Rams drop two close games to Chabot and Sierra and are quickly
eliminated
Gavilan coach Tito Addison hoped the momentum of playing well one week ago in the Wine Country Classic would carry over to the Monterey Peninsula College Tournament.
However, that wasn’t the case as the Rams dropped two games and were eliminated from the MPC event. After dropping a 72-62 decision Thursday to Chabot College, Gavilan was bounced from the tournament Friday by Sierra College, 76-72.
“I would like to have seen a little more resolve from the guys,” Addison said. “I thought the momentum from playing well in Napa (where the Rams won twice and lost one game by two points) would help us.”
Gavilan (3-7) came close against Sierra, trailing by two points with 12 seconds left and having possession of the ball. But a Rams’ ballhandler tripped over a defender’s foot and the ball rolled out of the bounds. Gavilan was forced to foul and ran out of time.
“It was back and forth for a long time,” Addison said. “They made a (final) run at us, and we didn’t do a good job of answering.”
Daniel Wynn and Eric Van Vliet each came up with strong efforts for the Rams. Wynn had 19 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. Van Vliet, a 7-0 center, had 17 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots. Luke Murrell added 11 points.
Jessie LoBue and Wynn had 22 points apiece to pace Gavilan against Chabot, but the Rams got little production from their backcourt.
“We don’t play for 1 1/2 weeks, and the break comes at a good time,” Addison said. “We have some issues to resolve. We need to stabilize our backcourt.”
