Story and photo by Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons received a season-high 26 points and 12 rebounds from freshman Zach Phipps on the way to a hard-fought 72-63 conference win over visiting Bakersfield College on Saturday.

The Cougars (12-13, 3-2) are tied with the Renegades (15-9, 3-2) for second place in the Western State Conference (WSC), South Division standings, a game back of conference leader West L.A. College.

Saturday’s victory was essential to keep COC in the race for the conference crown. The Cougars have now won three of their last four games, with the only defeat coming in the form of a 77-68 home loss to West L.A.

The Cougars led by nine points at the end of the first half, then played to an evenly-matched 36-36 total in the second period.

COC shot a combined 41.8 percent from the field on Saturday, compared to a mark of just 33.3 percent for the Renegades.

Phipps helped boost those totals with a 9-of-17 shooting night including a 5-of-9 mark from behind the arc. The freshman has now topped the 20-point mark four times this season to average 13.7 points per game for the year.

Sophomore Jude Agabsi turned in another solid performance with 16 points and four rebounds. He finished the game 5-of-6 from the field.

Jah-Kez Moore came off the bench to add an important 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Denzel Nwanguma started the contest and finished with a game-high eight assists.

Here’s the box score and a link to more photos.

Canyons will be back in action Saturday, Feb. 16, with a 1 p.m. road game at Santa Monica College.

The Cougars will then travel to West L.A. on Feb. 19, before closing out the regular season at 5 p.m. Feb. 22, in the Cougar Cage.

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.