During the second game, on Friday Jan. 18, DVC men’s basketball hosted Cosumnes River College. Highly recruited freshman Jelani Hardaway made his presence felt early in the contest, showcasing both his offensive skills off the glass and his defensive prowess against the Hawks. Hardaway also controlled the tempo early in his role as facilitator of the offense. The Hawks’ zone defense allowed Hardaway to take his time running the half-court offense, exploiting mismatches inside to teammate John Ocon who dominated the boards and added points in the paint.
The Vikings executed their game plan to perfection in the first half, taking a seemingly insurmountable lead into the locker room, leading 32-12 at the half. The CRC Hawks were a long way from a loss though.
During the second half, the Hawks made adjustments, switching to a full court man-to-man defense which seemed to visibly rattle the Vikings. After a few trips to the free-throw line, the Hawks began to sniff a comeback, and their offense found a rhythm with their perimeter shooting. For much of the extraordinarily high-scoring second half, the home squad succeeded in holding off the Hawks’ onslaught.
In the waning moments of the game, the Hawks came screeching back, raining outside shots in succession and capitalizing off turnovers and open shots in transition. When the lead was cut to eight, the Vikings seemed to panic, turning the ball over repeatedly into the teeth of the Hawks’ high-pressure defense. In the last fifteen seconds of regulation, following another 3-pointer, the Hawks tied the game at 71 from the free-throw line.
With seconds left, Hardaway drew a foul, charging the lane and taking advantage on both free throw attempts. But after missing his first layup attempt ,CRC guard Charles Standifer caught his own rebound and made the buzzer-beating put back.
In overtime the shower of 3-pointers continued for Cosumnes River, accounting for 9 of their 14 overtime points. Despite an exceptional singular effort from Hardaway, DVC trailed for the first time in overtime and never quite recovered. The Hawks celebrated on the Vikings’ home floor by a final of 87-84.
