Santa Rosa pulls away to get big lead headed into break, doesn’t let go to beat Napa Valley despite close first half
By Kyle Foster
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
You can’t slip for any time in a basketball game because it can and will cost you the game. When you’re facing a top-notch program, this is even more true.
On Wednesday night at Storm Gym, Santa Rosa was able to pull away when it mattered to beat Napa Valley, 87-68, in a non-conference game.
In the blink of an eye, the Bear Cubs (2-1) were able to extend a slim margin to an 18-point halftime lead. This was due in large part to doing all the small things.
“We just equate it kind of to, if you’re in a boxing match, right,” Napa Valley College head coach Steve Ball said of going toe-to-toe with a quality opponent. “These games aren’t middle-weight bouts. They’re heavyweight bouts in that if you drop your gloves for a round, you’re gonna get knocked out, and I think we were down six, with about four and a half five to go in the first half. We dropped our gloves and were down 18. By dropping our gloves, I mean, we stopped paying attention to the details.”
Santa Rosa also had size on their side which kept Napa Valley from getting points in the paint. This also helped with rebounding. However, maybe the biggest difference-maker in the game for the Bear Cubs was a pair of Justin-Siena graduates.
Pacing Santa Rosa in the game with 21 points was 2024 Justin-Siena graduate and 2024 All-County and Vine Valley Athletic League Player of the Year Jaden Washington. He scored 12 points in the second half and made four shots from the three-point line in the game while also splitting his two free throws.
Making his impact felt underneath the basket with rebounds as he did at Justin-Siena was Vince Jackson. He also scored nine points in the game, seven of which came in the second half. He was perfect from the line going 3-for-3 there.
“Those two Justin-Siena boys are very good basketball players,” Ball explained. “And above that, to be honest with you, they’re really good human beings. They’re both great, great young men. To be honest with you, I wish they were a part of my program. We recruited the heck out of both of them and wanted them to be a part.”
Meanwhile, the Storm (1-5) were led by Chris Farrington who is working his way back from a broken nose sustained at the beginning of the season.
In the game, he finished as the high scorer with 28 points. He scored 14 in each half and converted 7 of 10 free throws. He also made three shots from beyond the arc in the game.
“He’s a warrior,” Ball said of Farrington choosing to play with a broken nose. “He wanted to play with the broken nose on the next day. But of course, interestingly, in the town of Napa, that nobody carries in-stock a nose brace. So we had to order one online, and it came, and he was able to play with it now that he has the brace on it.
“But he’s just, he’s fearless with that,” Ball continued. “He wants to win so bad that he’s willing to put his body at risk. He’s been getting to the rim relentlessly throughout the entire season, he’s going to continue to do that.”
However, after that the scoring was sparse. Jerard Jackson and Naajy Bynum-Bey each had 12 points on four shots from beyond the arc.
Rounding out the scoring for Napa Valley was Nate Broome (6 points) and Kieran Mannion (3 points). But another reason why scoring was sparse down the box score was the shot selection that included more shots from deep than inside the three-point line.
“I try not to say there’s any bad shots,” Ball explained. “I’m hoping that my shooters feel free to shoot shots. At the end of the game, you can’t look down and see that you have more three-point attempts than you have two-point attempts. So I think we need to be a little more selective.”
Napa Valley will be on the road in their next game at Los Positas in Livermore next Wednesday night at 5 pm. Their next home game will be on October 22nd against Ohlone-Fremont at 7 pm.
