Coming off of two straight double-digit losses, the Hawks were hungry for a bounce-back performance.
So when sophomore guard Elijah Mobley was lying on the floor holding his knee, squirming in pain, the crowd in The Nest collectively held its breath. With just 30 seconds left in the half, he’d already scored 20 points. The Hawks already had a dent in their once-pristine season, losing two in a row in the No. 1 ranked conference in California. Losing their leading scorer would all but end their chances to contend.
But while the Hawks fans felt their hearts in their stomach, the host bench was busy poking fun at the star player.
“I was actually more jabbing at him for being a weenie,” head coach James Giacomazzi said. “Like, ‘Let’s get out there and go.’ ”
Sophomore guard Sterling McClanahan said: “Elijah hits the ground a lot. So sometimes I don’t know if he’s cramping, hurting, if he just wants to take a second to lay on the ground. … Whatever it is, he knows that the whole team is there for him. If he hits the ground, everybody’s running to go pick him up.”
Mobley bumped knees with an opposing defender, but no significant damage was caused. He was fine. So too were the Hawks, getting back on track with a 106-92 win over the visiting Cañada Colts on Feb. 12.
In the face of their first real test of adversity, the Hawks responded. The home win by the Hawks, now 22-3 overall and 8-3 in conference, keeps them tied with Chabot for second in Coast Conference North. How they finish in conference will factor into their hopes for a top-four seed in the NorCal playoffs.
With the postseason beginning on Feb. 26, the Hawks need to win their remaining three games to potentially earn the right to play host in their regional tournament. Winning requires them to deal with their lingering issues.
Offense was their impediment when losing three of their previous four games. Against visiting Cañada, the defense was their issue. The Hawks struggled to contain the Colts. The 92 points Las Positas gave up represents the third game in a row they allowed a new-season-high in points — after surrendering 80 to City College of San Francisco followed by 90 to Chabot.
The Hawks’ hounding pressure on ball-handlers didn’t suffocate as it once did. Instead, it opened up the opposing offense and Las Positas struggled getting stops. The Colts hit eight three-pointers, doubling the Hawks’ production from deep.
While struggling to slow down the Colts, the Hawks still forced multiple turnovers, finishing with 11 steals. The offense capitalized on the Colts’ mistakes, with their transition offense playing a large part in their scoring.
But the Hawks have a new fire pushing them. The team’s small losing streak was pivotal to their turnaround. The noise surrounding their losses woke them up.
“We know what’s at stake,” McClanahan said. “We’ve heard all the talk, all the chatter about us sinking, us going to a place we can’t come back from. But we know the work we put in. We know we trust each other.”
Key to the slumping Hawks was the offense dragging its feet. They failed to score 80 or more in their last four games. They were re-energized against the Colts — their 106 points marked the third-highest point tally of the season. And they did it even though their three-point shooting still faltered (4-for-14).
Mobley bore the torch of the resurrection, scoring a season-high 33 points. His scoring came from finishing strong at the rim, his drives drawing multiple fouls. He went 11-for-12 from the free-throw line.
“I just took what the defense gave me,” he said. “I let the game come to me and I gotta give a shout-out to my teammates. They were finding me in transition a lot.”
Alongside him was McClanahan. His performance emulated the Hawks’ offensive turnaround. In the last four games, he averaged 6.7 points, less than half his season average of 14.7. He was 1-for-11 from three-point range during the stretch.
In the first half, it seemed his struggles would continue. Then, he found his spark.
An aggressive drive to the rim with 13:04 remaining in the game led to a tough layup plus the foul. McClanahan yelled into the crowd. A minute later, he caught the ball on the right wing and rose up with confidence, drilling his first three-pointer of the night.
“I was putting up a lot of shots regardless of my slump, and I just couldn’t buy a basket,” McClanahan said. “But I knew I was going to get out of my slump… So seeing one go down tonight was good, and it made us a lot better.”
He finished 9-of-19 from the field and 2-of-6 from deep, scoring 25 points, 19 coming in the second half.
Sophomore guard Jorren Edmonds also bounced back from a rut. After scoring just four points against Chabot in their previous game, he finished with 16 points against Cañada to go with four rebounds and three assists.
“We just didn’t want to burp a lot of early ones because our percentages scared the hell out of us,” Giacomazzi said. “We couldn’t throw it in the ocean. And I think sometimes when you do that, you think about it, and then it makes it worse.”
In the process of finding answers, the Hawks have discovered a new contributor off the bench. Freshman forward Damian McAlister has become a key part of the defensive rotation. Standing at 6-foot-6, his height and length provide the Hawks with another option for pressure.
After dealing with a sickness that sidelined him for two weeks, he has started gaining a rhythm on offense. He scored eight points with 11 rebounds against the Colts, following a 10-point outing against Chabot.
“He can pop (and) hit the open three, get offensive rebounds,” Mobley said. “He adds so much value to the team.”
The Hawks feel they are now past their first slump of the season. With only three games remaining until the start of the postseason, their focus is now shifting their mindset to prepare for the playoffs.
To Giacomazzi, losing in this conference is to be expected. Flaws will be constantly attacked. But he feels it allows them to better recognize their weaknesses so they can address them before they end their season prematurely.
“You’re going to have some hiccups and if you don’t play well you’re going to get beat,” Giacomazzi said. “I’m proud that we had good effort today, and I thought we played really hard for a long period of time and they stuck with the game plan.”
They are back to carrying the same confidence that led them to earn the No. 1 JUCO rank in California. A confidence they now believe will propel them to a high NorCal seed.
“We have to come in every game like it’s a one-game season now,” Mobley said. “We want that first-round bye and we want all home games until we make it hopefully to the Elite Eight.”
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TOP PHOTO: Sophomore guard Sterling McClahanan finally recaptured his offense, scoring 25 points against Cañada. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
Jakob Arnarsson is the Managing Editor and Sports Editor of The Express. Follow him on X, formally Twitter, @JakobA2004
