Falcons squander big lead in loss to De Anza

With a chance to claim their first-ever three game winning streak, the FLC men's basketball team let one slip away on Tuesday night as they lost to visiting De Anza College, 95-91 in Falcon Gym.  The Falcons had used good ball movement to find open shots while also playing solid defense to take a 14-point lead into the locker room at halftime, 53-39.  But De Anza forced three straight turnovers to start the second half and built on that momentum as they started hitting their shots.  The Dons eventually tied the score with five minutes remaining and the teams traded the lead down the stretch.  After De Anza took a two point lead with just under a minute to play, the Falcons' game-tying shot with 12 seconds left was off the mark and the Dons gathered the rebound.  Two De Anza free throws put the game out of reach at 95-91 with three seconds to play.  De Anza's AJ Singh led all scorers with 34 points, while sophomore Zethan Dumpson tallied 26 for the Falcons.  Will Fitzpatrick nailed three 3-pointers on his way to 21 points, and Grant Bellis chipped in with 16.

The Falcons won't have long to ruminate over the loss as they travel to San Pablo tonight (Wednesday) to play at Contra Costa at 7:00 pm.  They'll return home on Friday to host Las Positas at 5:00 pm in their final non-conference game before starting Big 8 Conference play next Thursday.