Key fourth quarter run, defensive scheming adjustment lead Justin-Siena past American Canyon after tight three quarters of play
By Kyle Foster
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In close games, it takes one right adjustment or even a bucket can make a close game a little bit less intense.
On Thursday night at Clark Gym, a simple defensive switch led the Justin-Siena boys basketball team past American Canyon, 67-49, in a key Vine Valley Athletic League matchup.
The Braves (15-3 overall, 6-0 VVAL) put the game away in the fourth quarter when they went on a huge 15-0 run that lasted till there was 4:08 left in the game. This also bumped the lead to 21 after it had been a close game for three quarters.
“I think sometimes when a game is really tight and intense like that and a team gets a couple of baskets in a row, it really lands like like a haymaker, and I think that’s what it was,” Justin-Siena head coach and athletic director George Nessman said of the run that effectively sealed the game. “We didn’t intend. There was no plan, it just happened. Our guys executed some plays and knocked down some shots, and they missed a couple shots they’ve been making and betting our head by 10 or 12 and that will change the whole nature of the game.”
To gain the upper hand in this one, Justin-Siena had to not only survive some runs but go on some of their own. Before the massive game-ending run, the largest lead the Braves had was nine when they began the second quarter with a 6-0 burst to go up 40-31.
On the other hand, the other thing that helped was Nick Jeramaz. The senior guard finished with a game-leading 24 points and 1 rebound. He scored 14 of those in the first half while making just one three in the game and making all 7 free throws.
“Nick reads defenses really well, and you see how he scores on a lot of basket cuts,” Nessman pointed out. “He finds ways to get open even though guys are basically tagging him and staying on his hip the whole time. He still finds ways to get open and the guys look for Nick. We have a lot of confidence in him.”
Jeramaz also did a good job of adjusting to the tough defense that was being played on him and finding a way to score.
“I think the big thing is to stay poised,” Nessman added. “Sometimes a player will just start sprinting around and that’s no good because offense is more rhythm than defensive intensity.”
Also helping the cause in this game was senior center Jaden Washington. He finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots. He also made 2 of 3 free throws in the game as well.
After beating their closest competitors during the week, the Braves are sitting in a good position to repeat as VVAL Champions. It’s something Nessman is happy about but also not getting comfortable with either.
“We’re not satisfied yet because there’s a long way to go,” Nessman explained. “But you beat Petaluma and American Canyon back-to-back, you’ve done something. And we feel it’s significant because it puts us in it with a two-game lead in the league standings, and they still have to play each other. So one of them’s gonna have three losses and it’s not over yet, but it certainly got a little separation.”
Rounding out the scoring for the Braves were Charlie Vaziri (7 points, 9 rebounds), Asa Hightower (7 points, 5 rebounds), Dallas Logwood (3 points), Andrew Grimshaw (2 points, 3 rebounds), XiAno Ortega (2 points), and Dylan Arnold (1 point).
American Canyon (13-6, 4-2 VVAL) was able to cut the lead to one following a 6-0 run to begin the second half.
They also stayed in the game thanks to playing hounding and annoying defense with their team speed, which made getting good shots hard.
However, they ran out of steam in the fourth quarter after Justin-Siena went to a 3-2 zone, which was something they weren’t expecting.
“I think we just weren’t prepared to execute against it,” American Canyon head coach Scott Hayburn said of the unexpected zone. “I think that’s the case. Every defense has its strengths and weaknesses. You should be able to attack a 3-2 zone with preparation. But when you see something you’ve never seen before, there’s an adjustment period. During that adjustment period, they extended their lead from 1 to 12.”
Leading the way for the Wolves was Jack Turner. The senior finished with a team-high of 15 points in the game. He scored 11 of those in the first half while making one three-pointer and going 4 of 5 at the line.
Noah Budu also finished in double figures with 11 points. The senior scored 8 of those points before the break and made his lone free throw.
Others scoring for American Canyon in the game were Jacob Soriano (6 points), Jason Ahamefule (3 points), Justin Laron (2 points), and Jona Budu (2 points).
Both teams will continue league play in the coming days. American Canyon will have the bye on Saturday but will visit Arroyo-San Lorenzo before hosting Casa Grande on Tuesday at 7 pm. Justin-Siena will host Vintage on Saturday at 2:30.
In the first meeting, Justin-Siena beat Vintage 50-37 on January 3rd, and Casa Grande beat American Canyon 56-49 on January 5th. You can view the updated league standings here.
In other VVAL games Thursday night, Vintage beat Casa Grande 55-52 and Napa beat Sonoma Valley 63-60.
