Napa plays lock down defense in fourth quarter to edge KIPP King, win home-opener in Wine Valley Tournament
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Don Lex (LuckyDuckImages.com)
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
When a game is on the line, it takes defensive intensity and being fundamentally sound to get the much-needed stop that can seal a game.
In the final game of the night at Napa High’s 47th annual Wine Valley Tournament, the hosts’ battled their win to their first win of the season against KIPP King, 58-57.
The Grizzlies (1-2) were able to come from behind in the final period thanks to their defense. In the quarter that mattered the most, Napa unleashed the full-court press that helped them get back into the game. It also helped that the Grizzlies surrendered just seven points in the final quarter as well.
“We just started trapping everything,” Napa High first-year head coach and tournament director Carson Carattini said about the defensive strategy his squad used in the fourth quarter. “We wanted them to bounce the ball in the traffic. That was our game plan going in. Early on, they were and we just weren’t rotating slowly so they were getting easy buckets and they were getting to the line. So we extended their defense, extended their offense. I think that’s a strategy we like to use is to make them play 94 feet and sometimes high school kids make questionable decisions and we’re just counting on things like that.”
Throughout the game, it seemed as if it was a heavy-weight fight with one team seeming to land the put-away blow, and the other one coming back from that only to land one of their own.
It seemed like Napa was down for the count after the Lions (4-1) went on an 8-0 run that spanned a pair of quarters and ended at the 5:40 mark of the fourth.
At the end of the first half, the Grizzlies clawed their way back into the contest by going on a 12-0 run that lasted until there was just 2:13 left before half.
Another thing that helped Napa get the win was their very evenly distributed scoring. Leading all scores was Jayden Quintana. He finished the night with a team-high 15 points and a rebound. The junior point guard also made 7 of his 8 free-throw attempts, including the final two that gave the Grizzlies the lead with 24.7 left in the game.
“I would say just the aggressiveness and going to basket,” Quintana said as to what helped him lead the way in scoring. “I couldn’t really get a shot because of their zone but driving worked for me.”
Christian Williams added 11 points and 8 rebounds as well to finish as the team’s second-highest scorer in the game. He also made 1 of his 2 foul shots.
“He’s always really important to us,” Carattini said of Williams. “He’s our floor spacer. We don’t really have one excellent shooter and he does that for us. Just stretching the defense a little bit, gives guys driving lanes – really forces the defense to cover more of the court. So having him out there is vital even if he’s not shooting the ball well.”
Doing all the dirty work in the contest was freshman Will Flynn. The 6-foot-7 freshman finished the game with 9 points, a team-leading 11 rebounds, and a whopping 6 blocked shots.
“He was really important,” Quintana said of Flynn’s impact in the game. “When we couldn’t really rotate, he was able to come over and block shots for us and maybe get rebounds because we were getting back.”
Others adding to the effort were Doni Lester (8 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block), Nico Franco (5 points, 4 rebounds), Elias Wilmert (3 points, 4 rebounds), Finn McGrath (3 points, 2 rebounds), Damon Guerrero (2 points, 2 rebounds), and Jared Martinez (2 points on 6 free throws and 2 rebounds).
The win is also the first for Carattini as the newest head coach of the boys’ basketball program. It’s also the first win in Messner Gym for the new coach.
“It feels really good,” the coach admitted. “That was my first win as a head coach so it was emotional and it was hard-earned. But it feels good to win every time.”
Napa will be back in action on Friday night at 8 pm against Bethel of Vallejo in the second semifinal game.
Vintage opens the tournament with a victory over West Valley
In the first game of the day, Vintage beat West Valley of Cottonwood, 55-46.
The Crushers (2-1) jumped out to a 30-23 edge at the half due in large part to holding West Valley to just six points in the first quarter.
“We played a fundamentally sound team today,” Vintage head coach Ben Gongora said. “I’m sure they’ll do better tomorrow when they don’t have to play after driving more than three hours.”
Another difference-maker was senior Ben Jackson who finished the game with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 11 steals.
“Ben was Ben tonight,” the coach said of the senior forward who led the team in scoring. “More often than not, Ben will be one of the best or second-best players on the court.”
Also aiding the effort for the Crushers was Nathan Marroquin. He finished the game with 15 points and 5 rebounds.
“Nathan Marroquin played his best game ever with ball security,” Gongora said of the junior guard.
Makes sense, considering Marroquin turned the ball over just once in the contest.
The win means Vintage will play in the other semifinal game on Friday at 6:30 pm against Vallejo. This also means there is a scenario where Big Game could happen if everything works out on Friday.
