SDCC's Josh O'Campo scores 22 in victory over HIU
Elisha Page
SDCC's Josh O'Campo scores 22 in victory over HIU

Men's Basketball

Tenacious Hawks Upset (RV) Hope International

EL CAJON, Calif. – In their first GSAC game back after the Christmas break, the San Diego Christian College Hawks kicked off 2023 with a decisive, wire-to-wire, 87-72 victory over the (RV) Hope International University Royals. The victory moves the Hawks to 3-5 overall and 2-5 in the conference.

SDCC set the tone of the game right from the beginning. After Ausage Siamu won the opening tipoff, Josh O’Campo buried a three-pointer five seconds later to grab the early lead, a lead the Hawks would never relinquish. HIU would make a couple of free throws soon after to get within one point, but a layup by Jnnah Felix, another trey from O’Campo, and a fade-away jumper by Greg Chew went unanswered and the Hawks began to pull away.

San Diego Christian’s O’Campo would bury 4 three-pointers in the first half making the most of Chew’s outstanding 10-board effort under the rim. In addition to O’Campo’s 16 first-half points SDCC’s Ryan Blackmon came off the bench to drop in 10 of his own helping the Hawks to a 40-20 advantage at the break.

O’Campo and Chew continued to contribute in the second half scoring 6 and 7 points respectively, but Cameron Dashiell, Ausage Siamu, and Jonah Felix’s outstanding play added to the Royals' woes. Dashiell came alive down the stretch scoring 11 points and grabbing 6 boards all while being constantly involved in the continual full-court press. Siamu fought tooth-and-nail under the basket on offense to earn 10 second-half points, while Jonah Felix quietly scored 8.

Coach Dwayne Cosby’s game plan required his men to work hard for the full 40 minutes of play, and work they did. Not content to sit on their 20-point lead, SDCC continued to press the Royals and in doing so built their lead to as much as 27 close to the halfway point of the second period. Tenacious SDCC defense forced numerous HIU desperation shots that accounted for the Royals' 37.1 field goal percentage (15.8% from outside the arc). The hot-handed Hawks, on the other hand, shot 53.7% from the floor and 30% from three-point range.

HAWK HIGHLIGHTS

  • Greg Chew earned his sixth double-double of the season - 13 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 5 assists
  • Josh O’Campo – 22 points, 4 rebounds
  • Ausage Siamu – 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
  • Cameron Dashiell – 11 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists
  • Ryan Blackmon – 11 points, 3 rebounds
  • Jonah Felix - 10 points, 7 rebounds
  • Jonah Felix is ranked #1 in the GSAC in 3-point percentage (55.6)
  • Greg Chew is currently ranked #2 in the GSAC in rebounds per game average (9.6)

UP NEXT

The Hawks return to the Grossmont College Gym on Thursday, January 12 to host The Master’s University Mustangs. Tipoff is at 7:30 pm immediately following the women’s game.