The Trojans were looking for their third win in the Coast Conference North on Friday, Jan. 27 at Skyline, but couldn’t seem to find it in a 79-66 loss to the Las Positas Hawks (3-4).
But after all was said and done on Friday night, it appeared that both teams still had a bit of fight left in them, which manifested itself in the form of a physical altercation after the final buzzer.
Skyline wing Nate Gartrell got into an ugly scrum with a couple of Las Positas players during the post-game handshake. The players continued to hurl insults back and forth as the coaches and other teammates attempted to break up the fight before it escalated any further.
The chaos lasted only a minute before being quelled by the coaches, after which the Trojans withdrew to the locker room.
But the battle before the final buzzer was just as big of a spectacle.
Las Positas jumped out to a quick start against the Trojans, easily outplaying Skyline for most of the first half and leading with a score of 35-15 at one point.
There were a number of factors that lead to Las Positas’ first half dominance, chief among them being turnovers committed by Skyline.
Las Positas’ stifling defense also gave the Trojans some trouble. The Hawks defense succeeded in keeping the ball mostly near the top of the arc, not allowing the Skyline forwards to dribble their way into the paint for the more promising scoring opportunities.
What made matters worse was that the Trojans were having trouble hitting their long-range jump shots in the early going, compounded by their lack of rebounds at both ends of the court.
Las Positas was leading by a score of 39-27 at the half, as a somewhat dejected- looking Skyline team headed for the locker room.
But the Trojans emerged, seemingly with new confidence, and played a much more convincing second half.
Skyline played much more aggressively, forcing turnovers that led to the occasional breakaway chance, coming down with more rebounds, and most importantly hitting more of their shots.
The Trojans very nearly pulled off a second-half comeback, thanks in large part to sophomore point man Kyle Wong, who had a 19-point game, and freshman guard Agustin Arroyo, who had 14 points.
Both, it seemed, were three-point machines. Wong sank a couple of shots from 3-point range on back-to-back plays, and Arroyo racked up a few himself before the night was over.
With their help, the Trojans were able to pull within six points late in the game, but Las Positas was able to hold off Skyline and widen their lead in the game’s dying minutes.
Skyline’s next home game is against Ohlone College on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m.
To watch a slideshow of pictures from this game, click here.
