[Men's Basketball] Hawks Fall to Spirit in GSAC Clash

SURPRISE, Ariz. – In the first of two make-up games against OUAZ, the SDCC men's basketball team wasn't able to calm the hot-shooting Spirit as they fell 98-74 Monday night.

OUAZ shot 61 percent from the floor, including 11-of-21 from behind the arc.

"Ottawa was the stronger, smarter team today," head coach Dwayne Cosby said. "They attacked our post players for 40 minutes, which opened up wide open opportunities for their dynamic guards. We went over pick and roll defense exclusively last night, it just didn't translate to the game."

The Spirit sprinted out to an 11-4 lead. SDCC was able to trim that deficit down to five points with a small run of their own but OUAZ kept the points coming to lead by as much as 15 in the opening half. Trailing 47-32, Teyden Gause scored five-straight points before Elijah Jackson hit a jumper to pull within eight points, which was the deficit at the halftime break.

The Hawks came out in the second half much better in the first. They started on a 10-2 run to tie the game at 51-51. Greg Chew accounted for six of those points. He ended the game with 14 and collected 12 rebounds. Both OUAZ and SDCC battled for the next five minutes. OUAZ's lead never saw more than four in that stretch.

With 11:23 remaining in the game, the Spirit started to pull away thanks to an 11-0 run. SDCC was unable to slow the Spirit down as they coasted to the victory.

 "Our conference is well scouted, and information travels fast, it's no secret the GSAC is attacking my post players, coach Cosby said. "Jermaine, Greg and Kavonte have to adjust and trust. Adjust to how we need to execute and compete in the GSAC and trust the information in the scouting report. The trust starts with information and ends with application, we did not apply the defensive adjustments we practiced. We will be better tomorrow."

Gause led the team with 21 points, a day after learning about the passing of a family member. Kavonte Kinney added a double-double off the bench with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

"On another note, we wanted to play well for our brother, Teyden who lost a loved one last night. We admire his strength and want to thank our community for embracing him with prayers, calls, and text messages. It's what makes our College special," coach Cosby said.