Analy coach Brett Page records 200th career win
The Analy Flying Tigers retained west county bragging rights for at least another month, scoring a hard-fought 60-53 win over El Molino on the Lion’s home court on Jan. 4.
The win came in the Sonoma County League opener for both teams, pushing Analy’s season record to 4-11 and 1-0 in league while El Mo fell to 3-11 and 0-2.
Leading Analy scorers included JJ Fain (19 points), Quinn Vermuelen (15 points, 6 rebounds), Avi Frey (9 points, 12 rebounds), Nic Visser (8 points, 9 boards) and Brenden Medina (5 rebounds). Ricky Valedez took top scoring honors for the Lions with 20 points and 13 boards, while other top contributors were Curtis Lewis (13 points, 6 rebounds) and Wyatt Stringfellow (great defense).
The win was big on several fronts for the defending SCL champion Tigers after a preseason sabotaged by illness and injuries, giving veteran coach Brett Page win number 200 in his 10th varsity season.
“We played hard and made plays when we needed to to get a win against a much improved El Molino team,” Page noted, before addressing the historic win. “I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to coach as long as I have and at the school that I played basketball. It’s not my achievement alone, I share the 200 victories with players and coaches that I have worked with over the years.”
The Lions were back on the court two nights later at Petaluma, playing their opponent tough for the first two quarters before the Trojans broke it open after intermission in powering to a 68-34 win.
“We played well in the first half and yet the Trojans’ lead made it appear worse than it was,” El Mo coach Jesse Heiny said, before praising Zach Hunt, Logan Woolsey and Thomas Siegert for great all-around play. “We’re O-2 unfortunately, but hopefully getting a couple of our key guys back will help to strengthen our chances.”
The Lions will resume league action this week when they visit Elsie Allen on Jan. 9 (after press time) before returning home to host Healdsburg on Jan. 11. El Mo will travel to Piner this Saturday, Jan. 13.
The Tigers will begin a busy week with a Jan. 9 visit to Healdsburg and host Piner on Jan. 11. Analy will travel to Sonoma Valley on Jan. 13. All varsity games start at 7:30 p.m.