Liam McDevitt, Justin-Siena make big plays in second half to beat Napa in overtime thriller
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
There’s lots of parity in the Vine Valley Athletic League for boys’ basketball this season.
It showed on Friday night when Justin-Siena took down Napa, one of their crosstown rivals, 51-50, in an overtime thriller.
The Braves (7-8 overall, 1-2 VVAL) trailed at the half by only six points. But once the second half started, Liam McDevitt took over to the tune of his 19-point, three rebound performance. He scored 15 of his points in the second half.
“I realized that if we came into the gym today thinking we’re going to do whatever we can to walk away with a W, so after the first half I knew I had to put the ball in the basket if we’re going to get a win,” McDevitt explained. “So, that’s what I tried to do and I achieved that.”
“The first half just wasn’t us,” Justin-Siena coach David Granucci said. “It wasn’t us with our effort. It wasn’t us with our energy. So we challenged the guys at halftime a little bit, told Liam to be a little bit more aggressive. He wasn’t being aggressive. I think a little bit was just he’s coming off of being sick and some things. But the second half, he took it to heart and we told him to be aggressive going downhill, don’t settle, be aggressive going downhill and he was. So, that was big.”
Napa (5-12, 1-2 VVAL) held the games final possession but were unable to make enough plays, according to coach Zack Cook.
“They made a few more plays than us down the stretch and we missed some free throws and had a couple of turnovers,” he said. “But it was a great high school basketball game. Great atmosphere and hats off to Dave (Granucci) and Justin. They did a really good job. They made a couple more plays than us.”
The victors agreed as well.
“I think we just ended up making a few more plays down the stretch,” Granucci added. “When a game’s tight like that, it’s just who can make the most plays and the least amount of mistakes and tonight it was us. It wasn’t anything that we did better than them or whatever. We were fortunate enough to make some plays and make some shots.”
The win is a big one for the Braves, especially after coming up short at American Canyon last Friday and against Vintage on Wednesday night.
“It’s a big win for us,” Granucci explained. “Ultimately, when you’re playing a home and road in league, you want to at least split. We wanted to handle our stuff at home, but we didn’t. So, we had to come in here and try to get ourselves a win and we were fortunate to get out with one.”
“After two tough losses to AC and Vintage, it’s definitely nice to get back on the right track and build some momentum,” McDevitt said. “Especially in like a hard-fought overtime game like this.”
Justin-Siena freshman forward Vince Jackson had his breakout performance of the season by scoring 18 points and bringing in 15 rebounds.
“He’s doing a hell of a job,” Granucci said of the freshman. “And it’s a huge jump going from playing CYO basketball to now playing against 18-year-olds when you’re 14, 15 years old. So, he’s doing a heck of a job.”
Jackson’s monster night was nice for McDevitt as well since it took a little bit of pressure off of him.
“He’s progressing really well,” McDevitt said of Jackson. “It’s definitely nice to have someone to take the pressure off of me and get to the basket. He’s really good at setting screens. He gets a lot of rebounds, so he’s key for us.”
Keith Binz also scored nine points and brought in eight rebounds.
“Him and Liam really know what I want for the most part,” Granucci said of Binz. “So, he’s really key to what we do. We were without him for five games, so he adds a lot for sure.”
Napa was led by Brayden Greenlee who ended the night with 20 points and a rebound.
“Brayden played his heart out tonight,” Cook said of Greenlee’s effort. “I don’t think I subbed him out once, so I should have. He played really well defensively. I think he could have got to the line a couple times on offense, but that’s how it goes. He’s got a lot to carry. He’s got to carry the offense a lot of the times and he’s guarding the other team’s best player often, so it’s just a lot for him and I think he just got fatigued there at the end.”
Danny Ruiz and Logan Van Zandt both ended the night with ten points apiece to help the cause. Ruiz grabbed four boards, while Van Zandt brought in two.
“Logan’s been playing good all year. And Danny, that was his second game back off of an ankle sprain,” Cook said of the two seniors. “So he’s still getting his wind and getting that ankle to 100%. He played well for us tonight.”
Napa will be back in action next Wednesday night at 7 p.m. when they host American Canyon. Meanwhile, Justin-Siena will have the league bye Wednesday night before hosting Sonoma Valley on Friday night at 7 p.m.
In other VVAL games on Friday night, Petaluma beat Vintage 46-31 and Casa Grande-Petaluma beat American Canyon 78-75.
