Vintage squeaks by Rodriguez behind trio of double-digit scorers, strong defensive effort
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
It may not always be pretty, but the Vintage boys’ basketball team is getting it done so far this season.
That was the case in Monday night’s 65-58 victory over Rodriguez-Fairfield.
It’s not the first time this season Vintage has shown their grit in the second half.
“We have fight,” Vintage coach Ben Gongora said. “ I have fight in me as a coach, and the players have fight in them. And we do have (the) resolve and we have grit.”
Another thing that helped was their half-court trap. The Crushers’ use of the trap forced Rodriguez (1-1) into a plethora of turnovers.
“This is who we are,” Gongora added. “So, we’re going to trap you, we’re going to press you. We’re going to try to get right in your face on defense and we’re going to try to punch in the mouth. And if we punch you in the mouth, and we can continue to do it, we’re going to do it.”
Vintage had three double-digit scorers on the night. But leading the way was senior guard/forward Imani Lopez who ended the night with 28 points and five rebounds. However, in the first quarter, he scored 15 of them.
Josh McCormick added 15 points and brought in four rebounds. Blake Murray also pitched in 13 points, while leading the way on the glass by grabbing 10 rebounds on the evening.
“it’s originated from the defensive end,” Gongora explained. “And a lot of those back baskets were transition points. So the good news is we’re getting the steal, we’re releasing, and the guys getting it. But this isn’t a team that is just a one-man show.”
Ethan Hemmerlin pitched in seven points, while Josh Kho added two to round out the scoring.
However, the Crushers did leave some points on the floor as they missed ten total free throws out of the 27 they took. It’s something Gongora wasn’t too happy about.
“I’m so frustrated because I cannot tell you the amount of minutes I have dedicated to this team, the first month of the season with free throws,” he said. “And it’s not showing.”
The brutal schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Crushers. On Thursday at 3:30 p.m., they’ll face perennial power Northgate-Walnut Creek in the first game of the annual Wine Valley Tournament at Napa High.
“It’s gonna be interesting because we both run the same system,” Gongora pointed out. “So they run our offense, we run their offense, it’ll be interesting to see how well we defend them. And then how well we execute against them on offense.”
That game could also be their biggest test of the season so far.
“It very well could be based on the opponent as well as our personnel,” Gongora added. “It likely will be.”
