By C.J. Peterson
@SFBayCJ
QUINCY,CA- 232 miles away from Livermore sits Feather River College in Quincy, CA also known to members of the Las Positas community as “the land of no cell phone reception.”
Inside of the Golden Eagle’s home gym, that seemingly has not been renovated since the 70’s, is where the Hawks faced their third round opponent of the CCCAA tournament.
After a long and hard fought battle, the Hawks fell to the Golden Eagles with a final score of 101-95. This marks the second year in a row Las Positas has been eliminated in the sweet sixteen stage of the state tournament.
In a game that pushed the limits of both teams, the Hawks had a multitude of chances to steal a big win on the road.
Up by four points with only three minutes remaining in the game, Las Positas allowed Feather River to go on a 8-0 run that quickly put the Hawks in a four point hole of their own.
It seemed as though whenever Las Positas gained any momentum, Feather River was able to regain control of the game by either going back ahead or pushing their lead even further.
It didn’t help that officiating seemed to favor the home team but more importantly reactions by LPC players to what in their opinion was a lopsided officiated game did more bad than good.
Bench players for the Hawks routinely begged officials to make fair calls on both ends of the floor which came as a displeasure to a very hostile home crowd in Quincy. Caleb Baskett could be heard shouting from his seat on the bench saying “call it both ways.”
These were two really good teams competing and at the end of the day you’re going to get some calls and you’re not going to get some calls. It was a tough one and we could have played a little better too.” said head coach James Giacomazzi on the officiating during the game.
Another problem came from defending the three point line. Feather River College hit eight total three-pointers in route to their six point win. That total nearly doubled what the Hawks were able to manage, only striping five triples on the evening.
As the game winded down to it’s final minutes, the Hawks had a final opportunity to tie the game as Feather river missed four consecutive free throws leaving the window seemingly wide open for a Las Positas come back.
Turnovers and missed shots slammed that window shut in a hurry as a five point deficit in the final minute and 30 seconds ballooned into a nine point hole that was just too much to overcome for the road team in LPC.
While this may mark the end of the 2016-17 season for the Hawks, the efforts and the successes of the season up until this point have not been lost in the shuffle int the eyes of their coach.
“Our guys played really hard all year long and I’m really proud of our kids. We just came up short today” said Giacomazzi.
Even with the Hawks being eliminated form the CCCAA tournament, Las Positas is scheduled to host the “Elite Eight” games on Thursday, March 10, something the team is still looking forward to doing.
“We’ll be there to be good hosts and represent the school in a good manor” said Giacomazzi.