Vintage takes control in third quarter thanks to big run, gets resilient efforts from Gongora, MacPherson to beat Napa and split Big Games
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)
Follow on X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
In rivalry games, the team starts playing comfortably and grabs the momentum, wins oftentimes. All that needs to happen is one run to change the game.
On Tuesday night at Crusher Gym, this is what the Vintage boys basketball team did as they beat Napa High, 50-40, in the second Big Game of the season.
Vintage (10-14 overall, 3-7 VVAL) took control of the game in the third quarter where they outscored the Grizzlies (8-16, 3-8 VVAL) 17-7 after they led by 2 at the half. That included a 12-0 run that gave the Crushers an 11-point lead and lasted till there was 2:15 left in the third.
They were able to gain this advantage by playing solid defense, which made it hard for Napa to score anything.
“I mean it was close coming into halftime,” Vintage senior forward Miles MacPherson pointed out. “But at half, we kind of gathered our emotions and we went out there and we just played good defense, shots started falling, guys got minutes, and played good.”
It also helped that Connor Gongora finished with a game-leading 14 points, 3 rebounds, and a blocked shot. Gongora scored 9 points in the second half and made all 4 free throws in the game.
“Just started off early,” Connor said of his night. “Got a good layup, rolled in a little bit. But then once it’s fallen, it’s easy to keep putting them up and that’s just why I did keep shooting them keep going in. So I had momentum and I just kept with it.”
The moment was extra special because he had taken some heat for losing the first Big Game. While games are never blamed on one person, he felt like he had something to prove.
“Heart, grit, composure. You know, he’s not a talker,” Vintage head coach and Connor’s father Ben Gongora said. “His actions speak for themselves and I didn’t know how it was going to go today. I knew that that he took some heat for last game for for the last shot. I didn’t know if the moment was going to be too big. I didn’t know if he was going to be hesitant or be scared. One of the worst cancers in the human spirit is fear of failure. Connor let it rip. He let it rip, so he led us today.
“He’s the captain,” the coach continued. “He’s been positive all year. As a coach, I’m so proud of the player. But as a parent, I’m so proud that he had that defining moment and you can’t make this stuff up.”
One of the reasons he was able to put up such a great performance was the fact he just forced on the game.
“I tried to block out all the noise,” the senior captain said. “I knew what everyone was saying before the game because of the shot and everything. So I just kept telling myself ‘Block it out, block it out. Keep playing basketball’, and that’s just what I did. I just went out there and I just played basketball.”
It also helped that MacPherson had a nice game as well. The senior forward added 11 points and 3 rebounds. He scored 8 of those in the second half.
Others scoring for Vintage in the game were Nate Marroquin (6 points, 3 rebounds), Noah Akkerman (6 points, 2 rebounds), Hearn (5 points, 2 rebounds), Adar Yildiz (4 points, 2 rebounds), and Jace Lopez (4 points, 1 rebound).
With the win, it also means that the Crushers avenged their loss on January 12th. It also sends their seniors off with an 8-1 record in the rivalry.
Napa held the lead multiple times throughout the first half. After all, they were down by one following the first quarter and just two at the break. Turnovers led to a lot of the points going the other way as well.
Leading the way for the Grizzlies in the game was Jayden Quintana. The senior guard finished with a team-leading 10 points and 4 rebounds. He scored 8 points in the first half and split a pair of free throws.
Other than Quintana, Napa had no other player in double-digit point totals. Rounding out the scoring for Napa were Eli Mindle (8 points, 3 rebounds), Will Flynn (6 points, 5 rebounds), Gael Bazoungissa (6 points), Christian Williams (5 points, 2 rebounds), and German Camacho (3 points, 3 rebounds).
Both teams will be back in action on Thursday night. Vintage will have it’s Senior Night celebration when they host American Canyon. As for Napa, they’ll have the league bye but will head to Pleasanton to face Foothill. Both games are at 7 pm.
Petaluma beat American Canyon 48-43 and Justin-Siena beat Sonoma Valley 66-32. You can view the updated league standings here.
