The varsity basketball Greyhounds were back in action after a 13-day COVID-related layoff last week with the unenviable task of taking on two of the top three teams in the North Bay League (NBL).
The Hounds began the stretch in a nearly empty gym in a Jan. 19 home clash with first-place Montgomery, giving the Vikings all they wanted to grab a 26-22 lead at the half. The visitors mounted a strong third-quarter comeback to surge into the lead at 36-32 after three, before putting the game away at the foul line in the final minutes en route to a 55-44 win.
“We had a lead early and just ran out of gas,” Hounds coach Kevin Leffew said later. “Credit Montgomery with some second half adjustments and we came out flat after halftime. I believe part is due to missing two weeks of play and conditioning, as well as no energy in the gym with the restrictions on spectators. “We just couldn’t recover at the end of the game.”
Junior Sam Vanden Heuvel led the Greyhounds with 16 points, while senior Graham McDonald chipped in 10 for Healdsburg.
The Hounds were back on their home court two nights later against perennial power Cardinal Newman, spotting the visitors a 14-9 lead in the first. Healdsburg trailed 23-17 at the half. The teams traded buckets throughout the third period and the Hounds cut the deficit to one point late in the fourth, but Newman hung on to post a 51-41 victory.
“We continued to battle back and kept the game close, but couldn’t quite get over the hump,” Leffew noted. “Newman played 12 different players and pressured us all game, and we just didn’t have the juice to overtake them, but our guys played so hard.”
Senior Sebby Leffew led the Healdsburg attack with 21 points, while McDonald added 10 for the Hounds.
Healdsburg (0-3, 7-9) will try to right the ship with a three-game stretch beginning on Jan. 24 (after press time at Maria Carrillo), followed by a Wednesday, Jan. 26 visit to Santa Rosa. The Hounds will finish the week on Friday, Jan. 28 in a home rematch with Maria Carrillo. With county health guidelines capping total indoor attendance at 50, very few spectators will be allowed in the gym.
