San Antonio College Men’s basketball team improved to 3-2 for the spring season after taking down Northwest Vista College 94-70 at home Feb. 14.
After defeating the Our Lady of the Lake Saints Feb. 7, Northwest Vista looked like a favorite over the Armadillos, who lost to the Saints Feb. 11. But SAC Point Guard Eli Rodriguez told SAC Student News, the Armadillos were confident going into the game.
“[The game] against OLLU was a close battle,” Rodriguez said before tipoff against NVC on Valentine’s Day. “We saw what we could do … We saw NVC beat OLLU, but we are definitely prepared.”
The game started as a defensive battle. SAC forced two turnovers in the first quarter and took an early lead. SAC Shooting Guard Arian Elizondo put up 12 points in the first half.
The Armadillos have sought to improve their defense in recent games, experimenting with defensive schemes.
“We are trying to switch things up, to go from zone to man — see what they give us,” Rodriguez said. “They are not much of a shooter team.”
The Armadilloettes Dance Team performed during halftime for the second home game this semester.
“For our first year, I think these girls have done a tremendous job,” Armadilloettes Dance Team Manager Rikkandra Gonzalez told SAC Student News. “We never had a spirit team. Seeing other schools come out to our school as we are beating them … we need the spirit out there.”
Shooting Guard Devon Gilmore started the second half strong, quickly scoring four points. But the Armadillos slipped toward the end of the third quarter, giving up three turnovers in the last five minutes.
“I started off pretty hot,” Elizondo said in a postgame interview. “We should have beat Our Lady of the Lake. There were some mistakes … but I feel like we executed the game today pretty well.”
SAC Guard Demetrice Mims had a hot second half, leading the Armadillos offense with 16 points. Mims finished with 18 points total and was the Armadillos’ top scorer.
“The game went well,” Mims told SAC Student News after the game. “The first half was close. We knew we could beat them. We brought intensity to the second half. I had to stop overthinking.”
SAC Head Coach Jimmy Alcala said he appreciated the unity his team showed during the game as well as their defensive improvements.
“We are always trying to figure out their weak point. If you noticed, they were always trying to drive, drive, drive,” he said. “We got Northeast Lakeview coming up next week. They haven’t lost a game …. Let’s keep working.”
The Armadillos defeated Northeast Lakeview College on the road Feb. 21 and sit at 4-2 for the spring season. They will travel to St. Philip’s College Wednesday night to try and improve to 5-2.
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