Local high school basketball teams will kick off what promises to be a very competitive season this week as both Analy and El Molino take the court in their respective Sonoma County League openers.
The Flying Tigers (9-4) will visit Sonoma Valley on Thursday, Jan. 7 before returning home to host Piner on Saturday, Jan. 9. Tip-off times starting with the frosh are 4:30, 6 and 7:30 p.m.
Flying Tigers
ready for take-off
Analy continued a tough pre-league schedule last week with a Consolation title at the annual Windsor Holiday Shootout, following up a 47-37 opening round loss to Arroyo with subsequent wins over Novato (68-44) and Northgate (55-47). On Saturday, the Tigers dropped a 66-51 road decision at Acalanes to wrap up a solid preseason.
“We’re 9-4 which is not too bad,” Analy coach Brett Page said. “Going into preseason we never know what our record might be because our schedule is all over the place. “Teams have worked on slowing us down and we’ve taken some losses that we felt we should have won.”
The Tigers started pre-league play with 10 players, but have added another four following the end of football season. The players should add talent and depth to the team once they round into shape.
“We’ve shown that we can play very good basketball and when we’re hitting our shots it is tough on the other team,” Page noted. “We’ve also had the other side where we couldn’t make a shot. That’s the life of a coach and a team, but I have no complaints, it’s been a good season so far.”
The Tigers opened the Windsor tourney against a strong Arroyo squad, suffering a scoring drought in the second and third quarters that had Analy playing from behind. The Tigers made a late run before falling 47-37. Top scorers included Dom Tripodi (11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals), Nick Fujii (11 points) and Aidan Vermuelen (8 points, 11 boards).
Analy faced Novato for the second time this season in game two of the tournament, achieving a similar outcome in a 68-44 win. Top point-getters were Aidan Toner-Rodgers (16 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists), Tripodi (12 points, 3 boards), Vermuelen (12 points, 2 rebounds), Fujii (8 points, 3 assists), Zach Binsfeld (6 points, 3 rebounds), and Jordan Armstrong (6 points, 5 boards, 3 steals).
The Tigers squared off with Northgate in the tourney getaway game on Dec. 30, pulling away with a strong second half en route to a 55-47 win. Pacing the attack were Tripodi (19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals), Fujii (14 points, 2 assists) and Travis Holmes (9 points, 4 boards, 2 assists).
Analy logged a final pre-league outing at Acalanes on Jan. 2, battling on even terms for the first three quarters before the Dons pulled away in the final period to notch a 66-51 win. Fujii paced the offense with 15 points.
