Mike Marcial led Fresno City College men’s basketball team to an 81-74 in a nail bitter against Chabot on Saturday.

At one point in the game, the Rams were up 21 points when the momentum started shifting in Chabot’s favor.

In the waning minutes of the game, Chabot started to turn up the pressure. They were doubling and using full court pressure to force the Rams into turnovers. The Rams also struggled at the free throw line.

Head coach Ed Madec was trying to do what he could to get his team back on track by calling time a few time outs and in the huddle his players to be poised, “Let’s finish the game; let’s put those guys away,” Madec said.

It wasn’t until 5:52 left in the game when Marcial hit a three point shot to put his team up 56 to 70. Marcial also hit a lay up to put his team up 72 to 60 at the 4:38.

Corrie Billingsley also played a major role in the final minutes of the game. He found himself on the receiving end of many loose balls as he hit wide open shots.

Billingsley also hit a few key free throws to help seal the victory for his team, “We got close to giving it away, but we stayed strong and our experience took over.”

Last season, the Rams took a team with all freshmen as its starters and won the State championship; they want to be the first team to win back to back. “Everybody is always out to beat Fresno City,” Brian Minor said.

Minor approached the Chabot game a sense of urgency. They wanted to get off to a fast start because the last time they played Chabot they started off flat.

Getting off to a fast start is just what happened. “I think the team fed off of everyone diving all over the floor chasing after loose balls and working hard,” Billingsley said.

Thomas Ammon’s role on the team is to do the scrappy work like take charges, get rebounds and play hard defense in search of ways to give his team a spark.

He made his presence known early by standing in the lane while Chabot player, running full speed, crashed into him.

He also took a flying dive sliding between a Chabot cheerleader legs in an attempt to save a loose ball.

Amon made a reverse lay-up early in the game with two Chabot defenders hang on to his waist. The shot put his team up 16 to 8.

Next Saturday, the Rams will host Ohlone City College at 7:30 where the loser goes home.