Teams set to open NBL campaign on Friday
The Lions and Flying Tigers are coming off a busy stretch on the preseason hoops circuit, logging a combined five games between them.
El Molino (6-4) logged two wins in road and home outings, scoring a 47-41 win at Kelseyville before defeating Roseland University Prep 73-71 in overtime. The Lions will host Middletown on Dec. 19 (7 p.m.) before opening the NBL Redwood Division schedule on Friday, Dec. 21 at Elsie Allen (7:30 p.m.).
Meanwhile, the Tigers (3-7) continued to battle key injuries at the 13th annual Brett Callan Memorial Tournament at Casa Grande on Dec. 13-15, falling to Washington (75-68), Windsor (73-59) and Napa (67-53). Analy will tip off the league schedule on Dec. 21 against visiting Cardinal Newman (7:30 p.m.).
Lions win a pair
El Molino made the trek to Kelseyville for the second meeting between teams on Dec. 11, this time needing all four quarters to post an eventual 47-41 victory. The victory was the team’s fifth, surpassing last year’s entire win total of four.
“After defeating Kelseyville the previous Saturday, I knew they’d be ready for us at their home gym,” El Mo coach Collin Walker said. “I told the guys that just because we beat them by 23 points three days prior, don’t expect for them to just roll over for us, and they didn’t.”
Pacing the Lion’s scoring attack were Sam Wilson-Mietz (11), Thomas Siegert (8), Pat Atkinson (8) and Chris Romeo (6).
The Lions played host to Roseland University Prep in an epic battle on Dec. 13, with the Knights maintaining an early lead to grab a 27-20 edge at the half.
“I wasn’t worried that we were down going into halftime,” Walker noted. “We weathered the early storm and were in a good position. The message at the break was clear: we took their best shot, now let’s give them ours.”
The Lions rode the hot hand of senior guard Sam Wilson-Mietz to go on a third-quarter run to take a 43-42 lead after three, but it turned out the party was just getting started. The teams traded buckets in a wild fourth quarter, and the Lions held a 61-59 lead with five seconds left before the Knights scored to send it into overtime knotted at 61 apeice. Wilson-Mietz took over the game in the extra frame, scoring eight of his eventual 17 points in the period to lift the Lions to a 73-71 victory. Other top scorers included Siegert (10), Aaron Daniels (8), MacGarett Osman (8) and Gabe Wallace (8).
“This was the epitome of a team win,” Walker said.” “It was a great signature win, but by no means should this be our season highlight. We need to use this overtime victory as a springboard to reaching the next level.”
Tigers battle in tourney
Analy took on three strong opponents at the Callan tourney in Petaluma, beginning with a 75-68 loss to Washington in the Dec. 13 opener. Senior guard Quinn Vermuelen was almost unstoppable for the Tigers, scoring a team-high 28 points.
The Flying Tigers met Windsor for the second time this preseason the following night, this one playing out as a competitive contest that the Jags would eventually win 73-59. Vermuelen paced the attack with 16 points, while Kevin Wagner and Sage Boek chipped in 11 and 10 points respectively.
Analy, beset by injuries to key players Avi Gitlin, Nic Visser, JJ Fain and Boek, were shorthanded in Saturday’s clash with Napa. The Tigers led by three at the half but would run out of gas in the fourth quarter to fall, 67-53. Vermuelen finished up a great tournament to lead the team with 15 points.
