The De Anza College men’s basketball team was shot down 109-81 in its home opener on Wednesday Nov. 12 to undefeated Cañada College.

Cañada College caught fire early draining four 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes to claim an early double-digit lead.  Cañada sophomore forward Rohndell Goodwin scored 13 first half points while his team ramped up the defensive pressure to help the Colts maintain their double-digit lead throughout the first half.

The Dons couldn’t get over the hump in the first part of the half and at one point were down 17.  Even when down, De Anza sophomore guards Nate Vieira and DJ Rodriguez were instrumental from an offensive standpoint and kept the score from getting out of hand.

Before the half ended Dons’ freshman guard Daniel Paulson provided a spark off the bench contributing nine points and cutting the deficit to 58-45 at the halftime break.

“I thought we played well at times,” said De Anza head coach Jason Damjanovic. “Obviously not well enough to beat a team the caliber of Cañada, but when you have a difficult schedule it is important to play our best basketball at all times.”

To start the second half, Cañada College committed five fouls in the first two minutes and the Dons were able to get the deficit under 10 for the first time since the game started.

Vieira and Rodriguez each contributed three free throws in the beginning of the second half while forwards Josh Bongers and Karl Mann provided a strong inside presence to keep the deficit at ten midway through the half.

With eight minutes left in the game, Cañada started to pull away from the Dons with a barrage of threes from freshman guards Crisshawn Clark and Brian Garrett who each popped in two.

Missed shots and numerous foul calls plagued De Anza in the later stages of the game with the score ending in a 109-81 loss.

“Combine our first game of the year and Cañada playing at a high level equals the result we saw tonight,” Damjanovic said. “There will be bright spots in the next few games and we will improve no doubt about that.”

De Anza starter DJ Rodriguez led the team with 18 points while Cañada forward Goodwin jumped off the bench to produce 24 points in the win.

The next home game for the Dons is on Thursday Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. against Skyline College.