Rams hold off Hawks rally, improve to 21-1

Rams freshman guard Ivan Dorsey soars high for a shot over Las Positas center Tim Thomas Jan. 21 in the Wellness Center. Dorsey scored 16 points in the Rams victory over the Hawks as City College remained undefeated in the Coast Conference.

By Bontã Hill
The Guardsman

The City College men’s basketball team withstood Las Positas’ hot second-half shooting and won their 16th straight game by outlasting their Coast Conference North foes 81-72 at the Ocean campus Wellness Center, Jan. 21.

The Rams faced adversity for the first time in weeks as the Hawks were within five points, 74-69, with 1:47 left in the game. That was as close as Las Positas would get. City College hit their free throws in the final minute to improve to (21-1, 6-0).

Collin Chiverton scored 19 points, all in the first half, and Ivan Dorsey dropped in 16, vaulting the Rams through the first half of the conference schedule undefeated.

Still, City College head coach Justin Labagh knows his team can get a lot better and feels his own team is its toughest opponent.

“The only guys that are going to beat this team are the guys in our locker room,” Labagh said. “Once they figure out that they could be their own worst enemy, it’s going to be tough to beat us.”

In the first half, Chiverton and Dorsey were lights out from beyond the arc and carried the Rams to a 16-point halftime lead, 44-28.

Chiverton sank four three-pointers in the half, and Dorsey dropped in three of his own, including a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer.

“It was a team effort,” Dorsey said. “We just moved the ball around, got the ball in the post, they passed it back out to me and I just knocked down the open shot.”

It seemed the Rams would cruise into their 21st win of the season when they jumped ahead 56-36, but the Hawks wouldn’t go back home to Livermore without a fight.

Down 20, Las Positas went on a tear from the three-point line, making seven in the second half as they kept the Rams’ faithful on edge.

Guard Dwight Abad led Las Positas with 15 points, including three from beyond the arc, and forward Brandon Tatum added 14, but they were unable to climb back from the double-digit deficit.

“Against a good team like [City College], we can’t turn the ball over the way we did,” Las Positas head coach Tony Costello said. “They hit tough shots and to their credit, they made them. They capitalized on our mistakes and that was the bottom line.”

After winning a grueling game against Chabot College Wednesday night and holding on for the victory against Las Positas, the Rams will have a week off before they play Foothill College Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Wellness Center.

Despite giving up most of their 20-point lead, Labagh didn’t dwell on the negatives from the game, and afterward reflected on his team going through the first round of conference play undefeated.

“The positives are that we went through league, we’re 6-0, and everybody has to chase us down,” Labagh said. “That’s what we wanted to do, and that’s what we got done tonight.”