The Jaguars saved their best basketball for the final stretch of the North Bay League season, upending heavily favored Cardinal Newman, 57-55 on an emotionally charged Senior Night on Feb. 5.
The win gave Windsor a final NBL record of 4-6, edging out Santa Rosa for fourth place in the league standings and the final spot in the four-team NBL Oak Division playoff tournament.
“I’m very happy for our seniors,” Jags coach Jared Greninger said of the win over Newman. “It was a really special moment at the end when the fans rushed the court. It was well deserved for a team that had a couple of these close games go the other way for them.”
At press time the Jags (10-16 overall) were preparing to visit No. 1 seeded Piner in the NBL playoff opener on Feb. 12 (7 p.m.), with the winner advancing to face the survivor of the Montgomery-Cardinal Newman game on Friday, Feb. 14 at Rancho Cotate High School in Rohnert Park. Tip-off time in the boys title game is 7:30 p.m.
The Jaguars paid tribute to graduating veterans Billy Boyle, Jaden Ruybalid, Christian Jernigan, Dante Mendoza and Joey Evans before taking the court against Newman on Feb. 5. The Jags set the tone with a 19-14 run out of the gate, and a Joey Evans half-court buzzer-beater at the end of the second quarter gave Windsor a 33-28 halftime lead.
The game remained tight throughout the third period as Windsor clung to a 44-43 edge after three. The Jaguars would hold off every Cardinal’s surge in the final quarter, with a couple of big assists from unsung bench players as the Jags hung on for a 57-55 victory.
“Despite it being Senior Night, it was a couple big plays made by under-classmen that was the difference in the final minute,” Greninger noted. “Junior Mason Beeler got a huge offensive rebound for us on a missed free throw, and sophomore Tyler McBratney hit both of his free throws which gave us enough for the victory.”
Pacing the Windsor offensive attack were Ruybalid (13 points), Jernigan (11 points) and Boyle (14 points).
It turned out the euphoria had a two-day shelf life when the Jaguars traveled to first-place Piner on Feb. 7 for the league finale. Things started well enough early, as Windsor stunned the Prospectors with a 23-18 first-quarter surge. But Piner woke up in the second period, closing out the half on a 21-10 run to grab a 39-33 lead. The Jags never seriously threatened in the final two periods as Piner cruised to a 75-59 win.
“Their physicality ultimately wore us down,” Greninger said. “We had it close to start the fourth quarter but struggled to rebound down the stretch and that buried us.”
Mendoza led the attack with 21 points, while Boyle added 11 points for Windsor.
