The Gavilan Rams men’s basketball team fell to the Cabrillo Seahawks, 79-66, in their first Coast South Conference game of the season. The Seahawks’ (8-9, 1-0 CSC) pulled away at the beginning of the second half with stellar play from their perimeter shooters and out-rebounding the Rams (4-15, 0-1 CSC) on the defensive and offensive boards.
“I think we were outplayed in every facet of the game,” said Gavilan coach Chris Shoemaker. “Cabrillo had a game plan to stop Adrian Zamora and even though he had 19 points, they were able to do that.”
Sophomore guard Ron Colomon led the Rams with 20 points and three steal, while 6-foot-8 forward Zamora added 19 points, two rebounds, one blocked shot and one assist. Broc Sondgroth added nine points for Gavilan, hitting three 3-pointers in the first half, and also had five rebounds and three assists.
The Rams defense had trouble shutting down the Seahawks’ perimeter shooting as Cabrillo drained nine 3-pointers in the game, including five in the second half.
“I am most disappointed in the defense, 79 points is way too many,” said Shoemaker. “Rebounding was definitely a problem, but we let two of their perimeter shooters score 16 and 17 points. I think we were out-classed in both defense and rebounding.”
Trailing 35-25 at the half, the Rams stepped up their offensive game in the second half and scored 41 points but Cabrillo kept the game just out of reach as the time ticked away.
“The biggest bright spot is that we continued to play when we were down,” said Shoemaker. “They hung in there and played hard until the very end.”
The Rams schedule doesn’t get any easier from here as they head to Saratoga on Friday night to face the No. 3 team in California and favorite to win the CSC, the West Valley Vikings. The Vikings are the CSC defending champions and have a 17-2 record so far this season.
“The game on Friday is going to be different,” said Shoemaker. “West Valley presses the entire game and like to play at a quick tempo. We are going to have to work hard at keeping the tempo at our pace.”
The key for the Rams in the game against West Valley, according to Shoemaker, will be their guards.
“Our guards are going to have to do a good job handling the ball,” explained Shoemaker. “All of our players will have to do a good job handling the ball. We can’t allow them to score 70 or more points, we have to keep the game closer to the 50’s and 60’s to work at our advantage.”
