With five minutes to go, the shouts from the crowd grew louder. Each basket brought forth cheers and each rebound brought forth an applause. But when the buzzer sounded, the dejected Warriors walked off the floor with another loss.

Playing their first home game of the season, the Warriors lost to the Pasadena City College 91-74 last Wednesday in the North Gym and will face off against Cypress next Wednesday.

“We’re not really preparing for any other team,” coach Paul Landreaux said. “You prepare your team to the best of your ability. You don’t want to change your team in preparation for the other team’s offense. You make your squad as prepared as you possibly can.”

The Warriors (1-4) trailed 47-36 by halftime and were unable to get settled in against the up-tempo Pasadena defense.

“We didn’t match up to their tempo,” freshman foward Richard Caldwell said.

Utilizing the press, the Lancers (4-1) forced turnovers and managed to take advantage of an inexperienced and undersized Warriors team.

“What hurt us the most was that we allowed too much penetration, we didn’t stop penetration. That is what hurt us the most on our defense,” freshman guard Bryce Matson said. “They’re quick and big. It’s a game of matchups. We just need to play harder, we need to play to the best of our ability. ”

Led by freshmen Cary Harville (16 points, 6 rebounds) and Anthony Brown, (14 points, 2 assists) , the Warriors were unable to get rolling offensively.

“I think I could have done better but I fouled out though, so I could have done a lot better than what I did,” said Caldwell, who scored 11 points with 3 assists. ” We have to play better defense, box out, and get some rebounds.

Plagued by foul trouble, the Warriors have gotten off to a slow start early in the season. Landreaux believes that foul trouble is also having negative reprecussions on his defense.

Landreaux believes Pasadena deserves proper credit.

“I am certain their up-tempo defense affected our play. They were having a lot of fun. From what I could see, their team was having a lot of fun and were excited. That’s what’s supposed to have a good time and have soem excitement.”

Caldwell agrees that their defense affected their play.

“It’s pretty hard to get around those guys and shoot over them,” he said.

Against Golden West, Nov. 21, the Warriors were able to come out with a victory.

While the season hasn’t started yet, Landreaux believes these games leading to their Jan. 16 season opener are still important.

“Everyone of them is important,” he said. “I am going to try to win every game no what the situation.”