The De Anza men’s basketball team played Skyline College for the second time on Friday, Jan. 31, at home and lost 82-71. On Jan. 8, the Mountain Lions lost 89-74 and had hopes of avenging themselves. The team was able to pull together a strong second half comeback effort, but fell short in an 82-71 loss.
Guard A.J. Richards (De Anza No. 5), 19, a business major, said that while they learned some lessons in their first matchup, the Mountain Lions fell into the same pitfalls as last time.
“Our goal was to out-work them,” Richards said. “When we played them the first time, we let them get a lot of shots, and they killed us with that three-point line … they did it again.”
Richards also addressed the team’s mentality shift in the second half.
“The first half was a little lackluster; we were making mistakes, but in the second half we came in and we knew what we wanted to get done,” Richards said. “Honestly, that’s what we are – a second half kind of team … you could tell if you watch the film, there’s a big difference (between the halves).”
After trailing 37-23 at halftime, another Skyline burst put De Anza down 46-26; the Mountain Lions later closed the gap midway through the second half, making it 63-61 with 7 minutes left in the game.
De Anza’s assistant coach Patrick Gallmann called the game “a tale of two halves,” attributing their slow start and early offensive struggles to stagnant play and poor shot selection.
“First half, we didn’t do anything,” Gallmann said. “We only scored 23 points, so our offense was pretty stagnant, and we were settling too much.”
Guard Justice Owens, (De Anza No. 4), 21, business administration major, was a key player in the second half push with eight rebounds and 16 points.
“We came into the second half knowing we have nothing to lose,” Owens said. “We just gotta come back, play and give it our all.”
After trailing 37-23 at halftime, followed by another Skyline burst putting De Anza down 46-26, the Mountain Lions closed the gap midway through the second half, making it 63-61 with 7 minutes left in the game.
Owens’ three pointer kick-started De Anza’s 35-17 run. Owens also credited his improved individual performance to playing like himself and trusting his shot.
“In the second half I performed way better,” Owens said. “I was able to get my shots, I was shooting confidently.”
Theo McDowell led the Mountain Lions in the second half with 22 points scored in the second half alone. Although Mountain Lion’s effort wasn’t enough.
However, point guard Achilles Woodson (Skyline No. 3) inevitably took control with 5 minutes 37 seconds in the game, putting a stop to De Anza’s 35-17 run, with back to back drives to the paint and 15 second half points of his own, sealing the Trojans’ victory.
Defensively, the Mountain Lions had a clear scouting report on Woodson but struggled at times to execute it properly.
“We weren’t supposed to let him get down low,” Richards said. “He’s a quick guy and he’s a small guy.”
On top of dealing with defensive issues, the team has had recurring problems with the referees since their first game against Skyline, garnering 17 fouls throughout the game.
“Thinking back to that first game, I think we let the referees bug us. We were very immature,” Gallmann said. “Tonight we had pride, and we got back after them in the second half, but when No. 3 (Woodson) decided, ‘Well, give me the ball and I’ll get it done,’ we didn’t have an answer for that.”
“Our coach tells us not to react, so that’s the best thing you can do,” Richards said. “It’s super hard not to react, because on the court there’s passion, there’s energy–but, I mean, the best thing you can do is just ignore it honestly, because you can’t change the call by complaining.”
