Nothing has come easily for the Jaguars in the first season following North Bay League realignment, navigating a division that has no gimmies on the schedule.
That has been the case through the first half of the NBL Oak Division season, with the latest road bumps coming in recent setbacks to Piner (53-42) and Santa Rosa (61-39).
At press time Windsor (1-5, 10-12) was preparing to resume NBL action with a three-game road swing beginning at Montgomery on Jan. 23, followed by visits to Analy (Jan. 25) and Cardinal Newman (Jan. 30). Game times for the JV and varsity are 5 and 7:30 p.m.
Jags drop a pair
The Jaguars fought an uphill battle in the Jan. 16 visit to Piner, spotting the Prospectors a 15-8 cushion after one. Leading by six at the half, Piner busted it wide open with a 17-8 third quarter run and held off a late Windsor rally en route to a 53-42 win.
“We maintained a small deficit for the majority of the game, but we were unable to close the gap,” Jags coach Jared Greninger said, while citing point guard Jaden Ruybalid with a great all around game. “We protected the ball well, only turning it over eight times, but didn’t shoot the ball well enough to give ourselves a chance to win.”
Pacing the Jags’ offense were Jaden Ruybalid (15 points), Jordan Merical (12 points) and Christian Jernigan (6 points, 12 rebounds).
Windsor continued the road swing with a Jan. 18 visit to Santa Rosa, again spotting the Panthers a 31-24 halftime advantage. Santa Rosa iced the contest with a 15-7 surge in the third in an eventual 61-39 victory.
“After a well fought first half of the game, we eventually wore down to the overwhelming physicality of our opponent,” Greninger noted.
Merical paced the attack with 10 points, while Jernigan chipped in six points and 15 boards for the Jags.
