In a close battle between the 10-0 Acalanes Dons and the 10-1 De Anza Dons, our boys came up short in a heart-breaking 70-67 loss. Acalanes plays in the consolation game against Pittsburg at 4:00 today.

De Anza came out fast, quickly scoring and forcing turnovers with their pressing defense. The Dons fought back, taking the lead 18-17 at the end of the first quarter. But De Anza’s aggressive play led to a lead change, with De Anza up 39-31 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Dons’ steals and fast breaks helped narrow De Anza’s lead to 1, but fouls called against the Dons allowed De Anza to push their lead back to 7.

The Dons never gave up. With 1:30 left in the game, the Dons tied the game 64-64 on a basket by Scott Ruegg, assisted by John Kalil. De Anza then hit one of two free throws, and Derek Kotarba swished a 3-pointer, briefly giving the Dons a 67-65 lead. But De Anza answered with a 3-pointer and made two free throws. With 17 seconds left, De Anza was up to 70-67. The Dons, who were plagued by fouls and injuries, couldn’t close it out.

Graham Smith made three 3-pointers, and Jackson Aris-Dumas and Scott each had two 3-pointers. All three scored in double digits.