The De Anza College Dons protected the home front and defeated the San Jose City College Jaguars 82-77 on Jan. 23.
“Nothing surprised us,” said head coach Jason Damjanovic after the game. “They (San Jose City) play hard, they play up-tempo … we were very well prepared for what they were going to do.”
The starters for the Dons were freshmen Dawson Johnson and Shaquille Gilbert and sophomores Denzel Copeland, George Henderson and Nolan Williams.
De Anza began the game on the offense after Gilbert tipped the ball and Williams scored a bucket within the first 30 seconds, followed by two points from the Jaguars.
The first foul of the game was called on Copeland and the Jaguars made one out of three free-throws.
Johnson made the first three- point shot of the game, followed by the Jaguars scoring three points of their own.
With 1:51 left on the clock in the first half, the teams were tied at 33 points apiece.
The ball moved back and forth between the Dons and Jaguars, both teams playing on a leveled court.
At half time the teams were once again tied, 35-35.
The Jaguars had the first possession of the second half, but after a missed shot, the Dons grabbed the ball.
Jaguars rebounded but failed another attempted shot. Johnson took hold of the ball and passed it to Gilbert who then made the first basket of the second half.
The Dons played aggressively but the Jaguars did not let up their defense and pushed harder on offense.
De Anza called the last time-out of the game with 1:22 left on the clock and the score, 78-70, with De Anza in the lead.
The Dons started with the ball but the Jaguars took it, attempted a shot and missed. A foul was called on the Jaguars and Copeland scored two free-throws.
Jaguars scored a basket, but received another foul. Copeland made two more points from the free-throw line.
The last shot of the game was a three pointer made by the Jaguars, but it was not enough. The game ended with a win for the Dons, 82-77.
Dons freshman Thomas Estifanos said he was pleased with the way his team had played.
“The first half it was good, but the second half we stepped it up,” he said.
The Dons will face the Jaguars again on Feb. 16 at San Jose City College at 3 p.m.
TIP-OFF – Shaquille Gilbert (5) tips the ball for De Anza College to start the Jan. 23 game against San Jose City College. The Dons won 82-77. (RAJVIR KAUR / LA VOZ WEEKLY)
