Huge third quarter run helps Vintage edge Justin-Siena in defensive battle
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
When the competition is super tight, executing goes a long way.
That was never more evident than on Thursday night when the Vintage boys’ basketball team edged Justin-Siena 44-40.
“We didn’t execute,” Justin-Siena head coach Dave Granucci said as to what the difference was in the contest. “It’s just the execution part of it. We didn’t do a good job of executing in the half-court and out of timeouts and out of halftime, things of that nature.”
At the half, the game was tied at 14. However, the Crushers (3-0 overall, 3-0 Vine Valley Athletic League) opened the second half by going on a 17-2 run that lasted until the 3:35 mark of the third quarter. Thanks to that, they were able to gain a 15-points advantage – the largest of the game.
“We kind of stopped clamming up and we just played basketball,” Vintage senior forward Josh McCormick explained. “We got stops on defense and then we came down on the other end and then we came down the other way and we trusted each other and we just attacked the rim hard and made good passes and you just got buckets.”
“We kept going against the grain or kept going against the very thing Justin was trying to take away from us,” Vintage head coach Ben Gongora said. “We were playing to Justin’s strengths, instead of taking what they were giving us, which they were forcing us out of the middle.”
While the third quarter went to Vintage, the fourth went to Justin-Siena (0-2, 0-2 VVAL). The Braves were able to come roaring back due in large part that they were executing better and the fact that shots were also going down.
“We executed,” Granucci explained. “They did what they were asking them to do and to a tee.”
Leading the way for the Crushers on the night was McCormick. He ended the night with 12 points and five rebounds. Also having a good night was Everett Micthell who added 10 points and five boards. Logan Nothmann ended the night with 8 points and five rebounds.
“We all trust each other,” McCormick said of spreading out the scoring. “So when we’re spread out, attacking, a guy kicks out for a wide-open three. We’re making unselfish plays. We’re trying to get the best look possible.”
Meanwhile, Justin-Siena was led by sophomore Vince Jackson who ended the night with a double-double. Jackson scored all the Braves’ first-quarter points when he had six points. He tallied 14 points on the night while also grabbing 10 rebounds.
“He got off to a little bit of a slow start, but we wanted him to get the ball,” Granucci said of Jackson’s big night. “He knew they were doubling him and we wanted to invite that and we had a hard time executing that part of the game plan in the second half. When we started to was in the fourth, when we made our run.”
Keith Binz added nine points and nine rebounds as well.
“His hustle is second to none,” Granucci said of his senior guard. “That’s been his MO since he’s been here and he makes great hustle plays and is physical and tough and competes.”
Next up for both teams will be non-league games in Fairfield. Justin-Siena will visit Armijo on Saturday at 2:30 pm. Their next league game will be against Napa on Tuesday night at 7 pm.
Meanwhile, Vintage will visit Fairfield on Monday night at 7 pm before visiting Petaluma Tuesday night at 7 pm.
In other VVAL games Thursday, Napa beat Casa Grande 55-44 and Petaluma beat Sonoma Valley 68-48.
