In a absolute must-win game, the host Trojans were looking downright shabby. But they picked things up in the second half to record a 62-49 Coast Conference North Division win over Cañada on Wednesday.

“The name of the game is just getting a win,” Piergrossi said.

Especially in the super-tough Coast North. Skyline (3-3 Coast North, 14-10 overall) was coming off a disheartening loss to Chabot and needed to rebound against a Cañada team that entered the game winless in league and 2-17 overall. A loss would’ve crippled the Trojans’ playoff chances, given the fact that they have games with Ohlone, City College of San Francisco, Las Positas and Foothill in the second half of conference play.

But Piergrossi breathed a sigh of relief after watching his squad respond nicely in the second half. Skyline was able to score a couple of fast-break buckets and crash the offensive glass. All of this came as a result of playing better defense. Ronney Freeman led the charge, producing a couple of steals and getting his hands in the passing lanes while playing solid defense on the perimeter.

The Colts led 25-24 in a sometimes sloppy yet entertaining first half that featured six ties and 12 lead changes. But the Trojans took the lead for good in the opening minutes of the second half. They opened with a 6-0 run, capped by a Devin Williams floater in the lane, to take a 30-25 lead they would never relinquish.

Skyline went up by as many as 15 points, 49-34, when Matt Fochtman hit a layup to complete a 25-9 run with 5:48 remaining. Moments later, David Harder hit a 3-pointer — Cañada’s first field goal in over 10 minutes. After Skyline built its 15-point bulge, the Colts never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Cañada had its way in the opening 20 minutes. It slowed the game to a crawl, limiting Skyline’s fastbreak opportunities. The Trojans scored only two fastbreak points in the first half, well below their season average. The Colts also were playing solid defensively, spacing well and moving well without the ball.

But as has been the case all season, they simply couldn’t sustain their level of play in the second half. It simply boils down to most of their opponents having superior talent. Wednesday was no exception. Skyline should have won the game and that’s exactly what it did.

“I think (the result) was indicative of the first half taking a lot out of us just to be able to do what we need to do (to stay competitive),” Cañada coach Peter Diepenbrock said. “We kind of wore down in the second half. They (Skyline) were able to do more of what they wanted to do. We had a little scoring drought and got frustrated. We’re having a tough time scoring.”

Sam Green and Max Graff led the Colts with 13 points each, Ibe Ali had 10 and Harder nine. Skyline’s balanced attack saw 10 different players score. Fochtman led the way with 11 points, while Ronney Freeman and Shawn Echols finished with 10 points apiece. In the second half the quicker Trojans were able to consistently get to the basket off dribble penetration, allowing them to pull away. Skyline shot a blistering 65 percent (13 for 20) in the second half and a solid 49 percent for the game.

“The biggest thing was picking up the defensive intensity,” Piergrossi said. “In the first half I didn’t feel we were putting enough pressure on the ball, which not only slowed down the game but limited our scoring opportunities. We had to force the issue on defense and speed things up. We might have played our worst game against Chabot after playing our best game against Foothill, and it’s tough to get that same performance. I think the first half tonight was maybe our worst half all season, but we got a win and that’s all that matters.”