The Dons came into this one with a 3-4 record while not much was known about Las Lomas who came in just 1-1 due to some very relaxed preseason scheduling.  The Dons have actually not won in this building since January 8, 2010 – a thirteen year drought!  We are still banged up with some key players out and have already lost two from the roster due to season ending injuries. 

The game opened at a frenetic pace with Las Lomas pressuring full court non stop.   You could tell the intensity of this league opening game was going to be different as there were several heated jump balls between the teams with both sides refusing to give up an inch.  Dons avoided another poor start and were down 17-16 at the end of 1st. 

Dons needed a quick timeout in the second as Las Lomas went on a 7-0 run to start and were up 24-16 with at one point.  Dons hung tough but were down 39-32 at half. Julian Vaucher had 21 first half points for Las Lomas with 4 3’s. Liam Krackeler had 8 points, 1 assist, 1 steal, Gavin Dodge had 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and Maddox Malm 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists.

The Dons cut the lead to four in the third before the Knights answered pushing it back to a 49-40 advantage.  Vaucher went out with an apparent knee injury after hitting the deck hard on an awkward play that ended up being a missed layup after Gavin made a great defensive effort but would later return in the fourth.

The Dons kept fighting back and managed to get it back to a 3 point deficit with about 4:30 left to play when Liam found Gavin off an inbounds play. The Knights immediately countered with a bucket down low, then the Dons threw the ball out of bounds and the Knights buried a three at the other end. Down 8 in a flash and we were unable to recover as time was running out.  The Knights tacked on some garbage points at the end to win going away 72-57.