De Anza tipped off its second home game on Nov. 4 against Cuesta, winning 102-78. The victory marked a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Both teams traded shots early on in the game, no team taking a bigger lead than 5 points until the 7:48 mark in the first half. Continuous full-court pressure by the Mountain Lions started to result in multiple turnovers by Cuesta.
The lead continued to grow throughout the rest of the first half, as De Anza’s fast-break offense resulted in multiple layups and trips to the free throw line. De Anza made 11 of 13 in the first half, shooting 20 for 24 total.
Guard and forward Dasan Potson (De Anza No. 15), 19, psychology major, said he wanted to dictate the game through defense.
“Our mindset was to play our game and pressure the ball,” Potson said. “That’s our identity.”
The team recorded 16 steals, while also receiving 24 personal fouls for the second consecutive game to start the season.
“We had a little adversity with some of the calls, so we handled it and learned from it,” Joe Berticevich, De Anza head basketball coach, said.
A scuffle ensued with 38 seconds remaining in the first half. Guard Gio Brovelli (De Anza No. 12), 19, business major, committed the hard foul and got tangled up with Cuesta freshman guard James Nugent (Cuesta No. 21).
Nugent took exception to the foul, immediately standing up and getting into the face of Brovelli, resulting in players on the court separating the two. As a result of this play, Nugent was ejected after receiving two technical fouls.
Dasan Potson and Mehki Thomas (De Anza No. 2), 20, political science major, who recorded the team’s first triple-double of the season, each received technical fouls for their role in the scuffle.
A triple-double occurs when a player records at least 10 in three of the five major statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks.
The game ended with seven technical fouls and one ejection.
Brovelli, who led De Anza second in scoring with 20 points, said the mindset stayed the same going into the second half.
“Keep pushing the tempo, try to win the game,” Brovelli said.
The game remained out of reach for Cuesta in the second half, as De Anza maintained a 20-point lead for the rest of the game.
“It’s a great way to start,” coach Berticevich said. “But we’ve got a long way to go, we have bigger goals.”
