Vintage ramps up defensive pressure in second half to gain double-digit advantage, beat Justin-Siena
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
When the game is close at the halfway point, you normally think it’s going to be like that the whole way.
However, you get some games that are outliers because a team has such a good half that they pull away.
That’s what the Vintage boys’ basketball team did on Tuesday night when they beat Justin-Siena 58-40.
“They just kind of took the ball from us,” Justin-Siena head coach Dave Granucci said as to what changed in the second half.
Vintage (9-1 overall, 8-0 Vine Valley Athletic League) gained their advantage on the heels of a 19-7 run in the third quarter. During that run, they were able to get plenty of fast-break layups and ultimately a double-digit advantage.
“I’d say in the second half, we really started to pressure them on defense and we got a lot more steals,” Vintage senior guard Logan Nothmann explained as to why the Crushers pulled away. “I don’t know what the numbers were. But I think when we started taking the ball away from them defensively, it opened up our transition game, which is what we do. Then from there, there’s no turning back.”
Justin-Siena (2-9, 2-7 VVAL) came out and played a good first half in the contest. In fact, they carried a two-point edge into halftime. They also withstood an 8-0 run by the Crushers in the first quarter.
For Vintage, it was another night where they spread out the scoring. The only difference was that a new face led the way. That new face was Cole Capitani. He ended the night with 14 points for a game-high in scoring while also adding five rebounds.
“I’m so happy for Cole. Cole had a breakout game tonight and I’m really happy for him,” Vintage head coach Ben Gongora said of the junior center. “We’ve been hoping for this for a while. It’s hard to have a breakout game though when you know, Jackson Corley scoring 36 or Logan Nothmann is dropping a dozen, a couple of dozen, or McCormick is doing his thing. But I’m really happy for Cole. He’s made a lot of progress. He works hard.”
The Crushers also had two other players in double figures of scoring. Nothmann finished the game with 13 points and four rebounds. Owen Schnaible also scored 12 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
“I think we’re definitely a team where it’s not just one guy’s going to be leading score every night,” Nothmann added. “I think we had three guys in double figures and then I bet a couple more that had eight or nine. When we play like that, we’re really hard to beat. It’s just Vintage basketball. It’s just what we do.”
Leading the night for the Braves were Vince Jackson and Asher Cleary who both finished with nine points. Jackson also brought in three rebounds on the night.
Both teams will have their next league game on Thursday night at 7 pm. Vintage will have a massive game with league implications when they host Petaluma. Justin-Siena will play another in-town game on Thursday when they visit Napa.
In the first meetings, Vintage beat Petaluma 61-54. Justin-Siena also beat Napa 49-47 in the first meeting on April 27th.
In other VVAL action on Tuesday night, Casa Grande beat Napa 66-59 and Petaluma beat Sonoma Valley 65-61.
