The Skyline Men’s basketball team are seeded number 12 with an 18-10 record and were set to take on the number 16 seed College of the Siskiyous, who held a 14-13 record. Right before the playoff game, the Skyline Men’s basketball team had suffered a tough loss to division rivals, College of San Mateo but did not let that result affect them, as they demolished the Eagles in their first playoff game.
On Feb. 28, the Skyline Men’s basketball team advanced to the second round of the California Community College Athletic Association (3C2A) Regional Playoffs after eliminating Siskiyous in the first round 82- 54.
The Trojans started hot as they won the tip off and scored a 3-pointer immediately after. The first eight minutes of the game consisted of lots of back and forth possession between the two teams. In the very first minutes of the game, every time Skyline scored, Siskiyous would respond by also scoring. The matched pace did not last longer than eight minutes, as the Skyline defense started to heat up and stopped multiple Siskiyous offensive drives. Every time Siskiyous had possession, the bench players shouted, “defense, defense, defense.” This seemed to rally the five on the court, as the defense held Siskiyous scoreless. The constant defensive stops and scoring in most of the offensive chances that the Skyline team had would shape the score by giving them a comfortable lead in the first half.
At the start of the second half, the Skyline Men’s basketball team controlled the momentum. Skyline once again opened with a 3-pointer that would only set the tone for the second half. Sharp shooter Darrin Lum was 3-for-3 in his 3-point shots in the first four minutes of the second half.
The clock continued to run and Skyline continued to dominate on the court as they held a 23 point lead. Constant communication on and off the field was one of the main keys of the Skyline win, as the team’s communication never ceased even when they had a sizable lead. Siskiyous tried their hardest to keep the score close but failed, and the Skyline defense continued to impress.
The Skyline Men’s basketball team then traveled to Marysville, California, to continue their playoff journey in a matchup against Yuba College. Unfortunately, the Trojans fell to the fifth seeded Yuba College team, 51-63.
