The Skyline men’s basketball team lost 73-65 against Chabot College on Feb. 12 at the Skyline College gymnasium. The game was Skyline’s final matchup against Chabot College this season, as they lost their previous game to Chabot 61-49.

Chabot came out putting immediate pressure on Skyline as they scored on multiple shots and were able to get a double digit lead before Skyline was able to put any points up on the board. Chabot maintained a lead of at least 10 points throughout the first half. Chabot led at halftime 26-39.

After coming back from the locker rooms Skyline pushed hard to get back in the game. While they closed the gap to below 10 points in the last few minutes of the game, it was not enough to secure the victory.

One of the challenges posed for Skyline was Chabot’s ability to find their way into the gaps on defense, creating a problem to shoot freshman wing Ta’Saan Clark said.

“They were denying a lot of our actions, a lot of things that we do to get open,” Clark said. “And it kind of messed up a little of our offense.”

Clark mentioned the team made the game closer in the second half, but more importantly they stayed together and finished the game as strong as they could.

“We all accept a win, and we accept a loss together. That’s always a positive because we’re brothers, we’re a brotherhood. We’ll always have each other’s back,” Clark said.

Head Coach Justin Piergrossi, said that he was disappointed with the loss against Chabot, especially on Sophomore Night.

“When you’re in a big game you want to play your best and you lose, you lose,” Piergrossi said. “We were so far away from that. That’s what’s disappointing to me.”

Piergrossi said that although he was frustrated with the loss, he mentioned a few players who stood out that night such as sophomore wing Aidan Carleson who played possibly one of his best games that night. Also Clark came off the bench to play some great minutes with purpose, and sophomore point guard Dio Lucido played extremely well throughout the game.

Sophomore point guard Aaron Friedkin said it was a learning moment for the whole team as he mentioned how Skyline should have been more ready to punch first in the game, and jump on top of the other team with a lead.
“I think we learned from it,” said Friedkin. “Hopefully no more slow starts and we’re ready to go when the whistles blow.”

Skyline will be playing their last home game against Las Positas on Friday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.