Las Positas Looks Back On Strong Season After Playoff Loss

Las Positas College men's basketball coach James Giacomazzi was hoping to make a deep run in the playoffs, but it wasn’t to be.

The Hawks, seeded 11^th in the CCCAA Northern California Regionals, fell to host No. 6 Santa Rosa 88-75 in Friday’s quarterfinals. The Bear Cubs will face No. 3 Gavilan in the Regional Finals on March 9, needing one win to advance to the State Finals.

“We came into the SRJC game with a good strategy and executed it for most of the night, but when we didn’t, to their credit, they made us pay,” said Giacomazzi, who has guided the Hawks to the playoffs for four straight seasons. “Tie game with just over two minutes to go, the game was up for grabs, but they made bigtime shots and plays down the stretch that proved to be the difference.”

The big picture remains bright for the Hawks, who finished 21-7 and finished second in the powerful Coast-North, with a school-record nine conference wins. The 21 total wins is second most in program history.

“It’s hard to process at the moment because we are disappointed, but our guys did accomplish a lot throughout the season,” Giacomazzi said. “Michael Hayes finishing as No. 3 scorer in California (23.7 ppg). John Ketchel finishing as No. 1 assist man in California (8.0 apg). A lot to be proud of and shows that we are an ascending program that is respected as one of the best programs in the state.”