Dons Varsity Boys Basketball Continues Strong Team Play, Defeats San Lorenzo 73-56

Fresh off three wins in Marin, the varsity boys basketball team returned home to defeat San Lorenzo 73-56 in a high-intensity, fast-paced game.  The Grizzlies played a tough man-to-man defense throughout, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Dons’ finely tuned attack.  The Dons’ unselfish play delivered an exciting game for the enthusiastic home crowd. 

The first quarter saw the Dons and Grizzlies trade possessions many times in a back and forth contest. Assisted by precision passing from his teammates, Jake Davis was dominant under the basket, scoring 8 of the Dons’ first 11 points.  The Grizzlies played tight defense and closed to within one point of the Dons at 11-10.  A block by Jake led to a 2-pointer by Derek Kotarba, and great hustle by Theo Stoll led to Jackson Aris-Dumas’s first 3-pointer of the night, opening up the Dons’ lead to 16-12.  Three rebounds by John Kalil, Graham Smith’s 6 points, and Jackson’s 2-pointer saw the Dons end the first quarter up 21-16. 

Scott Ruegg scored the Dons’ first 8 points of the second quarter, hitting a 2-pointer and back-to-back 3’s following great rebounding by Theo.  Aidan Bodner continued his strong defense, including taking a charge and teaming up with Jake for a block.  With 1:40 left in the half, Graham stole the ball and passed to Scott, who scored a fast 2-pointer.  Jackson sunk a 3-point buzzer beater to send the teams to the locker room with the Dons up 40-31.  

The Dons held the Grizzlies to 10 third quarter points.  Aidan had a great quarter, rebounding, blocking, stealing, and scoring 7 points. Jackson, Graham, and Scott added steals and rebounds.  After taking his second charge of the night, Aidan scored on a perfectly-timed pass from Jackson.  With less than four minutes left in the quarter, Scott sunk another 3 pointer, putting the Dons up 53-39.  Aidan grabbed a rebound and made a powerful block.  Graham stole the ball and scored 2 more points.  Another well-timed pass from Theo to Aidan resulted in 2 more points.  Aidan then stole the ball, and John and Aidan teamed up on defense, leading to 3 more points by Graham to end the quarter at 60-41.

The fourth quarter saw Theo continue his big contributions.  Following a steal by Theo, Graham passed to Scott, who hit a 2-pointer.  Theo found holes in the Grizzlies’ defense and scored 4 of the Dons’ last 6 points of the game.  

Four Dons scored in double digits:  Scott (20), Graham (15), Jake (12), and Jackson (11).  Defense was strong with more than 15 rebounds, 8 steals, and 5 blocks.  The Dons travel to Cal High on Friday night to play Alhambra in the Cal Classic Tournament. 

Jackson Aris-Dumas
Aidan Bodner
Aidan Bodner
Theo Stoll and Graham Smith