The only thing more dangerous than a bear is a cornered one. Who has their back against the wall with nowhere to run. A massive beast, with potential for incredible power, forced to show it.
That’s how the Hawks felt going into Ohlone.
After two games where the Hawks had danced between the line of remaining undefeated or being usurped, they came into the Renegades building prepared for another fight. Except they came in without all their weapons.
Only nine players dressed for the game, with sickness spreading across the team. It seemed the Hawks might finally be met with their first loss of the season.
Instead, they showed their fight.
“We knew we only had maybe eight, nine guys coming in today,” sophomore guard Sterling McClanahan said, “so we knew that it was going to be a dog fight. We all had to put our best effort in, and we knew if we put our best effort in, that we would come away with the win.”
The Hawks beat the No.22 ranked Ohlone Renegades 85-63 on Wednesday, Jan. 22. It keeps the Hawks perfect at 19-0, and 5-0 in Conference. City College of San Francisco is the only team who are within a game of the Hawks.
It saw them return to their dominant form. After back-to-back close encounters, winning by a combined seven points, they now add their 11th win by 20 or more points on the season.
The lack of depth gave them a chance to strengthen their already forming main rotation — their five starting sophomores paired with the freshman big Jaden Woodard and guard Richard Banks. They have now proven capable of doing the job by themselves. Come playoffs, they hopefully won’t have too.
“They took a lot of pride in that,” head coach James Giacomazi said. “They wanted to do well and they wanted to carry on regardless, even though we were missing some guys… they had to carry the slack tonight.”
Sterling McClanahan, a sophomore guard, showcased his own resilience. Early in the second half, he took a hard fall. It required him coming out of the game. Even when checked by trainers, he often winced out on the court.
It didn’t matter. McClanahan couldn’t allow the pain to win. His team needed him. So he showed up.
“My back started hurting really bad,” McClanahan said. “I was just like, I don’t even care about scoring, because my back was hurting. It was stiffening my whole upper body. So I was like, let me focus on defense, rebounding and just do the little stuff. And eventually, shoots started falling.”
McClanahan finished with a team high 22 points on 18 shots, while hitting three of his five attempts from deep. He put the team on his banged up back, leading them to a resounding victory despite their lack of numbers.
Along with McClanahan was the scoring of Jorren Edmonds and Elijah Mobley. The sophomore guard duo did their damage with efficiency, finishing a combined 13-19 while scoring 21 and 18 respectively. They also hit 11 of their combined 12 free throw attempts.
The team as a whole had one of their more efficient nights, shooting 50% from the field. It’s the first time in five games and the sixth time on the season they shoot 50% or better.
After getting dominated on the glass in their last game against the Cañada Colts, the Hawks wanted to sure up their rebounding. McClanahan, Edmonds and big man Mecca Okereke each grabbed 10 rebounds, while the team finished with 42.
Along with their rebounding, the Hawks again showcased their quick hands on defense, collecting 10 steals. Edmonds led the way with four while Banks had three.
Despite not having everyone available, the Hawks still looked to play to their speed. They played their usual press defense to try to up the game’s tempo. The breakneck pace led to multiple Hawks facing injury scares.
Along with McClanahan landing on his back, Edmonds also tweaked his ankle. With 4:42 to go and the Hawks already up 78-61, Mobley grabbed at his lower leg after missing a layup. It turned out to just be a cramp, with him returning after about a minute and finishing the game.
Despite multiple close calls for their three best scorers, the Hawks had no thoughts of slowing down.
“We have to play to our identity,” Giacomazzi said. “What you do have to do is maybe tweak your practice… we bought a bunch of liquid IVs so the guys can hydrate. We’re getting a lot of Epsom salt stuff — they can soak their legs and get some magnesium in their legs to try to recover faster muscle recovery, because the kids are putting a lot of strain on their bodies and it’s not easy, but that’s a part of conditioning.”
It’s why in the future, having their entire bench will be key. But they now know it doesn’t dictate their success.
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TOP PHOTO: Sterling McClanahan (black jersey) attempts a layup in the paint against Ohlone. (Photo by Jakob Arnarsson/ The Express)
Jakob Arnarsson is the Sports Editor of The Express. Follow him on X, formally Twitter, @JakobA2004
