The Cosumnes River College men’s basketball team lost to Columbia College in an 87-80 game on Saturday.
In a high-intensity game with many turnovers and scoring opportunities, the Hawks fought hard to the last minute. With fouls being called on the Hawks paired with some defensive errors, the team fell short of their third win of the season.
“It was definitely competitive,” said sophomore guard Kaleb Drake. “That’s gonna be a playoff team, we’re gonna be a playoff team so that’s kind of a glimpse of what it’s gonna look like down the road.”
Drake put up 12 points for the Hawks on Saturday before fouling out with a couple of minutes left on the clock. He said he plans on working to not foul as much moving forward in upcoming matches to allow himself to stay in the game.
The Hawks fell behind early after Columbia won the jump ball to start the game. Good passing and ball rotations allowed them to stay in the game with a close score of 43-36 Lions going into the second half.
“Defensively we fell asleep, we lost guys in rotation at times which gave up a lot of open shots,” said Assistant Coach Bernard Seals. “We just have to do a better job of communicating with each other and not ball watching.”
Going into the second half of the game, the Hawks stepped up their game speed and took more shots. Fouls by Columbia created opportunities for free throws and the Hawks made 12-of-16 from the free throw line.
The free throws along with 15 points scored by sophomore guard Brandon Scott allowed the Hawks to make a slight comeback in the second half. With a clutch three point shot by Drake, the Hawks were chasing four points with less than two minutes left on the clock.
The Hawks struggled to score in their final possessions of the game. They also were called on a few fouls, giving up free throws with seconds left.
“We lost this game with self-inflicted wounds and I feel that turnovers played a major part in the loss today,” said sophomore forward LaDarius Stanfield. “We let them just get on top of us from our mistakes.”
The next home game for men’s basketball will be on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.