After trailing for three quarters, Vintage goes on fourth quarter run to beat Sonoma Valley on Senior night
By Kyle Foster
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
There’s a reason basketball is played over 32 minutes of action in four quarters. It isn’t over until the buzzer sounds, which is why it’s so important just to hang around, and give yourself a chance to win it.
So it should come as no surprise that the Vintage boys’ basketball team was able to pull the rabbit out of the hat and come from behind to get a much-needed 70-58 win over Sonoma Valley on Monday night at Crusher Gym.
The Crushers (13-11 overall, 5-5 Vine Valley Athletic League) trailed for the first three-quarters of the game until it came time for the fourth quarter. Vintage was able to take their first lead of the game at 56-52 after beginning the frame on an 11-2 run.
“I think what had changed was we’ve been in this situation many times this year, and we were loose,” Vintage head coach Ben Gongora said of the fourth-quarter surge. “I don’t think we were tight in the fourth quarter. I don’t think we were anxious at all.”
Later on, with 2:19 left in the game, the lead swelled to 9 to 62-53 following a 6-0 run after a made free-throw by Hudson Giarritta had 56-53.
“First of all, our defense changed mightily,” Vintage senior forward Ben Jackson added on the final period. “The defense stepped up, help was there.”
In order to come back, the Crushers also had to make an adjustment as to what the Dragons (10-13, 3-6 VVAL) were doing to score the majority of their points. Sonoma Valley was very successful early on in getting the ball at the top of the key and then cutting off of it, a simple high-low concept that the Dragons are good at executing.
“We really didn’t make an adjustment,” Gongora pointed out. “We just didn’t do our job. We watched them on film. We practiced it. We knew what they were going to do and we got burned a couple (of) times. So I had to remind them, I had to give them some friendly reminders, and then we just did what we know thereafter.”
Another thing that helped the Crushers come out victorious was the fact that the offense looked the best it had in a few weeks, due to the return of Jackson who had been sidelined for the last two weeks with an illness. This was his first time back on the court since that time.
“We weren’t tight,” Gongora said as to how Jackson’s presence changed the offensive flow. “In crunch time in that fourth quarter when we erupted for 25 points and we open things up, we weren’t tight. It wasn’t (a) hot potato when we want to pass the ball so quick no one wants it. Guys are stepping up. We were getting our motion, we were hitting our cuts, which opened up the lanes.”
Because of Jackson’s return, Vintage had a trio of double-digit scorers. This is always a good recipe for success.
Leading the way in the contest was Miles MacPherson. The junior forward finished with 25 points along with 2 rebounds. He made 6 three-pointers and went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line. He scored 14 points in the second half of the contest as well.
“When I have the ball at the point, I trust him 100% to take that shot on the wing, or drive or attack or do anything,” Jackson said of MacPherson.
Jackson added 16 points and 4 rebounds in his return to the court. He scored 10 of those in the second half while converting on 7 of 9 free throws.
“First of all, I love the kid and we’ve become extremely close,” Gongora said of Jackson. “It’s just not basketball, we talk and text constantly. So what a testament to this kid that due to draw on the short stick, you know, gets an illness and he’s out for a couple of weeks, hasn’t stepped foot in the gym in over two weeks, and then comes out and has this type of performance. It’s impressive. It’s a testament to his teammates. It’s a testament to him, that he’s coming out and able to perform at a high level when he’s lost weight. He’s lost conditioning. He’s lost stamina and lost strength, but he’s still able to come out and do what he did tonight.”
Elias Alvarez also finished in double figures as he scored 14 points and brought down 4 rebounds. Alvarez scored 10 points in the second half as well.
“He gets a lot of points off defense to offense, which is really good for us,” Jackson said of his fellow senior. “Elias just brings the energy defensively wise and offense.”
Others scoring for Vintage were Jace Lopez (5 points, 8 rebounds), Si Sabbagha (5 points, 5 rebounds), Collin Durfee (3 points, 2 rebounds), and Grayson Wyman (2 points).
This win has some importance behind it too. With the win, Vintage snapped a two-game losing streak and also locked up the fourth and final spot in the league tournament next week. This win means the Crushers own the tiebreaker for that No. 4 seed and have a game-and-a-half lead. The only way for the Dragons to get in is for them to win out and the opposite happens to Vintage.
Both teams will continue VVAL play this week. After having the league bye on Wednesday night, Vintage will travel down the street to face Napa in the final Big Game of the season. Sonoma Valley will host American Canyon on Wednesday night. Both those games tip off at 7 PM.
So far Vintage has won both games against Napa. On December 3rd, they beat Napa 69-52 to claim third-place in the Wine Valley Tournament, and then on January 18th, they beat Napa 75-41.
In other VVAL action Monday night, American Canyon beat Napa 70-46 and Petaluma beat Casa Grande 74-46. The updated league standings can be viewed here.
Crushers send 4 seniors out on top
Monday’s game was the last home game for four seniors of Josiah Flynn, Collin Durfee, Elias Alvarez, and Ben Jackson.
“It hasn’t really hit yet, but it felt great,” Jackson said of winning his final home game. “Especially to come back for my last game here, it felt like a Cinderella story ending. So it felt good to get that win, last one here.”
Those four seniors were honored prior to the tip for their contributions to the program over the last four years.
