The Gavilan College men’s basketball team lost its season finale
to De Anza College by a narrow 73-72 margin on Wednesday night.
GILROY
Following a timeout late in the second half and down one point to De Anza College, the Gavilan Rams had 10.1 seconds on the clock to pull off a game-winning shot.
They needed 10.2.
After exploring the perimeter with passes, looking for the open look, the ball finally came to rest in Jordan Ramirez’s hands. The freshman released an accurate shot from the corner, hitting all net for an apparent 3-pointer and Rams’ victory. However, the shot came slightly after the final horn nullifying the would-be game winner, thus ending a difficult 2009-10 season for the Rams with a 73-72 loss to the Dons on Wednesday night.
“It’s another loss that falls within the one-possession range for us, again,” fourth-year head coach Tito Addison said. “That one-tenth of a second wasn’t the problem. The problem was what led up to that.”
The Rams lost six Coast Conference games this season by seven points or less, on their way to a less-than-favorable 1-10 conference record.
“Hopefully there are some young men here that learn from (the season),” Addison said. “They have this taste for next year and they don’t want to go through this again.”
Sophomores Nicholas Strauthers and Todd Janisch produced big numbers for the Rams in their final game for the program. Strauthers worked hard in the paint for a team-high 18 points. Janisch knocked down three 3-pointers en route to his 15 points.
Trailing 45-36 at the half, the Rams looked rejuvenated out of the break, springing out on an 18-9 run to tie things up at 54-all with 13 minutes left to play.
Janisch connected from downtown to put the Rams up 57-56 and Strauthers kept Gavilan up by two, 60-58, moments later with a layup as the clock ticked down to nine minutes.
The Rams led by as many as four points down the stretch, but couldn’t hold off the Dons, who where in search of their second conference win of the season.
“Toward the end we were able to show what we we’re capable of,” Ramirez said. “It’s too bad we couldn’t put it together sooner. Coach Addison is a great coach. During the summer we are going to work hard and come back strong.”
Ramirez posted 10 points in the loss, Arron Mollet had six and Travis Masterbone contributed 10.
———
San Jose City College finished first in the South when it went undefeated at 11-0, 23-4 overall. West Valley was runner-up in the division at 8-3, 14-13 overall.
