San Diego City College played their second game of the basketball tournament of the SDCC invitational Nov. 14 against league rival the Palomar Comets and took the W within the last two minutes, with a score of 79-74.
City would struggle in the opening minutes allowing Palomar to run the first few minutes and lost any form of dominance over their opponents.
Palomar took the lead until the last few minutes of the first half when City seemed to find a sense of confidence, heading into the locker room with a lead of 34-32.
The Knights would lose the lead and have to fight back and win by a margin of 79-74. Coach John O’Neil of Palomar said “this was the second game of the year, we are playing league teams. Neither of us wanted to play each other, all we are looking for is improvement.”
City’s top scorers were forward Dunnell Webb Jr. with 20 points, followed closely by Travis Wilson with 19 points.
The ever-hard working 5-foot-10-inch Steven Aldridge contributed with 14 points. Aldridge constantly attacked the hoop; he would add 2 blocks, both of the caliber of someone much taller than the freshman guard.
Guards Andre Domingo, Jason Sanchez and Timell Thomas, all under 6 feet showed the tenacity of giants in their play.
City would again seem to lose their defensive stance and often seemed lost in the back and were at times unsure of whom and where to defend.
Individual brilliance in the likes of Abdi Faras is blatantly visible but he lacks a sense of aggressiveness that is displayed by the opposition and his team mates. One could almost compare him to Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets upon his entry into the NBA, highly talented but to passive and gentle.
Palomar displayed numerous signs of rough play and there was an abundance of shirt puling and fouls that went conveniently unnoticed by the officials.
“We played well, we are young and made a lot of mistakes. A lot of the guys first game in college,” said Webb Jr.
The victory was welcomed after the last minute defeat of the match against Cypress. Coach Charlens said “we are still not playing our best, knowing how to pressure on defense without fouling is the next step. “We do this to win.” as Coach K says. “Celebrate your victories.”
