Skyline (6-4) defeated Cabrillo College (5-6) 75-66 in the first round of the 22nd annual Skyline Trojans Classic Dec. 6.
     The last few minutes of the game Cabrillo had fought back from a halftime deficit of 41-26 to come within five points of Skyline 70-65 after Cabrillo’s forward Vince Inglima scored three of his 19 points to bring them back and Skyline was trying to hold that slim five point lead with 1:10 to play in the game.
     “I was hoping we would keep our composure,” said Trojans power forward Tremaine Fuqua. “Limit the turnovers so [Cabrillo] wouldn’t have a chance to come back. As long as we got the win it was all good.”
     Along with Inglima, Hawks center Matt Towsley also gave the Trojans fits as he scored 15 points in the contest. He also put Trojans center Tremaine Fuqua in foul trouble. With Fuqua in foul trouble, Rod Picou stepped up in his place and scored 16 points. Picou is one of five players to score in double figures in the game.
     “I started playing my game,” Picou said. “Everything was coming to me, and Tremaine helped me a lot too because Tremaine takes a lot of pressure off me.”
     In the opening minutes of the game, Cabrillo scored all their points via the three-point line, as the Hawks racked up nine points against the Trojans. Skyline fought back in the game and cut the Cabrillo lead – from 12-8 to 12-11 – after Trojans forward Jason Holman scored three of his five points on a three-pointer, forcing the Hawks to call a timeout with 11:43 to play in the first half.
     Later in the half, the Trojans got their first lead of the game when starting guard Will Wheatley hit one of his two three-pointers in the game. Wheatly scored 10 points overall.
     “I thought I played decent,” Wheatly said. “Mainly I was trying to get everybody involved and not worry about scoring, and get everybody the ball at the right place and make everybody happy.”
     The Trojans will next play in the winners bracket Saturday evening at 5 p.m. as they roll against West Valley College (5-3).
     In tournament play, it is better to play in the evening than in the afternoon with players having to wake up early and play in the later hours.
     “You get to rest your legs more,” said Skyline College head coach Tony Raffetto. “They are working pretty hard out there and their legs get heavy. Plus you get the more rest.”