by Matt Schwab

The Las Positas men's basketball team looked like its old self this past week. The Hawks crushed Canada 106-92 and Ohlone 98-72, both at home in the Coast-North Conference. 

The spark had returned.

"It was just nice to have everybody back," Hawks head coach James Giacomazzi said. "So (last) Monday at practice was the first time we've had everybody not sick or present and healthy and all that since January 15^th.

The Hawks (23-3, 9-3), currently ranked No. 12 in the state, entered this week tied for second with No. 15 Chabot in the conference, both teams two games behind current State No. 1 CCSF.

Now the Hawks need two more wins in the final week of conference play – both on the road against De Anza on Wednesday and Skyline on Friday – to nail down second place.

Giacomazzi loves the fact that his team is unbeaten when it has everybody available. During its three losses, the Hawks suffered from a litany of ailments – migraines, walking pneumonia, various types of flu -- and some guys were banged up from the rigors of conference play.

"When we have everybody, it just changes things," he said. "We couldn't practice the same (during the rough stretch), we didn't have the same kind of chemistry and flow because when you take people out of your lineup, it just makes things funky. We were just trying to get through and get everybody back."

During its "funky" time, the team tried to refocus during players and coaches' meetings as they endured losses to state-ranked Skyline, CCSF and Chabot.

Looking to this week, Las Positas is not overlooking last place De Anza despite having beaten them 109-68 on Jan. 24 in Livermore. The Hawks will also look to avenge a 69-68 loss to Skyline.

De Anza is no pushover, normally. Consider that De Anza trailed CCSF by six points with two minutes left in the game, before falling 82-71. 

"They've played teams well pretty much throughout the year and in league play, minus our game, but I think they were also a little bit under the weather and what not," Giacomazzi said of De Anza. "That was kind of a weird time when everybody was not feeling too hot, so maybe they weren't at full strength either. We're anticipating their best effort, and we're going to give them ours."

The coach likes that his team's effort is back to where it was pre-illness and injury. 

"We're working really hard again. That's No. 1. No. 2 is we're able to rely a little more on our depth of late. Those guys have gotten better. They're doing a great job of contributing right away."

He pointed out Damian McAlister, who had a double-double against Ohlone of 13 points and 10 rebounds, going 5 of 7 from the floor. He also had eight points and 11 boards against Canada. Season standouts Elijah Mobley and Sterling McClanahan led the way with 33 points and 25 points, respectively, against Canada. Smooth Joren Edmonds contributed 16 points.

Against Ohlone, on Sophomore Night, McClanahan had 20 points, going 4 of 5 on 3s, and Jaden Woodard also stepped up with 13 points and four boards, and Richard Banks added nine points, six assists and five of the team's 17 steals. Eliot Mobley contributed 10 points, four assists and two steals.