The Trojans completed a magical weekend on Sunday with a thrilling 62-60 victory over Cabrillo College to win the Annual Skyline College Classic.
The Trojans began the tournament with a convincing win over College of Marin, 83-72. Skyline College had five players score in double-figures. The next evening the Trojans faced College of the Siskiyous in the semi-finals. Skyline College trailed by seven points at half-time, but rallied to take the lead 60-59 on a basket by Kevin Brandenberg with less than thirty seconds to play. Siskiyous answered with a basket to take the lead with 6.7 seconds remaining. The Trojans quickly inbounded the ball and advanced it up the floor. Once again, Kevin Brandenberg found himself with the ball and a chance to take the lead. He drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer sending the crowd into pandemonium. The win over Siskiyous avenged one of the Trojans two losses on the season. Ironically enough Skyline College lost to Siskiyous by the exact same score earlier this year. In the first match-up, it was Siskiyous hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer late in the game.
All the excitement on Saturday night carried over to the Tournament Championship match-up with the 13th-ranked team in the state, Cabrillo College. Once again, the Trojans found themselves in a back-and-forth affair, trailing by one at half-time. The second half remained close until Cabrillo knocked down back-to-back shots from long distance, giving them a nine-point lead with six minutes to go. Skyline College came roaring back and pulled even on a basket by Aaron Brown with 37.3 seconds to play. Cabrillo called time-out and prepared to hold for the game’s final shot. Skyline College’s defense held strong and forced Cabrillo into a tough shot. Aaron Brown was able to grab the rebound and race coast-to-coast for a driving layup in traffic before the final horn sounded. The Trojans had pulled off the upset 62-60, once again bringing the crowd to its feet.
For the Trojans, Brandon Berkovatz was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Kevin Brandenberg was named to the All-Tournament team. With the win over Cabrillo, Skyline College improved its record to 7-2 on the season. The Trojans play its next three contests on the road before returning home to face West Valley College on January 3rd. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Article and Photo by Justin Piergrossi.
