La Voz

Issue date: 1/20/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Greg Cortez De Anza College's Ranbir Sanghera attempts a free-throw in the Dons' 81-78 loss at Gavilan College. The Dons went back and forth with the Rams, but were unable to pull off the victory in their second Coast Conference game of the season.

The De Anza College men's basketball team anticipated a win against the Gavilan Rams in their second Coast Conference game of the season with both teams seeking a win. Coming into the game, the Rams had a nine-game losing streak and the Dons a 14-game losing streak.

During warm-ups the Dons looked fierce. Sophomore shooting guard Melvin Sneed said the team was feeling "rowdy and excited," seeing this game as "an opportunity to get another victory."

As the game began, both teams were moving at the same pace, responding to each other's scores. Ten minutes into the first half, the game was tied 16-16.

Adam Close, a sophomore power forward and center, said the Rams "were real small" in size, which forced Head Coach Jason Damjanovich to move "into a smaller lineup" and rely on the more agile team members.

As the game continued, the intensity started to pick up and the ball began flying across the court.

Sneed and power forward Kris Gingrich were already the scoring leaders for the Dons. Gingrich and Sneed, with the help of the rest of the team, were able to get De Anza ahead by halftime, 36-32.

The second half started off with more determination from both teams. Gingrich said that during halftime Coach Damjanovich was pretty upset and told the team they "were not playing hard enough and they needed to get more energy."

Five minutes into the second half, the score was tied 47-47.

Arron Mollett, a freshman at Gavilan College, was breaking through the Dons' defense. Mollett was scoring 3-pointers, lay-ups and free throws while De Anza was trying to conjure a way to stop him.

"He only missed two or three shots," said Close. "It would have been beneficial to focus the defense more on [Mollett]. He was on fire!"

With the clock winding down, and the Dons looking for a way to stop Mollett, De Anza was able to tie the game again at 69 with 5:20 remaining. The Dons were becoming frustrated, as they could not get a comfortable lead on Gavilan.

Continued...

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