Las Positas Sophs Get It Done In Comeback Playoff Win

LIVERMORE — The Las Positas College men’s basketball team overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half, courtesy of the grit and heroics of its sophomore leaders, to turn back Diablo Valley College 84-79 Wednesday night in the first round of the CCCAA NorCal Regional Playoffs.

The Nest was buzzing for this one. A good crowd watched the back-and-forth battle, the 13th-seeded Hawks turning the tables on the No. 20 Vikings who beat them by nine in nonconference play.

Two-time All-Coast-North Conference First Team pick Jordahn Johnson had a monster first half with seven of his eight blocks, to go with a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Victor led the Hawks with 30 points — one off his season high from a win over Los Medanos on Nov. 4.

The Hawks (18-11), who advanced to the State quarterfinals for the first time last season, will travel to No. 4 Yuba (26-2) in the second round, needing two wins to return to the Elite Eight.

What brought the Hawks back this time? Passion, drive and a sense of urgency, it turns out.

“I really thought they left it all out on the floor,” said head coach James Giacomazzi, who has guided the Hawks to the playoffs seven straight seasons. “This was our last home game of the year and the last time our sophomores will play in that gym, so it’s kind of nice to go out on this note where there's a sweet taste in your mouth.”

Victor proved unflappable under pressure — his two free throws with 11.6 seconds left after the teams exchanged 3-pointers all-but sealed it.

“That was a big win. We knew it was a win-or-go-home situation,” said Victor, a Manteca High graduate. “We also knew that this team had beat us previously in the preseason, so we kind of had a little edge on that. Went into film, had a great week of practice prepping up for this game. We came in and executed the plan like Coach James (Giacomazzi) said it. Luckily, we came out with a win.”

Johnson was in Beast Mode most of the night. He delivered an array of clutch inside shots down the stretch.

“He’s a beast,” Victor said of Johnson, a tough matchup inside for DVC. “Nobody wants to guard him in practice, so you know it’s going to be the same for the games … Jordahn’s playing great for us.”

Victor spurred a 12-0 run in the second half that put Las Positas ahead 65-62 with a 3-pointer and a turnaround jumper, followed by five points from sophomore Brandon Fisher and two Henry Palmer free throws. Fisher also had a clutch 3-pointer from the right corner with 26.5 seconds left off a dish from Patterson, the Hawks’ pilot who doled out 10 assists in the intense showdown.

“He’s been working on that 3-Ball all year and I trusted him, and he was open, so I gave him the ball. That’s my job,” Patterson said.

Giacomazzi added that Fisher and assistant coach Anthony Haskett have put in a lot of work on Fisher’s perimeter face-up game, which “paid huge dividends tonight.”

Patterson and the Hawks faced an uphill battle after trailing by 46-43 at halftime, and then things appeared to be getting away. What turned it around?

“They were trying to pull away, and so we had to come back together,” said Patterson, who overcame a severe leg cramp late in the game. “We know how they play. We talked about it, the last home game. We’re not going to go out like that.”

The Hawks dropped three of their final four conference games heading into the playoffs. The Coast-North is a tough conference -- seven of its eight teams advanced to the playoffs, but Las Positas still felt the need to turn it back up for the playoffs.

“This season has always been ups and downs, super downs and back up, and hopefully this is an up,” Patterson said.

A LOOK AHEAD TO YUBA: Yuba, the Hawks' next opponent, was the unbeaten champion of the Bay Valley Conference. Both Yuba and Las Positas lost to San Jose City this season, the Hawks falling in overtime 91-89 and Yuba losing 83-76, both games in San Jose.

As of Wednesday night, Giacomazzi hadn't seen a lot of film on Yuba, but he had a good idea what to expect.

“At this point there’s no dogs out there, everybody’s good, right?” Giacomazzi says of the Yuba challenge. “I know they’re good. I know they’re gonna be well-coached. I know they’re gonna be deep. I know they’re gonna be talented. I know their gym environment is really exciting. They’re gonna have a good crowd. Our guys are going to have a good experience and an opportunity to do something up there. We’re not going to be timid, we’re not gonna be afraid. We’re going to go there and compete.”