Justin-Siena’s large third quarter run propels them to rout of Terra Linda
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
The team in the Bay Area that’s best known for coming out of the half and punching a team in the mouth is the Golden State Warriors.
However, on Saturday afternoon the Justin-Siena boys basketball team did their best impression by trouncing Terra Linda-San Rafael 70-28.
The contest was somewhat close before the half. But out of the half, the Braves (2-0) went on a massive 16-2 run that gave them a 31 point lead with just 3:22 left in the third quarter.
“We just really focus on minimizing the turnovers and just running our plays and our sets. After we did that, (the) target getting under control,” Justin-Siena junior forward Vince Jackson explained. “ It was pretty much game from there.”
One of the reasons they were able to extend their lead was due to ramped-up intensity and focus on defense
“Well, I thought our defensive effort improved in the second half,” said Justin-Siena interim boys basketball head coach George Nessman. “They were doing a good job of driving us and hurting us with some drives. And we took those away, and we’re able to convert some breaks and we were able to get a workable margin against them.”
This was also the second game in a row Justin-Siena has held an opponent to less than 30 points.
“We’re just concerned about our own play – not so much the point totals,” Nessman said of the small number of points given up. “We’re concerned about how we’re playing.”
It also helped that they had a quartet of scorers in double figures.
They were led by Jackson. He finished the night as the team leader in points with 12 and rebounds with eight.
“I thought I had a pretty slow start at the beginning,” Jackson laughed. “ Usually I just try to play the best game I usually play. But I think our win really was because of our team, our team play and how I how we played together.”
Adding 11 points off the bench was Caden McDevitt. He went 3-for-3 from beyond-the-arc and added a layup as well. He also finished the game with two rebounds.
Travis Hightower and Asher Cleary also finished the game with 10 points apiece. Hightower grabbed four boards while Cleary brought down two.
“I think we’re a balanced scoring team, not only in terms of the lineup but in terms of inside-outside on the break and in the half-court,” Nessman said of the balanced scoring attack. “It makes you harder to guard when you have multiple guys that can score.”
Justin-Siena will now have a week before their next game. Next Saturday night at 7 pm, they’ll host Rodriguez.
