Preseason momentum stalls in 79-66 loss
When the important head-to-head Coast Conference games got under
way this week, the Gavilan College men’s basketball team had
momentum on its side and was starting to gain confidence-especially
after winning three of its previous four games to wrap of the
non-conference portion of its schedule.
But that momentum was slowed down on Wednesday night at Gavilan
after a 79-66 loss to Cabrillo in the conference opener.
Preseason momentum stalls in 79-66 loss
When the important head-to-head Coast Conference games got under way this week, the Gavilan College men’s basketball team had momentum on its side and was starting to gain confidence-especially after winning three of its previous four games to wrap of the non-conference portion of its schedule.
But that momentum was slowed down on Wednesday night at Gavilan after a 79-66 loss to Cabrillo in the conference opener.
“We work hard all year for these last 12 games,” said Gavilan Coach Chris Shoemaker after watching his team slip to 0-1 in conference and 4-14 overall. “There are no excuses we just need to be ready and play up to our capabilities.”
On Friday night after press time the Rams squared off with West Valley College in Saratoga. Shoemaker was well aware heading into that showdown that even if his seven-man roster played up to its ability that beating the No. 2 ranked team in the state would be an improbable feat.
“The way that we’re going to be able to compete in every game is if we hold people to 65 points or under that,” said Shoemaker. “We have a team that scores between 55 and 65 points. Every game we need to do a better job on the boards. Teams keep getting the offensive rebounds on us so we need to do a better job on the defensive boards.”
Without much depth and speed the Rams focus on a half court style of play, which seeks to slow down the opposition’s tempo of play.
“We execute the half court well,” said Shoemaker. “Our advantage has been in the half court game.”
Against Cabrillo the Rams battled hard but gave up a number of easy buckets to Cabrillo after losing the battle on the boards. At halftime Gavilan trailed 35-25.
“I felt that we had a good chance to compete tonight,” said Shoemaker. “In order to win we need to play great defensively and we did not do that tonight.”
In order to win the Rams also needed to utilize their big man, 6-foot-8 center Adrian Zamora, in the paint. But on Wednesday night that was easier said than done as Cabrillo double- and triple-teamed him all night-holding Zamora to just five points in the opening half.
Despite this, the big man from Watsonville High still managed to break free enough times in the second half to walk off the court with 19 points, one point less than Gavilan’s high scorer on the night, Ron Colmon, who racked up 20 in the contest.
Gavilan guard Broc Sondgroth also had the hot hand early, connecting on three three-pointers in the opening half. Unfortunately, he would not connect again the rest of the night while Cabrillo answered the long-range challenge by connecting on nine three-pointers of its own. Ram forward Antoine Lax also had eight points in the losing effort.
With only four wins and a tough schedule ahead, Shoemaker knows that things aren’t going to get any easier down the stretch, but he remains upbeat.
“I’m not frustrated,” said the fourth-year coach. “It’s a process to try and continue to improve all the time and that’s what we’re working hard on.”
