Napa Valley heats up from three-point range, plays intense defense to beat Solano and even Bay Valley Conference record
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
When a team knocks down their shots from three-point range, the game can get out of hand in a hurry.
On Friday night, the Napa Valley College men’s basketball team shot very well from beyond the arc to beat Solano 87-77.
The Storm (4-13 overall, 3-3 Bay Valley Conference) knocked down an astounding 11 shots from deep in the game.
Napa Valley was also able to gain a 19-point edge at the break due in large part to intensity on the defensive end of the floor.
“We defended,” Napa Valley College head coach Steve Ball said as to what his team did in order to gain the large lead early on. “(Assistant coach) Rae (Hubbard) has them playing hard defensively. We mixed things up. We rotated much better than we have in the past.”
Another thing that made the Storm hard to beat in this one was the fact that they had five players score double-digit points.
“We play at a pace that’s top 15 in the state in shot attempts, and we’re not turning the ball over exceptionally poorly,” Ball added. “So we’re getting a lot of shots up. So we’re top 5o in the state in free throw attempts and field goal attempts.”
Napa Valley was led by a pair of players with a team-high 16 points. One of them was Shakir Howard who scored 16 points, 10 of which came in the second half. He also hit four shots from beyond the arc, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked two shots.
“Just shooting and taking my time,” Howard said of his performance.
Ben Trette also scored16 points in the contest, 13 of them coming in the second half. He also made four three-pointers and had a rebound.
The Storm also got a pair of 15 point performances as well. Jaivon Williams finished with 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double effort. He also made 6 of his 9 free throw attempts. Like the rest of his teammates, he too did his damage in the second half where he scored 8 points in this one.
“We got five in double figures I feel like we can’t be stopped,” Williams said of the offensive effort. “They can’t focus on one guy.”
Cameron Joesph finished the game with 15 points, 14 of them coming after the break. He also made 4 of his 6 free throws and made a three-pointer as well.
Albert Dennis was Napa Valley’s final player in double figures. He finished with 12 points, grabbed two rebounds, and blocked a shot.
Brian Green finished with 8 points and brought in five rebounds. Chris Thompson finished with 3 points and two rebounds. Doente Jenkins scored 2 points as well to round out the scoring.
Next week will be a week filled with top competition for Napa Valley. On Wednesday, they’ll travel to San Pablo to face BVC leader Contra Costa. In the last meeting against Contra Costa, the Storm fell 95-82 on December 23rd. Then on Friday, they’ll return home to face Los Medanos-Pittsburg. Both games will start at 7:30 pm.
