Men defend winning streak

Zack Tobita

The Guardsman

The City College Rams defeated the Foothill Owls 69-42 on Feb. 1 and remained undefeated.

City College freshman guard Quincy Smith drove the lane relentlessly on his way to 15 points, and went 11 for 11 from the free-throw line.

The Rams (23-0, 7-0 Coast-North) got out to an early double-digit lead and the game had the looks of a blowout early, but the Owls (17-4, 5-2) would answer.

Owl’s sophomore guard, Suhail Mohammadi got the hot hand and led a comeback that saw the Owl’s go up 26-21 forcing City College to call a timeout with 3:36 left in the first half.

City College was able to regroup after the timeout and rally their way back to a 33-27 halftime lead with a smothering defense, and a crucial three-point play converted by Smith to end the first half.

The Rams came out of the break sharp on both ends and never looked back as they extended their lead to 42-27 in less than three minutes.

With 13:58 left in the second half, freshman guard, Dulani Robinson dove for the ball and called a timeout as he got up in pain.

“Talk to them Dulani, Dulani,” head coach Justin Labagh said vehemently.

Labagh was vocal with Robinson throughout the game.

“He [Robinson] sometimes checks out of the game… so if he’s talking he’s going to be more dialed in,” Labagh said. “That’s how we want him to do it, plus it helps the team out.”

Robinson addressed his injury after the game.

“I just rolled my ankle, it’s hurting right now but I’ve been playing through it,” Robinson said.

After a slow start, Wright was able to assume the role of floor general finding his teammates for easy buckets, while adding 17 points of his own.

“I was only scoring, so I was trying to get some assists and balance the stats,” Wright said.

Sophomore guard Shawn Smith equaled Wright’s output of 17 points.

Sophomore center Gabriel Aguirre’s imposing size in the post contributed to the Rams’ second half dominance.

“We were making the effort all night long and I think we just wore them down a little bit,” Labagh said.

The Rams host Cañada College of Redwood City on Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.