CONFERENCE CHAMPS. Destination: San Diego

BY ZURI BERRY
Contributing Writer

PHOTO BY NATHAN WEYLAND / GUARDSMAN

With the conclusion of the 2004-05 season, the men’s basketball team is looking forward to San Diego, the last junior college state championship tournament game.

City College coach Justin Labagh is confident as the squad goes into the playoffs. “This year’s team took a little longer to get going,” Labagh said. “I like where we are this year compared to last year, with all the weapons we had.”

With all-state team selection Johnnie Bryant gone, the Rams have posted a 17-9 record and have garnered a similar 7-2 record in the North Coast Conference. This is comparable to last season when their record was 22-5 (8-2). Last year, the Rams went on to lose in the second round of the playoffs to the College of Sequoias, 88-65.

This year’s squad shares even more similarities with previous teams.

The 2002-03 pre-Labagh era Rams were 19-14 after skidding to a preseason 12-9 record. They eventually lost to San Jose City College in the second round of the playoffs.

This year’s Rams also had trouble in the preseason, going 9-7. The Rams started this year 7-7 and then caught on fire with two non-league wins against Sacramento, 71-64, and Shasta, 73-71.

If history is any indication of the future, the Rams would be pegged for an early exit. But a different sort of swagger is prevalent this year.

The Rams began this season on a four-game winning streak before dropping a couple of games against Ohlone, 48-46, and Chabot, 64-63.

But the team had already caught steam, which was evident by losses of two points or less in conference games. Their conference wins have averaged 21 points and have gained them the 11th rank in Northern California.

City College hasn’t lost since their Jan. 14 game against Chabot and has since split wins with Ohlone, 79-71, and Chabot, 84-66. The Rams are currently on a seven-game winning streak as the 10th seed in the playoff brackets and are tied for first place in the conference with Chabot (7-2).

The Rams ended the season with a strong performance against visiting Foothill by blowing out the Owls 80-45. The game was never close, and five Rams each scored in double figures.

“We were ready, we were dialed in. We came in on a roll and we’re playing our best basketball now,” Labagh said.
Returning players Juma Kamara, with 16.6 points per game, and Harry Brown, with 13.2, have been key in keeping the Rams afloat.

“The guys who’ve been really consistent have been Lex James, Brown and Kamara,” Labagh said. “The big keys are Alec Von Tellrop, Ike Count and Eric Turner; they’re going to decide where we go.”
“The mentality is that we’re going to go down to San Diego,” Labagh said.

“It’s a matter of not taking steps backwards. We’re always trying to improve,” Von Tellrop said.

Now the Rams have to start making their own history.

SCOREBOARD

Baseball

Los Medanos 6 Rams 3
Despite a strong performance by freshman pitcher Tyler Axelrod, Los Medanos defeated the Rams on Saturday, marking the team’s fourth straight loss. Axelrod’s impressive 6 1/3 innings in which he allowed only three earned runs, was not enough to make up for the seven errors committed by the Rams. Ryan Peterson (2-3, one RBI) and Derrick Reynolds (2-5, one run scored) led the way offensively. The loss dropped the Rams’ record to 3-7. Their last win came on February 17th, when Bob Wilson hit a bases loaded double in the top of the ninth to give the Rams a 4-3 victory over Diablo Valley. – Jon Gunton



Track and Field

City College athletes continue to run away with accolades. The Rams have several state leaders in various events, for both men and women. At the DeAnza Rotational, Daniel Rollins finished in a first place tie in the 100m dash at 10.70 seconds. Ameer Tillman leads the state in the 400m dash at 49.09 seconds. The Rams hold the first three spots in the 800m run, with Francis Gadayan leading the way, followed by Bryce Adams and Joshua McBride. On the field, Shawna Ellis still stands out for the women, leading the state in both the long and triple jump, with distances of 17.7’ and 37.5’ respectively. Ellis also stands third in the state in the 100m dash at 12.73 seconds. -Dan Verel

WOMAN NAIL TITLE: Finish in three-way tie

BY CODY COTULLA
Contributing Writer

Freshman forward Rosezetta Henderson displays patience at the free throw line. PHOTOS BY NATHAN WEYLAND / GUARDSMAN

The women’s basketball team won a share of this season’s Coast Conference championship games and finished with a 6-2 conference record which put them in a three-way tie with Foothill and Mission colleges.

Head Coach Jamie Wong said she was excited about what the team had accomplished. “I’m really proud of the girls. All of their hard work during the season really paid off,” she said.
In addition to the team championship, several City College players received individual recognition.

Center Ramona Vae was named conference co-MVP; guard Nia Reate-Galarza and forward Pernisha Battle were voted to the All-Coast Conference team; guard Trisha Alaba and forward Marie Tomasulo received honorable mention.

During the last eight days of the season, which ended on Feb. 18, the three teams who would become co-champions played each other.

On Feb. 11, Vae and Reate-Galarza both scored 19 points to lead the Rams to a 68-59 victory over Mission College, completing a sweep of their two-game season series.

The Rams fell behind early but battled back to end the first half tied at 24. In the second half they got the ball inside to Vae, who went 7-8 from the free-throw line and scored all six of her field goals. On the following Wednesday, the Rams traveled down the peninsula to play Foothill College hoping to beat the Owls and avenge their only conference defeat, but lost 74-61.

The Rams played aggressively, something Wong said they didn’t do in the first game against Foothill.Both teams were also a little out of control, overthrowing passes and turning fast-break opportunities into turnovers.

Still the Rams went into half time with a one-point lead, 32-31, and held a six-point lead with 11:30 left to play. They committed their seventh foul and put Foothill into the penalty.

Foothill assistant Warren Voyce said getting into the penalty made a difference.

“That really raised our energy level. I think we felt that we could be aggressive, and every time they fouled us we were going to shoot free throws,” he said.

The raised energy level paid off for the Owls — they denied Vae the ball on the inside, breaking up or stealing passes, and forcing the Ram’s into bad shots with the shot clock running down. With 8:25 left, Foothill took the lead for good.

While the energy level of the Owls went up, the energy level of the Rams dropped.

“It was like we were up, but when they came back, it looked like it kind of killed our fire,” said forward Chloé Bell.

Wong said confidence was a factor, and going into the playoffs her players have to believe they can win.

“Now we’re going back to the gym and practice, and get them to understand that they are just as good as the next team out there and the bottom line is that they just have to know that,” she said.

Following the Foothill game, the Rams closed out the season at home with an 85-47 defeat of De Anza College, 1-7. The win guaranteed a playoff spot and Mission’s victory over Foothill created the three-way tie for first in the Coast Conference championship.