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DCCC men’s basketball team a four seed in playoffs

The DCCC Phantoms men’s basketball team advanced to the semi-finals, but ultimately ended up losing to the Community College of Philadelphia, 64-60, on Feb. 12.

This was the third time this season the CCP Colonials, the defending champs, beat the Phantoms.

Despite the Phantoms leading nearly the whole game, in the end, the Philadelphia Colonials broke a 53-53 tie with 5:54 remaining and went on to win 64-60.

“We couldn’t close tonight,” said Phantoms guard Patrizio Capolli, a 19-year-old liberal arts major. “We had a lead on them all game, just couldn’t close. We didn’t come through in the clutch like we usually do.”

After finishing the season 15-8, the DCCC Phantoms men’s basketball team clinched a four seed in the Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference playoffs.

The Phantoms, coached by head coach Dwayne Saunders and assistant coaches Larry Fain and Nicole Taylor, matched up with Reading Area Community College in a round one showdown.

The Reading Ravens entered the playoffs with a record of 10-8 and found themselves as a five seed. The Phantoms previously beat the Ravens twice during the regular season, first on Nov. 6, (82-73), and again on Jan. 8, (86-75).

The third and most important meeting took place Feb. 10 at Bucks County Community College where the whole tournament besides the championship was played. Loyal Phantoms fan Louis Noverati, an 18-year-old education major, was on hand for the game. Noverati said the team’s high power offense, and capitalization on turnovers impressed him this season.

The Phantoms came out strong behind starting forward Zak Thomas, and took an early lead.

They never looked back.

Starting guard Desmond Belton scored 11 points in the first half and guard Miguel Pagan followed with seven.Highlighting the first half was an enormous block by Capolli. This sent the DCCC fans and bench into a frenzy.

The Phantoms went into half-time with only a one-point lead despite being up as much as 12.

After the break, DCCC recovered.

Thomas caught fire and scored 16-points, seven of which came from the free-throw line.

With 6:33 left in the game, it was tied at 63-63.The Phantoms broke the tie and never looked back.

Thomas led the team in scoring with 22 points, and Belton ended up with 18 points. The two combined for nearly half the final score, 84-76.

The victorious Phantoms had beaten the Ravens for a third straight time and advanced to the semi-finals.

Saunders was satisfied with the win, but knew there was more work to be done.

“Our patience, execution, and the offense [can be carried over to the next round],” Saunders said. “We have to do a better job playing man-to-man defense and staying in front of people.”

Close to 48 hours later, the Phantoms matched up with the Community College of Philadelphia. The CCP, the overall one seed, went a perfect 18-0 in league play.

The Colonials went up 4-1 very early on, but the Phantoms battled back and took the lead, which they held throughout the half.

Forward and center Steven Thompson came out physical and was all around the rim, scoring 10 points in the first half. Thomas picked up where he left off against Reading, scoring eight points in the first half.

The Phantoms took a 29-26 lead into half-time, just 20 minutes away from defeating the defending champs.

Unfortunately for DCCC, their lead would soon disappear.

Capolli came out of the locker room and made his presence known, hitting three 3-pointers in a row. “I took a chance and started making them, so I kept shooting more,” Capolli said.

The Colonials battled back and took a lead with 5:54 left to play. In the end, the Phantoms season came to a halt.

The Colonials won 64-60, advancing to the championship to play Thaddeus Stevens Community College.

The DCCC faithful were stunned.

Capolli led the team with 15 points and the duo of Belton and Thomas combined for 21 points.

“We had a new coach come in with a bunch of returning players,” said Andrew Johnson director of wellness, athletics, and recreation. “You never know how that is going to work out. Coach Saunders and his players had an excellent season to my standards both on and off the court. They have turned around a program that was struggling and made us all proud.”

Contact Bill Goldhahn at communitarian@mail.dccc.edu

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