The varsity basketball Jaguars negotiated their first hurdle of the North Bay League campaign on Jan. 4 at Casa Grande, using a strong third-quarter surge to power past the Gauchos, 69-57.
The league-opening win gave the defending NBL champions a 1-0 start and extended their overall record to 10-3.
The Jags start a two-game home-stand on Jan. 6 against Santa Rosa, followed by a Wednesday, Jan. 11 tilt against Maria Carrillo. Game times for the JV and varsity are 6 and 7:30 p.m.
The Jan 4 visit to Casa Grande featured a fast start, with Windsor guard Kobe Roman knocking down a flurry of shots to fuel a 10-0 run out of the gate. The Jaguars led 17-8 after one. Casa got it rolling in a strong 19-10 surge in the second quarter to forge a 27-all tie at the break.
The Gauchos took their first lead of the game at 32-27 early in the third, but it would only serve as a wake-up call for Windsor. Employing great defense and the relentless offensive attack by twin brothers Riley and Justin Smith, the Jaguars closed out the period on a 24-4 run to bust the game wide open at 51-36 at the end of three. The Jags maintained the cushion throughout the fourth quarter on their way to a 69-57 win.
“The difference in the game was our defense in the third quarter,” Jags coach Travis Taylor said. “Offensively, we shot it well as a team and shared the ball, but again the game was won because of our defense and rebounding in the second half.”
Riley Smith had a terrific game with a team-high 24 points and 10 rebounds. Other top contributors were Justin Smith (16 points, 7 boards), Roman (13 points10 assists), Travis Carlozzi (7 points, 5 rebounds), Brandon Mallie (3 points), Ethan Wright (3 points) and Uly Vielma (3 points).
The Jags were 9-18 from three-point range.
