The De Anza College Men’s basketball team’s hopes of being in the playoffs were in doubt after their loss against the San Jose City College Jaguars 88-64 Feb. 2. The Dons were 3-4 in the coast conference season.

In their last matchup against the Jaguars, the Dons were not able to defend the court well against this top-ranking team. They lost 67-92. 

Dons head coach Jason Damjanovic said before the game that he hoped the team could play more defensively.

“Last time we played them we were missing a  couple guys. We have some back, not all of them, but that will make a difference,” he said.

 The Jaguars scored the first basket and soon took control of the game as they tightly defended their court against the Dons, forcing De Anza to take many tough shots as well as turnovers.

The Dons did not defend as well as Damjanovic had hoped. The Jaguars continually passed the ball around the perimeter of the court and creating space between them and Dons defense for their shooters. Many of the Jaguars’ shot attempts were made without a challenge.

The Dons were unable to perform on the offensive end as well. The Jaguars’ tight defense forced the Dons to take little advantage of shot opportunities. Unable to fire up their offense, they missed more than half of their shot attempts. De Anza trailed San Jose City by 20 points with a score of 49-29 after the first half.

Unfortunately, the situation did not change and the Dons were unable to close the gap, losing 88-64.

Dons guard Joshua Williams spoke about the chance of getting into the playoffs after the game. “We can make the playoffs,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy though, it’s going to be pretty tough. We’ve got two of the top three teams in our conference coming up next.”

Dons assistant coach Chris Malloy spoke on the Dons offensive struggle. “When you play a team like San Jose City, you have to pass the ball better. You have to be ready to shoot the ball,” he said.

Although the Dons lost against the Jaguars, their hopes for the playoffs were not lost. Malloy said it is still “mathematically possible” to get into the playoffs. 

The Dons are now sitting 4-5 in the Coast-South Division with three games left. If the Dons win the remainder of the games, they will still have a fighting chance at being in the playoffs.