Rams prevail despite sloppy performance

By Aaron Turner
Staff Writer

Two weeks after their victory over College of the Sequoias in the Fresno City Tournament championship game on Nov. 21, the Rams beat De Anza College 94-75 on Dec. 5 at the Wellness Center.

Sophomore forward Da’Ron Sims led the scoring attack for City College with  20 points as the Rams (7-1) turned a high-scoring, yet sloppy, performance against the visitors from Cupertino.

After jumping out to an early lead during the first half, the team went into halftime leading comfortably at 45-29. They were forced to play a man down as freshman forward Jon Williams left the game with a lip contusion.

Turning to his reserves, Rams head coach Justin Labagh was able to get a spark from the bench when freshman forward Hamilton Chang stepped in for the missing Williams, chipping in 11 points in a strong backup effort.

Sophomore guard Chibuzo Emeka  was also able to provide solid defense off the bench to help City College maintain their lead.

“We don’t win that game if not for Hamilton and Chibuzo,” Labagh said. “It’s difficult the position they’re in, but they contributed when they needed to contribute, and I can’t say enough about those two.”

Early in the second half, De Anza took advantage of the Rams’ loss of size, going on a scoring surge to cut the lead down. Midway through the half, the lead was whittled down  to 58-49. However, that would be the closest the De Anza Dons got.

Sophomore guard Steven Brown widened the lead to 66-51 with a couple key buckets from beyond the arc. An ensuing 10-3 run would put the Rams in control with only five minutes left, shutting the door on any thoughts of an upset.

After the game, Da’Ron Sims spoke about what he felt had been a sloppy victory.

“You practice like you play,” Sims said. “It’s all about focus and we had been off all week. We just need to make sure to always stick to the game and prepare for every game.”
Labagh shared similar sentiments about his team’s performance.

“I don’t think we should have given them more than 30 points,” Labagh admitted. “We’ve got to work on our help-side defense and our movement on offense. Our mentality can’t be to simply outscore everyone. That’s not going to win us a championship.”

The Rams will get a chance to improve when they head into the San Jose City College Classic, which will tip off on Dec. 10 in San Jose. City College will take on Alameda College in the opening round.

Follow the men’s basketball games streaming live at www.justin.tv/ccsf_basketball.
Both home and away games will be available with no charge.
For more information, contact the basketball office at (415) 239-3401.