In final home game, Napa Valley starts fast to beat Alameda and send sophomores out with victory
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Sophomores Jaivon Williams, and Shakir Howard have definitely made their impacts on the Napa Valley College men’s basketball program in their three-year stints.
They have also endured some tough times where they decided it wasn’t the time to hang up the shoes even in the midst of a global pandemic.
So it only makes sense that in their final home game they led the Storm to a 73-56 victory over Alameda.
Howard finished with a game-high of 18 points. He also converted three shots from beyond the arc.
Williams was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line and also made two three-pointers to finish with 17 points.
“We’ve been doing that all season,” Howard pointed out. “We couldn’t do it without each other, so I’m glad to have him on my side. I wouldn’t want nobody else.”
Fellow sophomore Brian Green also finished with 10 points in this one.
Napa Valley College head coach Steve Ball was happy his top players were able to go out in style in their last home game.
“Every time we come to a game, we feel like we’ve got two of the top players in any game,” he said. “That’s how it’s been all year long and those two have led us in a lot of ways, mainly rebounds and points.”
Before the game, Napa honored Green, Williams, and Howard on sophomore night.
“I joined my three years here,” Williams said. “I enjoyed playing for Ball, learning more about college basketball. So I enjoyed that a lot.”
Howard was happy to leave with a win in his final home game.
“It feels good. I gotta leave with a win,” he explained. “We have many losses, but it’s good to leave with a win.”
Rounding out the scoring for Napa was Ben Trette (10 points), Albert Dennis (8 points), Chris Thompson (5 points), and Cameron Joesph (5 points).
The Storm (8-19 overall, 7-8 Bay Valley Conference) were able to go into the break with a double-digit edge, due in large part to their full-court pressure and fast pace of play.
“Same as we always do pick up full and pressure and run and jump and we shot the ball pretty well,” Ball explained. “They were undersized to start with. We all got a couple of buckets we all everybody pitched in and it was a great total team effort and maximum effort is what they guys gave to start the game.”
Napa also finished the season by getting hot come BVC play. With a win Friday, they will finish with a .500 record in conference play.
As a team, Napa also made 7 of their 11 free throws and 10 shots from range.
The Storm will conclude their season on Friday night at 6 pm when they visit the College of Marin.
