On heels of huge third quarter run, Justin-Siena gets past Union Mine and picks up first-ever CIF Northern California Regional victory in school history
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
When the state playoffs start, the margin for error is even thinner than it was before.
So a major run or two can be what it takes to put the game away. This was what the Justin-Siena boys’ basketball team in the third quarter to beat Union Mine of El Dorado 71-55 in the first round of the CIF Northern California Regional Division 4 playoffs.
The Braves (18-11) were able to put the game away in the third quarter when they outscored the Diamondbacks (23-9) 15-5. That also included a 12-0 run that gave Justin-Siena a 17-point advantage.
“Everyone was sharing the ball more,” Justin-Siena junior forward Vince Jackson said of the third-quarter run that put the game away. “We got so ahead because Travis and I were scoring more because we were sharing the ball. We played really good defense in the second half, stalking their main players.”
They also set the tone of the game early by starting on a 6-0 run that lasted to the 4:50 mark of the first.
After their loss in the CIF North Coast Section semifinals last week, Justin-Siena head coach Nick Guillory was pleased with the resiliency of his team as well. It also showed in the game, as Justin-Siena pulled away after Union Mine cut their lead to four and five in the second half.
“Resilient group,” he said. “I think that comes with (the fact that) we played a difficult schedule with good teams. So we needed to learn how to be resilient after taking a loss and taking what we learned from that game and applying it to the next. I thought they did a really good job with that – stayed focused. I think within the game, we were resilient. We had an 11 point lead that got down to four, and they had some momentum, and we were able to withstand it and win on a run of our own. That proved to be the difference.”
This was a historical victory for the Braves. Justin-Siena has been around since 1966 and this was the boys’ basketball program’s first-ever game and victory in the CIF Northern California Regional playoffs.
“In the postgame, we took a second to acknowledge and appreciate the moment because it’s pretty cool,” Guillory explained. “You only get these opportunities in high school maybe once, maybe twice. So you really have to take advantage of it, and that’s what the kids did. The kids played their tails off. Again, super excited for them.”
The Braves were led by their junior duo of Jackson and Travis Hightower.
Jackson finished with a solid double-double effort of 21 points, 13 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, and 1 steal. Jackson scored the majority of his point in the second half, where he scored 14 points. The forward also made 5 of his 9 free throw attempts.
“I was just trying to stay aggressive,” Jackson explained. “The team really looks for me to score, so I try to do my best for them.”
Guillory thought Jackson was aggressive early on in this one.
“With Vince, he was aggressive early getting to the rim,” He pointed out. “His jumper was falling. I mean, he could score it in a lot of different ways, and he did tonight. I always tell him to be aggressive. ‘Go early, we’re going to you.’ I thought he responded. So big night for him, especially on the offensive glass. He was super active.”
Not to be outdone, Travis Hightower also finished with a 21-point, 9 rebound, and 2 blocked shot effort. The 6-foot-6 junior also exploded in the second half with an astounding 17 points.
“I was just like feeding off my teammate’s energy and like if they got me a ball, I’ll shoot it,” Hightower said of his game. “I just got like a ton of opportunities from my teammates.”
Added Guillory on Hightower’s game, “Travis’s main assignment tonight was number 0 Mason Mottashed who’s an excellent player. So he expends a lot of energy on that and did a wonderful job on him, and then we asked him to do a lot on the offensive end – including getting his own buckets, knocking down threes when they’re open, attacking the rim. So he shoulders a heavy load and I haven’t seen a situation that he can’t stand up to.”
Rounding out the scoring for Justin-Siena was Ma’el Blunt (8 points, 1 rebound), Caden McDevitt (6 points, 3 rebounds), Asher Cleary (5 points, 3 rebounds), Jaden Washington (4 points, 2 rebounds), DJ Ryan (2 points, 3 rebounds), and Andrew Grimshaw (2 points, 2 rebounds).
The win also means Justin-Siena will be back at home Thursday night at 6 pm when they host No. 5 seed Lowell-San Francisco, a 61-55 winner over Foothill-Palo Cedro on Tuesday night. To view the CIF Division 4 boys basketball bracket, go here.
