College of the Canyons men’s basketball received a game-high 17 points from freshman center Craig Irons, and Dwayne Boston Jr. added a double-double of his own, to help guide the Cougars past visiting L.A. Pierce College 78-64 on Saturday night, Jan. 3.

Canyons (9-5) claimed another victory, its sixth in the last seven contests, after falling to Mt. San Antonio College in the championship game of the Cougar Holiday Classic just four days prior. The Cougars are now just one win away from matching their season total from a year ago.

Irons produced his 17 points, a season high, on a 7-of-11 shooting night. The seven-footer scored 10 in the opening half and also pulled down six rebounds in the game.

Boston finished with a game-high 12 rebounds and scored seven points in the second half to finish with 16 on the night.

Wyatt Wilson scored 11 points to lead the reserves, while Ricky Rivas came off the bench to net eight points in the second half.

The Cougars opened a 14-4 advantage in the early going but headed into the break clinging to a slim 39-35 lead.

L.A. Pierce (5-11) suffered its fourth straight loss despite seeing a trio of players reach double digits. Freshman Andrew Shackelford led the Brahmas with 17 points off the bench to tie for the game-high mark after finishing 9-of-13 from the foul line. Sophomore King Miller scored 11 points and nabbed 10 rebounds to go alongside three steals.

The Brahmas finished the contest shooting just under 34 percent from the field and converted on 4-of-19 three-point attempts. The Cougars were a tick better, shooting roughly 39 percent as a team.

Canyons closed things out by scoring its final nine points at the foul line, converting 9-of-10 attempts across the final 2:20 of the game.

The Cougars will now begin Western State Conference, South Division play with a road tilt at Antelope Valley College (7-7). That contest is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 7, in a 5 p.m. tip.

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