The intensity will ratchet up a notch this month as the North Bay League basketball season kicks into high gear for Analy and El Molino high school teams.
For the first time ever, the Lions and Tigers will compete in different divisions, with Analy plying its trade in the uber competitive Oak Division, while the Lions look to make their mark in the Redwood Division.
The Flying Tigers (0-1, 3-12) weathered a tough preseason schedule before kicking off league play on Jan. 3 with a 50-40 loss to Piner, while the Lions (0-2, 7-7) opened NBL action with losses to Elsie Allen (67-56) and Maria Carrillo (63-41).
Both will resume league play this week as Analy visits Windsor on Jan. 8 (after press time) and Montgomery (Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m.), while El Mo hosts Ukiah (Jan. 8) and Healdsburg (Jan. 10, 7:30 p.m.).
Lions making strides
EL Molino had already surpassed last year’s entire win total before the start of league play, scoring some impressive wins in a seven-win preseason. The Lions traveled to Maria Carrillo in their most recent outing on Jan. 3, spotting the Pumas a commanding 29-19 lead at the half. Things didn’t improve much after the break as Carrillo cruised to a 63-41 victory.
“Maria Carrillo played well and executed its game plan while we did not,” El Mo coach Collin Walker reported. “We both took the same amount of shots, but the difference was that they were 50 percent from the field while we were around 25 percent.”
Pacing the Lions attack were top scorers Abel Perez (10), Sam Wilson-Mietz (6), Thomas Siegert (6) and Pat Atkinson (5).
Tigers battling on hard-court
Analy will be looking to right the ship after weathering a 50-40 loss to Piner in the NBL opener on Jan. 3. The Prospectors set the tone with an 8-0 run out of the gate before settling for a 17-10 lead after one quarter, before the Tigers recovered in the second period to trail 25-21 at the half. Piner led by just one point after three quarters, but swamped the Tigers 15-6 in the final period to post a 50-40 win.
Leading scorers for the Tigers were Quinn Vermuelen (15), Sage Boek (7), JJ Fain (7), Antonio Sanchez (6), Kevin Wagner (3) and Nic Visser (2).
