Gavilan fans were treated to a dunking clinic Thurs-day night,
but no one was clapping.
Gavilan fans were treated to a dunking clinic Thurs-day night, but no one was clapping.
Gavilan was ahead most of the night against visiting Skyline, but lost 82-77 in overtime.
“It is tough because I think we should have won that game,” said Gavilan coach Chris Shoemaker. “But at the same time, it is encouraging because it has been a long time around here since we have had a game we can say we should have won.”
Both teams are currently 1-7. Skyline had players on its team from all over the country and had its own skyline of players like 6-8 Sal Vance, who had 15 points including nine in the overtime session.
Even with the height disadvantage, the Rams were consistently hitting the back-door shots.
“In the first half we really worked hard to execute on both sides of the floor,” said Gilroy grad Erik Nelson, who scored all eight of his points in the second half and in overtime. “In the second half, we got a little more stagnant on offense.”
Another guy who came up big for the Rams was former Haybaler Tommy Sondgroth, who led all scorers with 20 points. He had a couple threes in the second half that helped the Rams build a lead.
Sondgroth had a give-and-go basket, and Lionel Smith hit a nice little turn-around jumper to give the Rams their largest lead of the first half at 20-12 with 7:10 to go. At the half the Rams led 32-28.
In the second half, the Rams built up a 10-point lead at 38-28 after Goode hit a pair of free throws in the first five minutes.
But Reggie McCuller, who led Skyline with 17 points, hit one of his three treys in the second half to tie the game at 47 with a 9:48 to go.
Gavilan held a 59-51 lead with six minutes to go and a 61-57 lead with under four minutes remaining, but then the Rams started to fall apart under the pressure.
The Trojans came back to tie the score at 64 and had a last-second basket that was not allowed to send the game to overtime.
The Rams will play at San Francisco City College on Dec. 17 and will next play at home Dec. 23 against De Anza.
“We will be playing against bigger people all year, and we just have to learn how to compete,” Shoemaker said.
