Boys basketball
High school preseason basketball is all about discovery – finding out about team strengths while exposing weaknesses. The Jaguars did exactly that at the annual Rose City Tournament hosted by Cardinal Newman on Dec. 6-8, notching one win in three outings.
Windsor sandwiched a 58-53 win over Rancho Cotate with hard-fought losses to Petaluma (51-47) and San Marin (68-61), a better showing than their fifth place finish would indicate.
“The Rose City tournament proved to be the toughest test for our team at this early point of the season,” Jag’s coach Jared Greninger reported.
“All three games were settled by less than 10 points, coming down to free throws and end of game execution. The teams we played this past weekend exposed some of our weaknesses on offense and defense, which we will look to correct before the Brett Callan tournament begins on Thursday,” he added.
Junior center Christian Jernigan turned in a strong all-around performance, leading the team in scoring and rebounds to earn all-tourney honors for the second straight week.
“Christian has continued to dominate around the basket,” Greninger noted. “He’s produced double digit points and rebounds in almost every game this season for us.”
Next up for the Jaguars is the Brett Callan Memorial Tournament at Casa Grande on Dec. 13-15. Windsor (6-3) will open up on Thursday, Dec. 13 against the tourney host at 8 p.m.
Jags notch one of three
The Jaguars opened the Rose City tourney with a Dec. 6 clash with Petaluma, a tight battle that would come down to the final minutes. The Trojans led 15-11 after one before Windsor clawed back to knot the contest at 24-all at the half. The Trojans gained the upped hand with a 17-12 third-quarter run and held off a mild Jags’ rally in the final period to post a 51-47 win. Jernigan led the attack with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Jack Amormino chipped in 12 points.
The Jaguars got out of the blocks quickly in Friday’s tilt with Rancho Cotate, stunning the Cougars with a 20-8 first-quarter run. Windsor led by eight after three and fought off a hard-charging Rancho squad to notch a 58-53 win.
Top scorers for the Jags were Jernigan (17), Jordan Merical (16) and Amormino (8 points, 7 boards).
Windsor faced San Marin in the fourth place game on Saturday, using a strong second period to take a 29-28 halftime lead. The Mustangs opened up a six-point edge in the third quarter and powered to an eventual 68-61 victory.
Jernigan secured all-tourney honors with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Other scoring leaders were Merical (15), Jaden Ruybalid (11) and Amormino (6 points, 9 rebounds).
