Justin-Siena uses early run fueled by strong defense to gain advantage and beat Petaluma on Senior Night
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Eric Thompson (Shamboozled.com)
Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Winning ugly isn’t always fun. But in league play, it’s needed to get through the later part of the season.
On Thursday night at the Daniel J. Clark Gym, this is what Justin-Siena did as they beat Petaluma, 43-31, in a Vine Valley Athletic League contest where it was hard to score.
The Braves (8-12 overall, 6-5 VVAL) were able to gain the edge they needed at the start of the game. After losing a brief lead early, Justin-Siena went on a 12-0 run to end the first quarter and take a 14-3 lead with them to the second quarter.
They did this by playing some good defense, which is what they did all game to be able to hold onto the victory.
“We kept getting stops,” Justin-Siena first-year head coach Corey Battle said of the defensive effort. “We held them to three points. So we kept getting stops. Normally when we get stops, we’re able to get extra points on the transition game. And eventually, our offense does get us something with our size now that we have everybody.”
Despite more of a defensive-centric game, Battle is still happy to get a win with how hard it is to win league games this season.
“At the end of the day, a win is a win,” the coach explained. “I’ll take it in any form. You know that win kind of guarantees us a .500 record in (the) league, which is good. But more than anything, you know, those are the kind of games you can’t afford to find a way to lose. You have to maintain your composure. You have to get through it and win. I’ve found Senior Night’s always be a difficult night to stay focused.”
On the offensive side, Justin-Siena was led by a pair of players with 9 points. One of them was freshman guard Alejandro Perryman who had 9 points and 4 rebounds. Perryman made his impact felt in the first half of the contest, where he scored all 9 points. In that same half, he made a buzzer-beater from halfcourt to end the first quarter and a floater in the lane to end the second quarter. He also made 4 of 6 free throws in the game.
“At this point, he’s just gaining experience,” Battle explained. “ So anytime he’s able to get on the court and do show what he can do, the experience doubles for him.”
Grayson Wong was the other duo member who scored 9 points and grabbed 2 rebounds. He scored 7 points in the second half and made one shot from downtown.
“He’s an energy guy, and when his energy is like that, that’s what, that’s what he’s able to do,” Battle emphasized. “He’s another young sophomore that just gives us a lot that in the future, he’s going to be a tough player because right now, he’s just grazing the surface on what he can do.”
Others scoring for Justin-Siena in the game were Dallas Logwood (6 points, 3 rebounds), Asa Hightower (5 points, 10 rebounds, blocked shot), Xiano Ortega (4 points, 6 rebounds, blocked shot), Alex Winske (4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocked shots), Armani Vargas (4 points, 2 rebounds), and Bradley Bautista (2 points, 2 rebounds).
Before the game, the program honored its four seniors as part of the Senior Night festivities. Those honored were Logwood, Bautista, Josh Madayag, and Vargas. All four have not only been in the program for most of their years at the school. On top of this, they have done plenty of winning and helped lead the team this season.
“As a whole, they’ve helped out so much with bringing me into Justin just understanding this family concept,” Battle said of the four seniors impact this season. “They’re winners too. They’ve been winning and they’re winners.”
With the win, Justin-Siena will also have a .500 record or better in league play. It also helps them keep a solid hold on the third spot in the league standings. They will be back in action with the middle game of their back-to-back-to-back days of games tonight at 7 pm when they visit Sonoma Valley in a makeup game from Tuesday due to travel and then end the regular season at American Canyon on Saturday at 7 pm. When Justin-Siena last played Sonoma Valley on January 15th, they won 51-50 and then they lost to American Canyon 57-50 on January 22nd.
Petaluma’s league season is over. They will visit San Marin on Saturday at 4 p.m. They are the No. 7 seed in next week’s league tournament and will visit the second seed, either American Canyon or Justin-Siena, next Tuesday night in the quarterfinal round.
In other VVAL action on Thursday, American Canyon beat Vintage 57-32, and Casa Grande beat Sonoma Valley 78-48 to claim the league title and the top seed in next week’s league tournament, which also has a bye on Tuesday.
