The men’s basketball team played against the City College of San Francisco on Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m, losing 84-63. The Mountain Lions fought hard at home, but struggled to limit turnovers, get rebounds and stop the Rams’ relentless offense.
At halftime, De Anza was trailing behind 42-29. De Anza narrowed the gap to five points late in the first half, but San Francisco widened the deficit to 13 points with a 9-1 run. The Rams carried their momentum into the second half with athleticism and aggressive play, pushing them ahead and sealing the game.
De Anza’s assistant coach Patrick Gallmann acknowledged that his team’s effort was there, but they had areas to improve.
“We battled. The effort was there, but we turned the ball over a little too much to make it a closer game,” Gallmann said. “We had 20 turnovers, and they (San Francisco) took advantage. We also didn’t do a good enough job blocking out — they dominated us on the boards.”
Gallmann also noted the defensive execution, comparing it to their past games. “Last game, we had five to seven kills (one kill is three stops) but tonight we only had one,” Gallmann said. “That’s a big difference. Stops give us opportunities to score, and we couldn’t get it done tonight.”
Despite the loss, Theo McDowell (De Anza No. 24) 18, business marketing major, praised his team for their determination but emphasized the need to improve in certain areas.
“I feel like we fought hard and did well with the little things, but rebounding really hurt us,” McDowell said. “They dominated us on the boards. If we can fix that, I think we have a good chance of beating them next time.”
Justice Owens (De Anza No. 4), 21, business administration major, who returned to the lineup after being out for illness, expressed his gratitude to be back on the court, as well as his thoughts going into the next game.
“I’m glad to be back. I never want to be out of the game,” Owens said. “I think we did pretty well in the first half, but we need to cut down on turnovers and play with more poise next time.”
This loss drops De Anza’s record to 0-5, but the team remains optimistic as they prepare for the rest of their season.
“We’ve got to learn from this,” Gallmann said. “We’ll clean up the mistakes and get ready for the next challenge.”
