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Cathie Lawrence

During a loss to the Contra Costa College Comets guard Marcus Walton pulls up for a running jumper through traffic in the paint.

Los Medanos College basketball hosted rival Contra Costa College in the Coaches vs. Cancer Basketball Game Saturday, Jan. 17 to raise awareness and money for the American Cancer Society.
The losses continue a slow start for both teams this season.  The men’s team currently sports a record of 3-15, 0-7 in conference. The women’s team has fared slightly better with a 5-12 overall record, 2-5 in conference.
Head coach of the women’s team Richard Villegas said his team played hard against the Comets, but just fell short.
“They just weren’t knocking down the shots even from the perimeter,” he said. “We just came up on the short end. The effort was there and I’m proud of their effort.”
Head coach of CCC’s women Paul De Bolt agreed that LMC played hard and gave his team a hard fight.
“We played hard and it was a tough game.  Los Medanos has a big team and they have big girls. So we had to make some adjustments on that; we had to stand the press for the whole game.”
The adjustments De Bolt made for his team worked as they defeated the Mustangs by double figures winning by a final score of 63-51.
The men kept their game closer which could be a moral victory considering they’ve been playing short-handed due to illnesses and injuries.
The key to the Comets’ success was shooting at a high percentage CCC head coach Robert Crane said.
“Our team shot a high percentage from the field today,” he said. “The Los Medanos College team played us hard. We knew they were going to play us hard. They have some shooters, and when you get hot and play with confidence anything can happen.”
Los Medanos head coach Derek Domenichelli said that it was the best the Mustangs have played all year.
“I thought the game was really well played. We competed on a higher level than we have all year today, and so did Contra Costa,” he said. “I thought the guys played hard and competed and played very unselfish.”
Even though it was the best game of the year for the men they still fell 65-58 to the Comets.
While the games didn’t go LMC’s way on the court the event itself was a success at raising awareness for cancer.
Cold Stone Creamery gift cards and movie tickets to see “Selma” were given to contestants that were wearing the most pink in their outfits at the game. They also gave away pink beads, lollipops and noisemakers to those in attendance.
Maurice the Mustang, LMC’s mascot, cheered on the LMC teams by shaking pink pom-poms and getting the audience in the mood for the festivities.
In addition to the giveaways, Student Life Coordinator Demetria Lawrence and volunteers sold hot dogs, nachos, candy, drinks and pink and black t-shirts with ‘Coaches vs Cancer’ printed on them to raise money for the American Cancer Society.
The Mustangs next home game will be Jan. 30 as the women take on Laney College and the men take on the College of Alameda.