Vintage gets off to quick start, has trio of players in double figures to roll past Mt. Diablo

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By Kyle Foster

Kfost91197@gmail.com

Twitter/X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews 

A fast start can make the game a whole lot easier to manage. This fast start can also get many different people off to a good start. 

In Monday’s matinee contest at Crusher Gym, this is what the Vintage boys basketball team rolled past Mt. Diablo of Concord, 73-35. 

The Crushers (4-4) jumped out to a massive lead right away. They ended the first period on an 11-2 scoring run, which gave them a 20-6 lead at the end of that frame. The fast start was a focus coming in after starting a bit slower in recent games. 

“That was actually our focus,” Vintage head coach Matt Uffmann explained of the key start to the game. “In our previous games, we’ve had slow starts, and the first thing on the board was start strong, finish strong.  So that was a point of emphasis all week.” 

But another thing that helped Vintage get the lead early was the use of their press, which caused numerous turnovers and led to easy transition buckets at the other end of the court. 

“It’s actually a quarter-court press,” Uffmann said. “So I thought we were running it effectively. I thought we had breakdowns in the corner that we need to fix up. But overall, we made it difficult for them to get to the half-court, and that’s what we want. Just disrupt the rhythm.” 

The other thing that helped the Crushers win the game was the fact that they had a trio of players in double figures. 

“When everyone scores, everyone scores, it’s much better,” Vintage senior guard Antony Willmert said. “We play as a team. No one person’s ball hogging. It really just sets the pace and makes us play better.”

Leading the Vintage offense in the game was Willmert. The senior guard finished with a game-high of 24 points and 2 rebounds. He scored 14 points in the first half and made all 6 of his free throws in the game. He also made a pair of shots from beyond the arc in the opening half. 

“I’m gonna say it’s been struggling after stress and anxiety from finals, and it translated into basketball a little,” Willmert said of his breakout game of the season. “But I said I’m just gonna come out here and, like, play my heart out because it’s around the holidays, and I’m just trying to enjoy myself and make an impact for my team and try to be a better teammate.” 

One of the reasons he was able to do much scoring in the game is that he drove to the bucket with ease. What’s even crazier is that Willmert did all of this off the bench in the game.   

Also finishing in double-digits was Adar Yildiz. The senior scored 12 points and brought in 4 rebounds. He did all of his scoring in the first half while making 2 of 4 free throws in the game. 

The last part of the trio to score in double figures was Rory Holland. The senior finished with a double-double of 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 2 blocked shots.  He scored 7 points in the second half and converted 1 of 2 free throws. 

Others scoring for Vintage in the game were Austin Broyles (9 points, 2 rebounds), Evan Rosette (5 points, 3 rebounds), Lucas Gass (5 points, 1 rebound), Thiago Cortez (4 points, 1 rebound), and Ruben Sanchez (3 points, 5 rebounds). 

This was a needed win for the Crushers, too. They hadn’t played a game since December 9th, when they lost to Santa Rosa. So getting back in the win column before Christmas was key. 

Vintage will now take the next few days off before being back in action on Saturday at 3 pm when they visit Antioch.