Napa’s second half comeback not enough as they come up just short against Santa Rosa
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
One bad quarter can kill a team in basketball, no matter what level it is.
Unfortunately for the Napa High boys basketball team, that was the case in their 57-55 loss to Santa Rosa. The loss also ends Napa’s 16-game home winning streak dating back to last season.
After a first-quarter where things were all tied up, the Panthers (3-0) outscored the Grizzlies (1-1) 18-8 in the second quarter.
“We defended really well in the first half, we held them to 23 points,” Napa coach Zack Cook said. “But when you can’t score, we missed I think four or five front ends of one-and-ones. I mean, we make those and you know, it’s a tie ballgame at (the) half.”
Indeed, free throwing didn’t help Napa out at all as they went 12-for-22 from the charity stripe on the night.
“We’re not a very good free-throw shooting team,” Cook explained.
However, in the second half, the Grizzlies were able to find their footing on offense as they still had three double-digit scorers on the night.
Brayden Greenlee and Tyler Oda both ended the contest with 15 points, most of which came in the second half. Greenlee had two rebounds, while Oda only had one. Danny Ruiz also ended the night with 12 points and three rebounds.
“Just playing harder, be more aggressive on offense,” Cook added. “You know, defending, getting stops, starts with defense and getting stops and we’re able to get some stops and then convert that into offense.”
The road ahead doesn’t get any easier for Napa. Starting Thursday, the annual Wine Valley Tournament will begin, in which Napa is the host. But it’s one of the most loaded tournaments in recent memory with teams like Northgate-Walnut Creek, Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa, Drake-San Anselmo, Clayton Valley-Concord, and Redwood-Larkspur all coming to take part in the tournament.
“Yeah, really excited,” Cook said of the tough tournament. “We got great teams coming in. All playoff-caliber teams. Everyone’s playing good. I look forward to seeing some great basketball and hopefully, we can play better.”
As is tradition, Napa will play the 8 p.m. game on Thursday night when they’ll face fellow Napa rival, Napa Christian.
