Rams guard Willie Williams (3) attempts a layup in a game against Las Positas. Williams finished with a team-high 25 points on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. Bob Kinoshita/The Guardsman
The Rams head to the playoffs on a high note after their 82-70 win against the Los Positas Hawks on Feb. 21.
The victory secured a Coast Conference North Division championship for the Rams, the program’s 13th consecutive conference title.
The last matchup between the two teams ended with the Hawks suffering a fourteen-point deficit to City College. Los Positas came out swinging this game, hoping it was time for payback.
“We’ve developed a lot since the first game for sure, a lot more team chemistry, hitting more of our open shots,” said guard Jermaine Haliburton.
The Rams took charge at tip-off, with guard Ray John Spears drawing a foul to put the first point on the board after four offensive rebounds.
Both teams started aggressively on both ends of the court in the first half, but it was City College who maintained control. Despite their efforts, Los Positas remained locked up under a tight Rams defense and were kept to just two points on the board in the first three minutes of the game.
“We knew coming into this game they were going to play hard too,” said guard Miles Amos. “So we knew we just had to lock in for the full 40 minutes.”
The Hawks came back in the first quarter with a 7-7 tie just before the Rams found their groove and peeled away, ensuring a lead for the remainder of the game.
Point guard King-Jhsanni Wilhite knocked down the first three of the game which sent the Rams on an 11-3 run in just a few minutes.
With a ten-point lead in the first quarter, power forward D’Aunte Johnson intercepted a pass, dribbled behind the back in transition, and fed it back to Ray John Spears for another three-pointer. Feeling hot off the fresh three, Spears tipped away a pass for another turnover and fed it to Willie Williams who took flight with a show stopping dunk attempt. Although he couldn’t throw it down, the attempt had the fans on their feet.
Head Coach for the Los Positas Hawks James Giacomazzi threw his arms in defeat as more of the Ram’s open threes connected on goal.
With five minutes and 30 seconds left in the first half, the Hawks answered with a three-pointer and a time-out. Despite trailing in points, the Hawks continued the fight with each team accumulating 10 fouls in the first half.
In the final two minutes of the first half, the Rams finished strong with a 9-3 run thanks to two turnovers and the team went into halftime with a 40-30 lead.
The Rams dialed in during the second half, pulling away with back-to-back three-pointers by King-Jhsanni Wilhite and Miles Amos. D’Aunte Johnson secured an offensive rebound to extend the Rams lead by 20 just five minutes into the second half.
“We were just looking for stops, we knew our defense could turn to offense really. Once we started getting stops and everything started to pick up, that’s how we were able to extend the lead to 20…” said Amos.
In the final ten minutes of the game, the Hawks rallied to close the gap to a 12-point deficit after drawing a foul and securing possession after a turnover. The Hawks caught the rebound off a three-point attempt and drew a foul on their layup for a huge three-point opportunity. Still, the Rams maintained a ten-point lead.
The fight wasn’t over for Los Positas as they scored fourteen points to City College’s fifteen in the final six and a half minutes of the game.
In the final 60 seconds, Ray John Spears drove through the paint for a layup and extended the lead by twelve. The Hawks lost possession and the Rams took two more shots on goal before Jordan Aquino ran down the clock and ended the game with a comfortable 12-point lead and a final score of 82-70.
“We didn’t execute our game plan but we were able to get the win, I thought we could’ve improved our defense. But overall we’re feeling good going into the playoffs” said D’Aunte Johnson after the game.
“They got us in the transition at the end… I know it’s not over, onto the next one” said freshman Willie Williams, who led the team in scoring with 24 points overall.
The Rams’ next game will be the second round of the Northern California Regional Playoffs against Gavilan College, on Saturday, Mar. 2, at 7:30 p.m. on City College’s Brad Duggan Court.