Justin-Siena gets off to fast start, spreads out scoring in steamrolling of Healdsburg
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Playing with a lead is easier for the most part than having to claw and battle to win a game. Now, playing with a huge head is relatively easy.
In their final tune-up, before Vine Valley Athletic League play starts next Wednesday, the Justin-Siena boys’ basketball team throttled Healdsburg, 81-45, at the Daniel J. Clark Gymnasium on Wednesday afternoon.
Before one could even sit down and get comfortable, the Braves (12-1) had jumped out to a 10-0 lead.
“We don’t concentrate on a fast start,” Justin-Siena head coach and athletic director George Nessman said of the fast start his squad had. “We just want to play good basketball from start to finish and it’s been turning out that way. For most games, we’ve got off to a good start. But give Healdsburg a lot of credit, they had a lot of fight in them.”
The lead only swelled more once the Greyhounds (8-6) had scored. From that point, Justin-Siena scored seven-straight points and suddenly held a 17-1 lead.
Healdsburg was able to stay in the game early on due to making 6 of 17 shots from three-point range. That accounted for 18 of their 21 points in the first half.
However, once the second half got underway, Justin-Siena held the Greyhounds to just one more made shot from range as they finished the game making 7 of 23 shots from three-point land.
“We definitely had to adjust,” Nessman explained. “We knew they were a good shooting team since we were in their tournament, we got a chance to see them play a couple (of) times, a couple (of) weeks ago. And we knew they were going to be a challenge in terms of their ability to shoot and we literally just got closer to him and made attempt to make sure they put the ball on on on the floor and dribble the ball.”
The Braves were also able to get whatever they wanted in the paint throughout the game as well.
The last and maybe the most important thing that helped Justin-Siena pull away in this one was how well they shared the rock and evened out the scoring. After all, they finished the game with four players in double figures.
“We make that a point of emphasis. Every game we play, we want to have balanced scoring,” Nessman said of the four double-figure scorers in the game and how that makes them better. “It starts by making sure you score some around the rim and we have some guys who can do that. So it works to our advantage to make sure we establish that part of the game.”
Leading all of them was Ma’el Blunt who finished with a team-high 19 points and 4 rebounds. The senior guard was able to get the majority of his points on fast-break opportunities as well. He scored 11 of his points in the first half as well. Blunt also converted on 4 of 8 free-throw attempts.
“Ma’el’s what we call a tone-setter, and it’s important that he brings great energy and positive energy,” Nessman said of Blunt’s nice game. “I think just opportunities, the court opened up for him today and he took advantage of some opportunities and converted them. He’s averaging about 10 a game, so it wasn’t a big outlier. But it was certainly one of his better offensive games of the year.”
Then, Travis Hightower finished with a double-double of 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. He also was busy in the first half of this one where he scored 10 points. The senior forward also made 2 of 5 shots from the line as well.
Vince Jackson finished with 12 points and corralled 3 rebounds. He scored 10 points after halftime and had a one-hand slam in the third quarter.
Finally, Jaden Washington added 11 points off the bench and added 6 rebounds. He scored 9 points in the first half and made both free throws. In the second quarter, he also had a two-hand fast break drunk.
Others acting for the Braves in this one were Nick Jeremaz (6 points, 4 rebounds), Asher Cleary (5 points, 3 rebounds), Nate Spare (5 points, 2 rebounds), Asa Hightower (3 points), and DJ Ryan (2 points, 6 rebounds).
This was Justin-Siena’s last game of the calendar year and also the last game before VVAL play begins next Wednesday night. On Wednesday night, they’ll begin league play with a trip to defending VVAL Champion American Canyon at 7 pm. To end next week, they’ll host Vintage on Friday night at 7 pm. They will be looking to finally get over the hump and beat those teams after not doing so yet.
