Hawks get routed by No.2 San Francisco for their second loss in a week
With under five minutes remaining, Elliot Mobley went through his normal free-throw routine. The Nest was eerily quiet, allowing him the privilege of calm. With the game’s conclusion on the horizon, every possession increased in magnitude.
He bounced the ball, turned it over in his hands, before settling into his stance. He rose up, flicked his wrist and sent the ball towards the rim. It hung in the air, before falling to the ground.
Except it didn’t go through the basket. It didn’t even manage to reach the rim. Air ball.
It was one of those nights for the Hawks.
“We just slowed down too much on offense,” sophomore guard Jorren Edmonds said. “We didn’t really know what we were doing.”
Mobley’s miss didn’t cost them. They were already down by 20. But it illustrated the struggles they endured. Rubbed salt into their wound.
The Hawks suffered another home loss, falling to No. 2 City College of San Francisco, 80-61. It was their second loss in a week.
The Hawks conference championship aspirations took a hit with the defeat. The Rams have now leapfrogged the Hawks atop the Coast Conference North standings. San Francisco has just one loss in conference. Las Positas now has two. So barring a surprising loss by the Rams, the best the Hawks can hope for is to hold onto that second place.
After winning 20 consecutive games to start the season, the Hawks have hit a rough patch. On Jan. 10, they won at San Francisco, by 12 points, for their biggest win of the season. The Rams were ranked No. 1 in the state, so the Hawks victory announced them as a legitimate contender.
In the rematch, Las Positas seemed outmatched. Outclassed.
The Hawks’ offense crumbled under the lights. Their 61 points was their lowest of the season. Their second lowest came in their first loss of the year, a 69-68 loss to Skyline.
Now the Hawks need a rebound. Losing to the best team in the state isn’t the end of the world, but it showcases how far they still have to go. To be able to truly compete for a state title, they need to summon their best against the top teams.
No one seems to be panicking on the Hawks. Instead, they still say they feel good about their ability to compete.
“We’ve played San Francisco for four halves, and we’ve led three of the four halves,” head coach Giacomazzi said. “So it’s not like we’re a bad basketball team and all hell’s breaking loose. We got outplayed in the second half of this game to a really good team, and you just move on.”
The first half ended with the Hawks on top 32-28. It was a continuation of their defensive prowess over these Rams. They are still the only team to hold the Rams under 70 points in a game, who’s average of 93.3 points a game sits fourth best in the state.
Despite their early defensive success, the offense remained stagnant throughout. It eventually led to the Rams breaking through the Hawks stout defense, scoring 52 points in the second half.
The same persistent issue hurt the Hawks again — their recent struggles from three. The Rams hit 11 shots from deep. In the Hawks win earlier in the year, they held them to just four made threes.
The Hawks shot 2/22 from three. Their only two makes came from freshman Coby Christensen, who led the team with five attempts. In their last three games, the Hawks are an abysmal 4/49 from deep. They have given up 32 threes during that same stretch, being outscored in that region by 84 points.
“Players got to make plays,” Giacomazzi said. “You got to get in the gym. You got to get more shots up…you hope those reps play into the game. But yeah, quite frankly, we’re struggling. We’re getting good looks, now how do you put them down?”
Key to the Hawk’s offensive struggles was Elijah Mobley. Mobley, their leading scorer, struggled for the second game in a row. He finished with 10 points while shooting 3/14 from the field. He is 0 for his last eight attempts from three.
“I feel like every time I touch the ball it was 10 eyes (on me),” Elijah said. “No. 5 (Miles Amos), No.2 (Jermaine Haliburton) and other guys who matched up with me, I feel they did a good job pressuring me. Then their other four guy’s behind just helped and disrupted my shot’s.”
Along with Mobley, the whole offense sputtered. Edmonds, who came off of a season high 28 points against San Mateo, led the way with 12 points. Sophomore big Mecca Okereke started off strong, grabbing 10 first half points, but was shutout in the second. He also had eight rebounds with four blocks.
Sophomore guard Sterling McClanahan managed only nine points while leading the team in steals with three. He has encapsulated the team’s recent struggles from three. He has made only one of his 11 attempts from deep in the last three games. He had been the only consistent threat from three this season for the Hawks.
Meanwhile, the Ram’s offense was led by sophomore guard Ray-John Spears, who scored 23 points. Amos, another sophomore guard, added 16 points for the Rams, nearly matching his 18 points in their previous matchup.
This loss is set to leave a mark. It’s their first double digit defeat since their playoff upset last season, a 81-69 defeat at home to Los Medanos. It ends what’s been the teams worst three-game stretch of the season.
With five games left until the start of the playoffs, the Hawks will have to turn it around quickly. Their blueprint remains the same — taking everything a step at a time.
“It’s really just one game at a time, one practice at a time,” Elijah said. “We can only go up from here.”
The next step sees them travel to take on their sister school, the Chabot Gladiators. In their previous matchup, the Hawks came out on top 79-73. Coming off of their recent slump, it would be safe to assume they would be tentative.
But that’s not who the Hawks are. Even after dealing with their first big loss of the season, the Hawks confidence hasn’t taken a dip. Instead, they are excited to get back to work and back to their winning ways.
“Come back tomorrow and focus on Chabot,” Edmonds said. “We gotta beat Chabot by 20.”
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TOP PHOTO: Freshman forward Damian McAlister trying to dribble around a San Francisco defender (No. 33) in Las Positas’ lopsided home defeat on Feb. 5, 2025 at Las Positas College. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
Jakob Arnarsson is the Sports Editor of The Express. Follow him on X, formally Twitter, @JakobA2004.
