The Skyline men’s basketball team took their first conference loss 73-56 at the hands of the City College of San Francisco Rams Wednesday, Jan. 15 in the Skyline College Gymnasium. While the Trojans were tied at halftime, an inconsistent offense and turnovers led the Rams to take home the victory.

Head coach Justin Piergrossi said while the team executed well against the Rams defense, the team struggled to maintain their level of offense in the second half.

“We could probably execute a little bit better on offense, I thought our defensive execution was fantastic but we didn’t quite get what we needed done on offense,” Piergrossi said. 

The loss put the Trojans in fourth place in conference and the Rams in second just behind the undefeated Las Positas. 

Sophomore point guard Aaron Friedkin gave the Trojans an early boost, scoring four of the team’s first six points of the game.

Five minutes into the half, the Trojans offense scored on three consecutive possessions, taking a 17-14 lead and holding it until the Rams reclaimed the lead at 29-28 with four minutes remaining.

The Trojans finished the half tied at 30-30.

Freshman guard Alain Kazarian said the team’s success in the first half was largely credited to the group’s composure on offense.

“[The Rams] like to apply a lot of pressure, full court…so we did a good job staying composed, playing our game, and controlling the tempo,” Kazarian said.

Heading into the locker room, Piergrossi said he had told the team not to get complacent, as he felt they had played well enough to have taken the lead going into the second half.

“I just told the guys they needed to get ready for a much better half out of San Francisco,” Piergrossi said.

After halftime, the Rams offense took control, building a 10-point lead within the first five minutes of the second half and maintaining it until the end of the game.

While the Trojans battled back to close the gap to 44-40 with 12 minutes remaining, the game ended 73-56, handing the Trojans their third overall loss of the season

Friedkin said that although it was a tough loss for the team, he remained positive about his teammates’ effort throughout the game.

“I’m super proud of the way our team competed even when we were down,” Friedkin said. “No one showed any signs of quitting, everybody kept telling each other we’re going to battle back.”