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Published on 02/01/1999 All articles from this issue

Owls survive slump, beat Dons by three

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By Pete Borello / Town Crier Staff Writer

Foothill Roundup

Women's basketball

The Owls have seen the enemy and it is them. The Foothill College men's basketball team has lost more than a few games this season due to their inconsistent play.

"We tend to have lapses," coach Todd Petersen said. "We'll get a big lead and then let down."

The Owls did exactly that Jan. 27 against visiting De Anza, but this time they managed to hang on for a 69-66 victory.

"We got lucky," Petersen said. "We escaped with that one."

The Owls appeared to have the game well in hand with 45 seconds left, going up by 11 points on O.J. Longmire's uncontested dunk.

Foothill wouldn't score again, however, coming away empty on three trips to the foul line.

De Anza, meanwhile, went on an eight-point run. And after the Owls committed a turnover under their own basket, the Dons had 2.1 seconds to force overtime. But to Foothill's relief, Jason Beyer's three-point attempt at the buzzer fell short.

De Anza battled back from a double-digit deficit in the first half as well. The first 12 minutes of the game belonged to the Owls, who jumped out to a 31-11 advantage. Foothill hit three consecutive three-pointers during this stretch, two by point guard Tyler McClenahan.

The lead quickly evaporated, though. The Owls missed their next 10 shots from the floor and started slacking off on defense. This helped rival De Anza cut the lead to 35-30 by intermission.

"I burned two time outs late in the first half to tell them, 'Don't let up,' and they didn't listen to me." Petersen said. "I was furious at halftime."

Foothill opened the second half with more intensity, scoring back-to-back buckets on short-range shots by Billy Brooks. But De Anza wouldn't go away, slicing the lead to 54-53 with 8:30 left.

Longmire and Randall Powell helped make sure the Dons wouldn't get any closer. The 6-foot-5 Longmire, who finished with a team-best 16 points, pushed the lead to three with a strong move to the hoop. Powell put his leaping ability to good use by scoring the next two baskets on put backs and swatting a drive by De Anza's Aman Heren in between.

Foothill then went back to Longmire, who quickly attacked the basket in an effort to eliminate foul-plagued De Anza center John Smith from the game. The plan worked, sending Smith and his game-high 21 points to the bench for good with 5:36 left. Longmire hit one of two free throws to give the Owls a 61-53 edge.

Longmire was one of four Foothill players to score in double-digits. DeMarco Majors tallied 12 points, four of those in the final five minutes, while Powell and McClenahan had 11 each.

Foothill followed this win with another on Friday, stunning host San Jose City 69-66. Jimmy White hit the game-winning shot with four seconds remaining, draining a three-pointer from the left side. The win moved the Owls into a second-place tie with San Jose at 3-2 in conference.

Host Foothill dismantled De Anza 86-57 last Friday.

The Owls had five players score in double digits, but coach Jody Craig said defense was the key.

"I credit our defense for the win," Craig said. "I thought we did a great job defensively stopping their transistion game and making them play half-court offense."

De Anza (4-4 conference) had a much tougher time guarding Foothill (6-2). Mia Sibug led the Owls with 15 points, while Ekuah Ramsey scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds. St. Francis High grad Shawna McGlennon added 13 points, Jennifer Tsang had 12 and Sheree Taft finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Dons' top scorer was Pinewood School product Alex Cribbs, who tallied 17 points.

Two days earlier, Foothill fell 64-58 to host San Jose City (8-0, 21-5). The Owls led 33-22 at halftime, but were out-scored 42-25 in the second half.

Craig said fouls played a major role in the turnaround, as Foothill picked up four during San Jose's first possession of the second half. This put three players in foul trouble, forcing the Owls to make substitutions and play less aggressive defense.

Foothill's leading scorer was Ramsey with 14 points, followed by Erin Stanbridge's 11. San Jose was led by two players with local roots, Cortney Keegan (St. Francis) and Brie Ahern (Homestead), who scored 14 each.