Clearly the Dons weren’t slowed down by post Thanksgiving celebrations as they kicked off the 2022-2023 season opener with a quick start against the Washington Huskies. The Varsity boys got it going from the opening tip and quickly had some nice ball movement and classic Dons play with Jake Davis getting blocks, boards and feeding Jack Bayless under the bucket.
Theo Stoll got the visiting crowd going feeding Jake with an alley-oop then Jake followed up with a sweet behind the back pass to Jack. Playing some tough defense, the Dons opened up with an 8-0 run before the Huskies put up a bucket. Good action across the team in the first period, everyone was grabbing boards, Brady Quinn came in off the bench and quickly hit a three, Colin Norstad was in off the bench and immediately started grabbing boards and feeding assists. At the end of the first period the Dons were up 15-5.
The Huskies fought back in the second period, taking advantage of creating a lot of turnovers and with 2:40 left in the half it was a two point game with the Dons up 19-17. Jake and Theo helped edge the lead back up as the half ended with the Dons up 25-17.
Jordan Brown took over the game in the second half scoring 16 of his game leading 20 points in the 3rd period. He hit 3s from both corners, drove the middle even had some fast breaks. Theo and Jake continued their fun alley-oop combo. Zubin Acuna kept grabbing boards and by the end of the period the Dons had opened a sizable 47-30 lead going into the last period.
The final period saw some nice action from Ian Salmon and Liam Krackeler converted a bucket on a behind the back pass from Colin. Brady had some pretty moves and another 3. The Huskies wanted to work their way back but the solid play from the Dons kept the lead and pushed the margin northward. The Dons closed out their opening game down in Fremont with a 64-41 win. It was a great way to get the season kicked off and great way to round out Thanksgiving break.
Get ready Dons fans, it’s going to be a great season! Next up is a Piedmont tournament this coming Thursday, Friday and Saturday. See you out there!