The De Anza College Dons beat the Hartnell College Panthers 80-63 in their last home game on Feb. 18.
“The outcome of the game was in our favor,” said head coach Jason Damjanovic. “We won that game for the sophomores.”
It was sophomore night for both the men’s and women’s basketball team, so the evening started off with Damjanovic and announcer John Cefalu calling the sophomores to the center of the court.
The Dons got the tip off with sophomore Dj Rodriguez, their leading scorer, making the first basket.
It was a close game in the beginning, with the Panthers taking an early lead, but the Dons tied the score 7-7 four minutes into the game.
After making another shot, the Panthers were able to take a small lead. But the Dons stepped up, hitting the next four shots and taking back the lead 16-9.
With 11 minutes left in the first half, the Dons were up 22-15.
The Panthers tried to stay close but the Dons kept their distance. With 2:26 left in the first half, they had lengthened their lead 36-23.
Then, with a quick grab of the ball, Rodriguez drove down the court for an easy basket. After a couple of free-throws from the Panthers, Rodriguez shot a successful 3-pointer and fellow sophomore Nate Vieira repeated the action.
As the clock wound down, no other shots were made in the first half and the Dons went into halftime leading the Panthers 44-26.
Rodriguez and freshman Josh Bongers led the team in shots made, assisted by two
back-to-back shots from sophomore Kenny Robinson, two 3-pointers from Vieira and one from Kyle Connor. Jordan Belton tallied up the remaining points.
In the second half, the Dons maintained their lead. The Panthers made the first two shots of the game, but were unable to catch up and take a lead. For every shot the Panthers made, the Dons matched with a shot of their own, maintaining their lead.

Five minutes into the first half, the Dons were up 51-34. Halfway through the second half, the lead stood 62-43.
For every shot the Panthers made, the Dons matched with a shot of their own, maintaining their lead. The night would ended with freshman Chris Turner dunking the ball with not a single Panther to stop him.
The Dons won the game with a final score of 80-63.
Leading scorers of the game were Bongers, with 20 points, Rodriguez with 17 and Vieira with 12 points. Making up the rest of the points were Belton, Mitchell Hickman, Robinson, Chris Shaw, Connor, Turner, and Cooper Wilson.
The Dons say farewell to sophomores Nate Vieira, Kyle Connor, Dj Rodriguez, Kenny Robinson, Jordan Belton, Mitchell Hickman, Chris Shaw, and Joseph Foster.