In front of a rawkus crowd, Canyons shot 11-of-17 freethrows in the last three minutes to survive a late El Camino surge.
COC closed out the first half behind Bland’s 18 points, seven of which came from beyond the arc, and a 15-4 run that gave the home team a 44-31 halftime lead.
COC held off the Warriors until late in the second half as El Camino came as close as six points. Tyler Barber added 13 points and David Horst had 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Canyons will return to action Thursday, Dec. 27, for a 7 p.m. against Palomar College in the first round of the Cougar Holiday Classic.
Bland Leads COC to 79-66 Win Over El Camino
