Justin-Siena gets going midway through first quarter to go on run to gain control, beat Las Lomas in Christmas Classic opener
By Kyle Foster
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There are times when a team just stuns you and you’ve got to play through it to start playing the game. Sure, it’s not necessarily the best start one could’ve imagined but if you win, who cares right?
On Wednesday afternoon in the 2nd annual Christmas Classic in the Clark Gym, the host Braves did this as they beat Las Lomas-Walnut Creek, 65-54, in the opening game of the boys’ tournament.
In the first four minutes of the opening quarter, the Knights (3-4) jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead and were pushing Justin-Siena all over the place. But about halfway in the Braves went on a 13-2 run to get the lead and never look back.
“I think they started out the game strong, and they are physical,” Justin-Siena head coach and athletic director George Nessman explained. “They rag-dolled us a few times around the rim and we need to hold our ground and do a better job with that. But that’s part of the growing and maturing of the team. You have to be able to confront all different styles, physical styles, finesse styles, fast-paced, slow-paced, you got to be able to find ways to beat any of those, and we were able to find that tonight.”
One of the reasons Las Lomas jumped out to the early edge was the fact that they were pushing the tempo off of some turnovers, which led to easy buckets.
“First of all, give credit to Las Lomas, they play really hard,” Nessman, who is also the tournament director pointed out. “They’re purposeful in their pace and their tempo. They really tried to force tempo on you and they kept us on our heels at various points in the game. But I think we made enough good plays to hold the lead the entire game, and that’s hard to do, and we were able to do that.”
However, the biggest reason the Braves (6-1) were able to maintain their lead was the fact that they had a trio of players do the bulk of the scoring, which certainly made things easier.
Leading all of them was Nick Jeremaz. The senior guard finished with a team-high of 25 points and 6 rebounds. He scored 15 of those points before the break while making 11 of 12 free throws.
“My teammates like they help me so much, it’s not even funny,” Jeremaz said. “In practice, we work hard and the team instills a lot of faith in me, and I just run with it.”
Jaden Washington finished with 24 points in the game as well while grabbing 8 rebounds, and blocking 3 shots in the game. The senior center scored 12 points in each half and made 4 of 6 free throws.
“It’s great,” Jeremaz said of how Washington opens up his game. “He gets all the double teams and he can just kick out for me for three. Then, our two-man game or pick and roll is unstoppable.”
When you have a combo like this, they must complement each other. Jeremaz can play an outside-in type of game, with Washington having the ability to play an inside-out game. The result is defenses having a hard time choosing who to shut down.
“They’re a good combo,” Nessman explained. Jaden can score around the rim and score outside and Nick, he’s an outside-inside scorer. Jaden’s an inside-outside score, but they both can score and (at) all three levels. They’re both confident. They’ve been through battles the last couple (of) years and they’ve seen a lot. It’s their chance to shine as the true leaders of the program and they’re really doing a good job.”
Also scoring in double figures for the Braves was Charlie Vaziri. The junior forward added 10 points and 7 rebounds in the game. He scored 6 of those points in the first half.
“He hustles so hard,” Jeremaz said of Vaziri. “He plays with such energy. We need that as a role player to come in and get rebounds and do the dirty work.”
Rounding out the scoring for Justin-Siena was Asa Hightower (4 points, 2 rebounds), and Andrew Grimshaw (2 points, 1 rebound).
With the win, Justin-Siena moves into the winners’ bracket and will play the winner of Encinal-Freedom on Friday at 1:30 pm. Las Lomas moves into the consolation side and will face the loser of the Encinal-Freedom game at 9 pm on Friday. The other three boys’ games take place on Thursday.
