The Rams men’s basketball team beat their conference rivals, the Chabot Gladiators, 70-65 in the South Gym Jan. 11, extending a 9-game winning streak that started Dec. 14.
The team relied on the stellar play of freshman forward Justin Brownlee, who scored 32 points and had 11 rebounds and four assists.

The Rams (18-2, 2-0) found themselves in foul trouble early in the game. Freshman guard Roburt Sallie committed two fouls in the first two minutes and spent the first half on the bench. Sallie still managed a 12-point effort while grabbing five rebounds.

“After being down in the first half,” Sallie said, “we had to make some adjustments. Most of our starting five were in foul trouble, so we couldn’t have all our starters out there at once.”

Assistant coach Adam D’Acquisto put the victory squarely on the shoulders of Brownlee’s performance.

“We’re lucky Justin had a big game,” D’Acquisto said. “We’re still waiting for our whole team to play together and not make mistakes. When all five starters show up and play their best, we’ll be unbeatable.”

Sophomore guard Brandon Wiley had a tough game, playing well below his 16-point average by scoring four points and getting only three rebounds, down from his average of eight per game.

The Rams went back to the locker room at the half down a basket. It looked like the Gladiators (15-8, 1-1) were going to dominate the Rams early in the second half. Then the Rams picked up the pace and manufactured an impressive 12-3 run led by Browlee’s inside penetration and speed. The Rams led 53-44.

After a Chabot time out, the Gladiators battled back with a four-minute, 13-3 run that leveled the game and gave them a 57-56 lead with just four minutes left on the clock.

“We’re the best team in the state,” said Sallie after the game. “If we keep playing these close games, they’re going to bite us in the butt.”

The Rams are ranked No. 1 in the state and will play the Ohlone College Renegades (11-7, 1-0) in their final game at the South Gym on Jan. 16 at 7:30 p.m. The Rams will move to their new facility in the Wellness Center, closing an era that started when the South Gym first opened in 1940.

 

 

 

E-mail: sports@theguardsman.com

 

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Women's Basketball Team Starts Season With a Winning Record and Spirit

BY MATT MCFADDEN
STAFF WRITER

The Rams women’s basketball team is off and running, winning three of their five pre-season tournaments and posting an overall 17-5 pre-season record.

"Playing in five championship games has really helped our confidence going into the regular season,” coach Jamie Wong said.

The Rams women are led by 21-year-old freshman point guard Georgia Onyemem, who averaged 20 points, five rebounds and four assists in the pre-season.

“I want to get better game by game, and I hope we can win a conference championship that can give us the confidence and seeding to win a state championship,” said Onyemem.

The team plans to start two freshmen post players — Monique Calvello and Mary Afuhaammango.

“The pre-season really helped our young players adjust to a more fast-paced game than they were used to in high school,” said Wong.

Wong also described versatile sophomore guard Kimberly Hom as the team’s “glue that keeps them together. She is very supportive of her teammates.”

The Rams women hope to wash the bad taste from their mouths after being eliminated in last year’s playoffs. Wong believes that this team is hardworking and athletic enough to do so.

The road to a conference championship begins tonight at 5:30 p.m., when the Rams host Foothill College in the South Gym — the two schools have shared first place in the conference for the last three years.

 

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Pauly's Point-Spread

BY PAUL WERTHEIM
STAFF WRITER

So Terrell Owens showed his human side this weekend. His lips quivered and tears gathered behind his black aviator sunglasses.

I’d cry too if I had played in big championship games with three different teams and never won a Super Bowl. I’d even cry if the 7.5-point underdog New York Giants came into my house and tossed me around like a rag doll and left my hopes for glory 365 days in the future.

But I certainly wouldn’t cry after defending my quarterback’s ill-fated decision to escape for a weekend with his celebrity girlfriend to some cozy little love shack in Cabo San Lucas — only a week before the single most important game of his career. T.O. cried in victory, after catching a Jeff Garcia game-winning touchdown pass in the 1998 NFC division championship game against the Packers (who, by the way, T.O. will be watching — not playing — next Sunday at Lambeau Field). And now he’s cried in defeat, but not because his team lost, but because the media questioned Tony Romo’s decision to go on vacation before the NFC division championship game? I thought T.O. cried when he didn’t get the ball.

I like the Giants up in frigid Green Bay this weekend. The line opened Sunday night at a menacing seven points. The game Sunday will have two former City College football players on opposing teams. Safety Gibrill Wilson for the New York Giants secondary, and second-string linebacker Desmond Bishop will be trying to stop the powerful Giants running back Brandon Jacobs for the Green Bay Packers. Get your popcorn ready T.O.

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