By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

WILMINGTON — College of the Canyons sophomore Anthony Simone scored 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the Cougars jumped out to an early lead to defeat host L.A. Harbor College 73-69 on Wednesday night, earning its second victory in as many games.

Canyons (7-6), which has now won three of its last four games including a third-place tournament finish last weekend in Santa Barbara, led 32-25 heading into halftime before holding off a Seahawks team that shot better than 44 percent from the floor, including 11 three-pointers.

The Cougars did most of their damage in the paint, attempting just a trio of three-pointers in the game, and instead looking to Simone in the middle. The sophomore was 9-of-14 on the night to lead all scorers. His 11 rebounds also tied for the game high.

Simone has now scored double-digit points in nine of the Cougars’ last 10 games, having topped 20 points on three occasions.

COC sophomore Jude Agbasi finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to compliment Simone’s big game. Agbasi is averaging 15.8 points per game to lead Canyons and rank 12th in the Western State Conference (WSC).

Denzel Nwanguma, who leads the WSC with 5.5 assists per game, added five more to his season total to go with eight points. Leonard Wilson added 10 points and Shaquille McElveen had nine in reserve roles for COC.

Here’s the box score.

Canyons will continue its road trip with a game at West Hills Coalinga on Saturday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.

COC won’t play on its home court until hosting the 29th Annual Cougar Holiday Classic Dec. 28-29 at the Cougar Cage. The two-day tourney will also include Ohlone College, Orange Coast College and L.A. Trade Tech College.

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 Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

— Photo by Jacob Velarde/COC Sports Information