Former players and Skyline alumni came ready to watch the Trojans battle the Rams of City College of San Francisco on President’s Day weekend.

It was the largest crowd for any Skyline basketball game this season. With the stands nearly at full capacity, it was a night that will forever be remembered by the sophomores in Skyline’s basketball program. Sophomore Night marks the last home game that any second-year players will ever play in Skyline’s home gymnasium. On this night, Skyline honored eight sophomores, who will be leaving Skyline’s basketball program next season.

The men and women’s basketball team came ready to play their home finale of the season on Friday, Feb. 17. The women’s basketball team tipped off first to start the night. Immediately, the lady Rams set the tempo of the game early, applying full-court pressure defense. Facing a 46-23 deficit at halftime, the lead was too much for the Lady Trojans to overcome, and the Lady Rams cruised on to win 88-40.

For the Skyline men’s team, it was a tough challenge to face the Rams, who were the state champions last season. The City College men’s team set the tempo of the game as well from the start, applying full-court pressure defense and using their size to gain an advantage over Skyline. After the Rams jumped out to an early 56-30 lead at the half, they never looked back as they cruised on to win 107-52 over the Trojans.

Despite the tough losses for both teams that night, it still didn’t detract from the hard work that the sophomores displayed in both the men’s and women’s basketball programs this season. Women’s head coach Trisha Hosley explained how proud she was of the five sophomores on her team: Kelly Huey, Sherine Johnson, Stephanie Johnson, Grati Vitug and Ashley Lotti.

“As a group of sophomores, they’ve done a really good job of leading and continuing our program in the right direction,” Hosley said. “They’ve set really good examples of what we’re looking for in terms of dedication and work ethic.”

Stephanie Del Bianco, a freshmen guard, believes the sophomores motivated the freshmen this season.

“They gave a really good effort: They were always at practice and gave 100%. They were awesome . . . (and) very motivating,” Del Bianco said. “They made us play harder and work harder as freshmen.”

For the men’s team, only three sophomores played on the team this season: Kyle Wong, Anthony Smith, and Naim Tate will be leaving the Skyline men’s basketball program. Men’s head coach Justin Piergrossi explained how much the sophomores will be missed next season.

“They were the heart and soul of our team. . . Our captains, Anthony and Kyle, always lead by example. . . They’re extremely competitive kids. . . Their work ethic was fantastic,” Piergrossi said. “The sophomores were really good kids. . . We’re going to miss them in a lot of different ways.”

Men’s assistant coach Eddy Harris, who worked with the men’s team every day throughout the season, also had encouraging words for the sophomores and for the future of the program.

“Those three will be surely missed. . . But the good news is we have a lot of freshmen coming back who have played a ton this year for us,” Harris said.

The Skyline men’s team will be returning 11 players next season, and the women’s team will be returning eight. The Skyline women reached the playoffs this season, but recently lost on Feb. 22 in the first round of the Northern California regional playoffs to San Jose City College, 55-48. With more than half of the team returning as sophomores for both basketball programs next season, the future is bright for Skyline basketball, as they will prepare to make a long run in the conference playoffs next season.