CRC Hawks (9-17, 3-11) @ #26 Sacramento City College (18-8, 9-5)

@ Sacramento City College

Sacramento, Calif – Cosumnes River (9-17, 3-11) and #26 Sac City (18-8, 9-5) always make for a competitive rivalry contest. On this day, it appeared that might not be the case. The story of the first half was the Hawks could not find the bottom of the net. Their defense was effective most of the way, but offensive struggles really put CRC in the hole. The Panthers had a strong advantage with a 41-22 lead at the break.

The Hawks have been in this type of situation several times this season...playing from behind and fighting back hard to give themselves a chance to win in the closing moments.

Second half play was inspired and driven. That mentality was led by Kenneth Cooley who collected a double-double at 18 points and 10 rebounds. Cooley also dished out 4 assists. Center Dillon Iyawe had another near double-double with 8 points and 13 rebounds. Stellar defense created momentum and faster tempo for the Hawks. During the Hawks run, Ju'Vae Randolph hit two crucial threes to get the Hawks within 4 points.

In the last few minutes of the contest, CRC got to within 4 points on two more occasions. Unfortunately, a lay-up and putback attempt both missed on a steal-fastbreak, and the next possession was a untimely Hawks turnover. The large first half deficit was a bit too much to recover from. CRC fouled on the last few Sac City possessions to stop the clock and hope for missed free-throws. Unluckily, Cosumnes River took a 74-69 loss on the road.

The Hawks return home this Friday for their season finale against #9 Santa Rosa 5:30pm. This is also our Sophomore Night where we will recognize Kenneth Cooley, Terrell Garner, and Brandon Gray. The contest will be streamed live on NorCal Sports TV YouTube channel.