The Skyline men’s basketball team defeated De Anza College 83-79 too snap its seven game losing streak. It was a hard fought victory for the Trojans as they were down for most of the first half, but began to make a comeback in the second half.
Skyline center, Isiah Dixon, who led the team with 23 points said he was happy about both his performance and the teams.
“It’s rough, seeing our team take a couple of losses or more than a couple. I’m just glad I was able to make an impact today,” Dixon said.
Dixon added that it was great to help break the Skyline’s losing streak. He said the team can build off this win and keep this momentum to possibly make the playoffs.
“We just need to continue to build off this energy. In the first half of this game we were very flat and it showed,” Dixon said. “In the second half, we started to play more desperately, and that kind of helped us move forward”.
Skyline point guard Zidane Auzarang, who went scoreless in the first half, turned on a switch at half time. Auzarang made multiple clutch 3-pointers towards the end of the game and ended his night with just 10 points, but showed up when it mattered.
Skyline point guard Branden Antiporda, who was also scoreless in the first half, was a key factor for the Trojans win. With the score tied at 75-75 and 33 seconds left, De Anza began to foul Antiporda putting Skyline in the bonus. Antiporda stayed composed as he went 8-8 on free throws during crunch time to help his team secure the victory.
Skyline head coach Justin Piergrossi said wins are just hard to come by in this league.
“Our league is the number one league in the state. So all of January, all of February, we’re playing very good teams that are well prepared, tough, and competitive,”Piergrossi said.
Piergrossi added how his team was able to flip the script in the second half. “It got a little personal at halftime, I was challenging them to be better and be more competitive. And they answered the call”. Piergrossi continues,
“It all starts with defense, but we did a much better job of taking care of the ball on offense,” Piergrossi said.
Skyline will look to keep this momentum as its next challenge comes up against Chabot College which takes place Jan 30.
