With all but one tournament remaining on their schedule, the Trojans seem like the unspoken one at the party who is really paying for the refreshments. Although they dropped two in a row to close out the 22nd Annual Skyline College Classic, the team is playing within its means.
     Skyline (6-6) fell to its Coast Conference North rival Ohlone College 71-60 in a battle for third-place honors in the tournament. Up until the 37-minute mark, Skyline looked like it could take the trophy. Then, the notorious Ohlone defense tapped into high gear.
     “Down the stretch the difference was they had a higher percentage of shots,” Skyline head coach Tony Raffetto. “We had some good looks, we just couldn’t put them down.”
     Raffetto seems to be biding his time, though, as do some of Ohlone’s key figures such as Brendan Erickson, who contributed 0 points to 131-point affair. Sometimes, though, a game is just that, especially when two talented teams are billed to match up three times in one season. In the case of tournament play, winning is nice, but league wins are the only road to San Diego.
     The University of San Diego is slated to be the sight of this year’s State Championships. And, with Skyline making it to the semi-finals last year, Raffetto has proven he knows how to get there.
     “Obviously you’re not going to win every game,” Raffetto said. “You play these type of games over, and over, and over; eventually you get better and better. You get a feeling as to where they are going to be in league.”
     Ohlone (9-2) was riding a wave of something; be it confidence, or adrenaline, or pride. The Renegades – currently ranked fifth in Northern California – certainly proved its talents’ weight in gold, though. They got key shooting from freshman Mychal Green, who is notorious for dropping dimes from the outside.
     Green did much more, though, as the 6-foot-4 forward showed he can handle the ball, and can also cut the lane.
     “We want to feed the hot hand,” Green said. “Whoever has the hot hand that night, that’s his night.”Green proved it was his night with a game-high 32-points. What’s more, he and his teammates aren’t banking on their good fortune just yet, realizing the win will only make the Trojans that much hungrier for league play.
     “That just puts the target on our chest, because this is a conference team,” Green said. “We play them two more times. So, we just have to be prepared. That’s all it does. It just makes the stakes even higher.”
     The stakes seemed to hit the house limit with five-and-a-half minutes remaining on the game clock and the game tied at 55-55. Then, Ohlone’s Berhane Williams, Ronnie Holmes, and Green got it going. The three combined for all 16 Renegade points in the final minutes. Meanwhile, their defense held Skyline to just five.
     “I’m not sure they’re better defensively (this year,) but I think they are a better team,” Raffetto said. Ohlone’s defense was ranked second in Northern California last season. Despite losing K.J. Rosales – their shaman of steals and ball control – to graduation, the Renegades are still among the top teams in the state.
     They couldn’t stop Hasan Houston for a time, as the sophomore shooting forward put up a team-high 14 points. Houston’s pair of first-half free throws, with 3:31 to go, gave Skyline its second lead of the night. More importantly, Houston was mobile from the outside, side-stepping for two important jump-shots in the first half.
     Kai Bell looked strong in the post, and worked into the passing scheme with guards Scott Holbrook and Eldridge Henderson. Holbrook and Henderson combined for 16 points. Holbrook also racked up key assists.
     Holbrook also demonstrated some magic moves on the inside, proving that getting key position in the low post can lead to a lot of rebounds. At 5-foot-11, Holbrook looks to be the best fit for the first-string point-guard position.
     Despite the tourney’s lack of on-the-record significance (in comparison to conference play), Renegades forward Matt Burkholder said the win was a crucial one.
     “It’s a big win,” Burkholder said. “Ohlone, since our coach (John Peterson) came, we haven’t beat Skyline. We knew that coming in, and we wanted to get it off our back.”Ohlone returns to Skyline for the conference opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
     After the third-place round, West Valley (6-4) and Diablo Valley (12-0) squared off in a battle for first place in the tournament. DVC, the Bay Valley West Conference powerhouse, won the game 52-50 in exciting fashion. Shooting guard Franco Harris stole the crown in the final second with a three-point shot. DVC did their best Lakers impersonation with a manic on-court celebration immediately after the buzzer. Undefeated DVC – ranked first in NorCal, and ranked second overall in California – is one of the favorites to make a run for San Diego.