The De Anza College men’s basketball team was unable to pull off a win against the Monterey Peninsula College Lobos. They lost to the visiting team 73-58 on Jan. 30.
“We were outplayed,” Dons’ head coach Jason Damjanovic said after the game. “Give Monterey a lot of credit. They made adjustments from the first time we played them and we were unable to adjust.”
The Dons had beaten the Lobos on Jan. 7, winning their first conference game 59-57. This time, however, the Lobos came prepared.
The Dons were the first to score a basket, but the Lobos responded with two scores back to back and took the lead.
The Dons made another basket, but after a foul was called on Dons’ freshman Karl Mann, the Lobos made a free throw and closed the score to 5-4.
The Lobos held onto their lead for the rest of the game.
It seemed like for every shot the Dons made, the Lobos made two. Dons’ sophomore guard DJ Rodriguez made a 3-pointer and with 2 minutes left in the first half, the score stood 28-20.
Dons’ freshman forward, Josh Bongers, made a basket only to have the Lobos score another four points.
Sophomore guard Nate Vieira took the last shot in the first half, making a 3-pointer, and the Dons went into halftime trailing the Lobos 34-25.
The Dons came back in the second half and made the first shot, but the Lobos’ lead remained strong. Monterey Peninsula went on to put seven straight points on the board.
About five minutes into the game, the Lobos had strengthened their lead and the Dons had fallen behind 47-35.
As the final two minutes approached, the Dons struggled to get the ball to the basket. With 2:05 left in the game, the score stood 62-48.
While the Dons made two points, the Lobos made five. With one minute left, the Lobos were up 67-50.
Freshman guard Daniel Paulson was the last to score for the Dons, but the Lobos were the last to score in the game, making both free-throw shots.
The Lobos took the win with a final score of 73-58.
“We lost to a better team tonight, plain and simple,” Damjanovic said. “I still have a lot of confidence in my team to bounce back.”
The Dons’ next home game is Wednesday, Feb. 11, as they take on the San Jose City Jaguars.