Analy turns back El Mo, 53-37, on Monday
The Analy Flying Tigers claimed a 53-37 victory in a much-anticipated non-league varsity basketball clash at El Molino on Jan. 20, the lone meeting of west county rivals this season.
Analy never trailed, taking a 20-9 halftime lead before cruising to victory.
Top scorers for the Tigers were Kevin Wagner (18), Boek (14), Sanchez (8) and Hayden Davison (8). Pacing the Lions offense were Saben Atteberry ((12), Logan Woolsey (10) Abel Perez (5) and Pat Atkinson (5).
“Anytime you go up against your rival, you should always expect a wild, physical, emotional game, and that’s exactly what we got,” El Mo coach Collin Walker said. “I was very proud of our defense being able to hold the Tigers to just 20 points in the first half. However, our offense was almost nonexistent as we went into halftime with just nine.”
In other games, the Tigers (0-2, 9-10) dropped a hard-fought, 59-50 NBL Oak Division skirmish in a Jan. 14 visit to Windsor, coming away with no tangible reward for a solid outing. The Jaguars held a slim, 25-24 edge at the half, but the Tigers went on a strong run to take a 36-33 lead at the end of three. Windsor saved their best for the fourth quarter, closing it out on a 25-14 surge to pull out a 59-50 victory.
“Seniors Sage Boek and Antonio Sanchez were fantastic,” Analy coach Jason Carpenter said. “We took a lead into the fourth quarter, but Windsor’s 25 points were too much to overcome.”
Boek led the Analy scoring attack with 17 points, while Sanchez added 16 for the Tigers.
Analy took on Montgomery two nights later, turning in a sub-par effort to fall, 45-40.
“It was a very sluggish performance for our squad,” a disappointed Carpenter said later. Boek and Sanchez led the Analy offensive attack with 14 and 10 points respectively.
The Flying Tigers will host games against Santa Rosa (Jan. 22, 7:30 p.m.) and Piner (Jan. 29, 7:30 p.m.).
Lions looking for wins
El Molino (0-4, 2-18) continued what has been a character-building season with two more NBL Redwood Division losses last week, the first coming in a 77-47 drubbing at Ukiah on Jan. 14. The Wildcats set the tone with a 23-13 burst out of the gate and closed it out on another 24-14 fourth quarter run to post the 30-point rout.
Top scorers were Atteberry (11), Noah Kenny (9), Atkinson (7) and Perez (5).
It was more of the same when the Lions traveled to Healdsburg on Jan. 16, with the Greyhounds racing to a 36-19 cushion at the break. Things did not improve much after intermission as Healdsburg powered to an 81-43 win. Logan Woolsey paced the El Mo attack with a team-high 13 points, while other leading scorers were Trenton Rivas (9), Perez (8) and Atkinson (7).
The Lions will visit Rancho Cotate on Jan. 22, with upcoming road games at Elsie Allen (Jan. 24) and Maria Carrillo (Jan. 29). Start times for the JV and varsity are 6 and 7:30 p.m.