 35-33, the Wildcats took their first lead of the second half at the 7:42 mark. COC would come back to tie up the game at 68 with 1:46 remaining, but the Cougars were outscored 6-0. The College of the Canyons defense had trouble with the Wildcats, who shot 46.4 percent from the field. The Cougars were held to 35.5 percent from the field. COC will remain home to host Santa Monica on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m.

1-7-12 Cougars Run Falls Short Against Citrus
Citrus Box Score
GLENDORA, Calif. - The College of the Canyons men's basketball team late second-half comeback fell short against the defending conference champion Citrus College as the Cougars dropped its first conference game 85-81. Sophomore Wes Bartole led all scorers with 23 pointsand Ron Harris turned in 16 points and eight rebounds. The Cougars went on a 25-4 run in the final nine minutes of the game, but free throw shooting down the stretch for the Owls, kept them ahead of the Cougars. Canyons outscored the No. 2 team in the state 51-38 in the second half and shot 51.2 percent from the field in the last half. COC will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 11 as they travel to Bakersfield for a 7 p.m. game.

1-4-12 Canyons Wins Conference Home Opener
LA Valley Box Score
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - The College of the Canyons men's basketball team won its Western State Conference, South Division, opener by defeating the L.A. Valley Monarchs 83-68 on Wednesday night at the Cougar Cage. The Cougars were led by sophomores Rafael Love and Wes Bartole who both posted 21 points. Bartole also led the team with 11 rebounds. Freshman Jawhar Purdy turned in 13 points off the bench, along with seven assists. COC led for a the majority of the game, against a pesky Monarch team that came as close seven points with 4:34 left in the second half. Canyons would close out the game on a 16-8 run over the final four minutes of the game to take control of the game. COC shot 53.4 percent from the field, including 58.3 percent from the 3-point line. COC will travel to defending conference champion Citrus College on Saturday, Jan. 7 for a 7 p.m. game.

11-18-11 Cougars Lose Second Consecutive Game
Irvine Valley Box Score
IRVINE, Calif. - The College of the Canyons men's basketball team lost its second straight game of the season 74-69 to Irvine Valley College in the second round of the San Juan Hills Toyota classic on Friday. Sophomore guard Rafael Love tallied a game-high 18 points to go along with his eight rebounds. Freshman forward Ronald Harris had 17 points and led the team in rebounds with nine and also the led the team with four steals. Canyons shot 49 percent (24-of-49) from the field, compared to Irvine Valley's 55 percent (28-of-51), but COC did outrebound Irvine 28-25. The Cougars led 32-31 at the end of the first half, but made some costly turnovers in the second half. COC had seven second-half turnovers, while Irvine only had three. Irvine was able to score 21 points off turnovers and outscored the Cougars 38-24 in the paint. COC was only down by three with 49 seconds left in the game, but Irvine made some important free throws to secure the victory. COC will host Saddleback College on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 5 p.m.

11-17-11 COC Suffers First Loss Of Season Against Imperial Valley
Imperial Valley Box Score
IRVINE, Calif. - The College of the Canyons men's basketball team dropped its first game of the young season 69-65 to Imperial Valley College in the first round of the San Juan Hills Toyota Classic on Thursday. Sophomore guard Rafael Love tallied a game-high 22 points to go along with his six rebounds. Wesley Bartole contributed 13 points and was the only other Cougar to post double figure points. Ronald Harris pulled down 12 rebounds, including four offensive rebounds. Canyons shot 39 percent (23-of-59) from the field, compared to Imperial Valley's 51 percent (21-of-41), but COC did dominate the offensive boards 13-9. The Cougars fell behind by as many as 11 in the first half, but used an 11-5 run to bring the deficit to just five points, 33-28, at the halftime break. COC kept it close in the second half, but was never able to take the lead from Imperial Valley. Strong free throw shooting from Imperial Valley in the final minutes held off a charging Cougar team. COC will play host Irvine Valley College in the second round of the San Juan Hills Toyota Classic at 3 p.m.

11-12-11 COC Takes Care of East L.A.
East L.A. Box Score
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - The College of the Canyons men's basketball team improved to 2-0 on the season with an 86-72 victory over East L.A. College on Saturday afternoon at the Cougar Cage. Sophomore guard Rafael Love scored a game-high 22 points and collected six rebounds and seven assists, while guard Brad Wyche added 13 points. Sophomore Wesley Bartole recorded 12 points for the Cougars, and freshman guard Jawhar Purdy also chipped in 12 points and nine assists. COC shot 52.2 percent (36-of-69) from the field and dominated the paint, holding a 36-23 advantage. The game was close a few times through the second half of the game, when the Huskies came as close as three points, but the Cougars used a 22-11 run to take a 75-50 lead. COC will travel to the San Juan Hills Toyota Classic in Irvine on Thursday, Nov. 17.

11-11-11 Canyons Opens Season With Victory Over Santa Ana
Santa Ana Box Score
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - The College of the Canyons men's basketball team opened regular season play with a 75-54 win over the Santa Ana Dons Friday evening. Senior guard Rafael Love led all scorers with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds while sophomore guard Brad Wyche notched 14 points and five assists. The Cougars led by as many as 25 points in the second half after holding a 45-23 halftime lead. Canyons limited Santa Ana to 20-of-53 (37.7%) shooting on the night, including just 2-of-8 (25%) from beyond the three-point arc. After taking a 19 point lead into the break, COC went on a 12-6 run that helped the Cougars increase their lead to 25 points at the 10:23 mark of the second half. The Dons would get as close as 16 points four minutes later, but COC kept the pressure on to hold off Santa Ana.

10-31-11 Follow College of the Canyons Men's Basketball On Twitter and Facebook
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SANTA CLARITA, Calif. –You can now follow College of the Canyons athletics on Twitter and Face book. Twitter lets you keep in touch with the Cougars via short message updates sent by the College of the Canyons Sports Information Office. Be the first to know information about your Cougar teams along with scores, events and statistics. Facebook allows fans the chance to interact with other fans of COC athletics.