The De Anza College men’s basketball team swept the Gavilan College Rams 84-60, Jan. 12.

Coming off of their 35 point loss to the San Jose City Jaguars just days before, Wednesday night’s win was a team effort.

The Dons played a high-intensity game and gained a 16 point lead by half-time. They kept their momentum over the Rams throughout the rest of the game.

Head Coach Jason Damjanovic credited the superior leadership from their frontline, specifically highlighting forwards Joshua Grant and Eric Heslin.

Grant and Heslin scored 41 points between them with Heslin scoring the game high of 31 points.

The win against Gavilan can be attributed to improved “role play,” said Grant.

“We all had to be our part, like role play,” Grant said.  “I’m the defensive stopper on the team, so I play defense and get rebounds.”

Heslin noted the incredible comeback made by guard Greg Valenzuela for his first game back after being out with an ankle injury in late December.

In addition, Heslin credited the quality ball handling by point guards Jeremy Allen and Josh Williams as well as Chris Benavente’s excellent execution of passes.

As a team, the Dons shot 57 percent from the free throw line with the Gavilan Rams shooting just under 43 percent.

On the defensive end of the game, the Dons rebounded and successfully limited the points scored by the Rams.

The Dons game against Gavilan College was filled with more highs than lows and the team hopes to keep it that way.

“We plan on winning games this season. Working hard in practice because practice carries over to the game,” Grant said.

Heslin agreed, adding that anything short of winning the conference would be a disappointment.

“We came focused. We are a successful team and we’ve been so far this year, so we wanted to show that really wasn’t us,” Damjanovic said when commenting on the team’s win compared to their loss against San Jose City days before.

This game left the Dons 2-1 and the Rams 0-2 for the Coast Conference season.