Los Medanos uses full-court press and half-court trap to force bad decisions, pull away from Napa Valley in first half
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
When you’re facing one of the best teams in the state, it’s important to keep pace as best you can in order to pull a monster upset.
In Tuesday night’s Bay Valley Conference matchup at Storm Gym on the Napa Valley College campus, this didn’t quite go to plan as Los Medanos-Pittsburg beat the Strom, 85-69.
Early on, it appeared as if Napa Valley was going to go toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the conference as they kept trading baskets. However, Napa Valley (6-9, 1-2 BVC) was unable to hang when the visitors broke out their half-court trap and full-court press.
The Mustangs (9-5, 1-1 BVC) went on a pair of runs that saw the Storm not be able to stop the bleeding with a bucket. The first one was an 11-0 burst that gave Los Medanos a 30-21 lead after trailing 21-19. Later in the same half, they went on a 10-0 surge that extended the lead to 42-26, all thanks to the defensive schemes they deployed that forced bad decisions.
“We were playing really well. Our sophomores, our first group either get tired and make some questionable decisions, or we go to our bench a bit and we make some suspect decisions,” Napa Valley College head coach Steve Ball said as to how the game slipped away in the first half against Los Medanos who entered the game ranked No. 16 in the state in the CCCMBA poll. “We made some suspect decisions and they were trapping us and pressing us a bit, and we just got a little hurried. We weren’t patient.”
The Storm also had a hard time containing the Mustangs’ high-powered and fast-paced offense, as four players finished with double-digits in scoring.
Leading the way was Prime Warren who finished with a game-high of 22 points while corralling 6 rebounds and 3 steals.
Ramon Bailey added 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals as well for the visitors. Jason Zimmer finished the contest with 12 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals.
Finally, Adegoke Adeyemi finished with a double-double of 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.
Leading the way for the hosts with a solid all-around game was Albert Dennis who finished the game with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds. The sophomore guard from San Jacinto did a bit more scoring in the first half where he scored 7 points. He also went 2 of 5 from the free-throw line.
“I’m never surprised when Al gets us 10 and 10 or more,” Ball said of the sophomore who has been a rock on the team all season. “He gets to the basket really well. He defends like a madman so he’s always in and around the glass when a shot goes up.”
Also aiding in the effort for Napa Valley was Chris Thompson. The sophomore guard from Lufkin, Texas finished with a team-high of 16 points. He connected on four shots from beyond the arc and scored 11 points in the second half.
Arthur Larry finished with 13 points with 2 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots for the Storm. He kept Napa Valley afloat before the half by scoring 10 points before the break and making 1 of 2 shots from the line.
Others scoring for Napa Valley were Raekwon Bell (8 points, 3 rebounds), Antione Thaxton (7 points, 3 rebounds), Cameron Joseph (6 points, 6 rebounds), Keith Nyangena (2 points, 4 rebounds), and Ethan Williams (2 points, 3 rebounds).
Los Medanos will continue BVC play on Thursday night at 5:30 pm when they host Alameda. As for Napa Valley, they will visit Alameda on Saturday afternoon at 1 pm after having their bye on Thursday.
