February 8, 2010
by Exie Frazier | Staff Writer
January brought high winds and a lot of rain inside the North Gymnasium of City College. The sound of the rain and wind had to fight against the sound of the women’s and men’s basketball teams fighting hard against the Diablo Valley College Vikings, Jan. 22.
With few wins to their records, both the women’s and men’s team needed to have a strong focus going into this meet.
“Our teams are healthy; this should be a good game. They should focus on defense and rebounds,” student athletic trainer, Nick Rodriguez said.
With the men losing by only three points and the Vikings taking the win with 76 points, the crowd was loud and pumped with support for the men.
Some exciting highlights were seemingly every foul the Panthers made in desperate attempts keep the Vikings at bay. With one player from the opposing team charging into the hole at every opportunity, the Panther men had to keep vigilant at all costs, racking up over 20 fouls over the course of the game.
Head coach Andrew Jones took a time out to tell his men to “Focus on defense.” Assistant
coach J.T Roberts also stressed the team would need to keep that key point in mind in order to take the win.
“We’ve got to maintain our focus during the game and obviously just hustle a bit more, but we gave it our all tonight,” guard Corey Jackson said.
The women’s basketball team also tried hard to bring home the win. But with excess fouls and a lack of hustle in the second half, the team didn’t manage to keep the lead.
“We have to play like we know how,” Jaci Dennis, a guard on the women’s team, said.
The Diablo Valley College women’s team did not bring an overpowering strategy to the court. Plenty overturns gave the Panthers extra opportunities to grab the lead, but that was not to be.
As it continued to rain outside, the women players stood defeated by the Vikings, 48-55.
Editor’s note: There are two more games and one road game left in the season. The next home game for the basketball teams will be against Modesto Junior College, Feb 11 in the North Gym. Tip off begins at 6 p.m. The last game of the season is Feb. 19 against Santa Rosa Junior College in the North Gym. Tip off at 6 p.m.
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