On Thursday the Dons headed south to face the Miramonte Matadors on their senior night. Local MOL and CYO legend Ethan Conley was the lone senior honored by the Mats but could not play due to injury, so he got a moving speech from the Coach and an honorary tip-off. Both teams got off to a slow start after the start/stop of warm-ups, senior night and intros and went a few minutes without scoring, the Dons defense helped by 2 blocks from Jake Davis. Jake ended the scoring drought with a bucket on a nice feed over the top from Theo Stoll, and Theo got the Dons’ next 4 with a driving layup of his own and then 2 FTs. A nice baseline drive from Jack Bayless late in the quarter gave the Dons an 8-2 lead in a testament to their defense. 

Q2 started off with a 3 from Zuuuuuubin Acuña in the corner. Zubin added 2 FT the next trip, and then a nice Bayless steal led to Theo hitting Jake on an early post move for a 9 point lead. The Mats hit a couple of 3s to stay in contention, the only flaws in the Dons D.  A beautiful spin move and lefty finish from Jake kept the margin for the Dons, and he added another basket on a pick and roll feed from Theo, but 4 consecutive made 3s from Miramonte kept it close. The game got chippy after a long scramble for a loose ball with the Mats called for a T and Theo made both FT. A steal from Jake led to a nice transition basket from Jack, and Jake got 2 FT after that for an 8 point lead. Bayless made a glorious pump fake and drive, after which the Dons defense buckled down yet again, and Zubin banged in another trifecta for a 30-17 Acalanes lead at the half.

Local Dad Peter Reidenbach got a nice shout out at halftime from the Mats announcer for his incredible Miramonte football career, and the second half got underway. Jake started the scoring with another lefty spin, Zubin hit a transition layup, and Jake got a tip in.  Jake then launched a Mats jumper into the snack bar bake sale leading to a TO from the Mats. The Dons scoring slowed up a bit after that, and the Mats were getting to all the loose balls to cut a 15 point lead to 7 with 3 to play in the quarter. After a fiery timeout from Coach Powers, Justin Zegarowski hit a huge 3 and after a stop Theo hit a 3 for a 13 point lead.  Colin Norstad had a great steal under the basket for another stop, and Theo picked the other point guard’s pocket and kicked it up to Jake for a euro finish. Zubin capped the scoring for the quarter with a baseline floater and a 46-34 lead. The focus and effort of the Dons defense can not be overstated as Miramonte was forced to reset often and take many tough shots late in the clock after the well timed Powers TO.

Q4 started with the Dons forcing another turnover and Jake getting a cutting layup on a great feed from Zubin. Miramonte wasn’t going away however, getting a backdoor layup and another 3 to chip into the Dons lead which stood at 7 with 5 to play. Zeg then fed Jake inside for 2 more, but 2 quick fouls on Jake made it 4 for the game and made the crowd a little edgy on both sides. Zubin added another smooth floater from the baseline, and after a battling rebound from Jack, the defense followed Theo on a fake handoff leaving Jake open for his first 3 of the game and a 9 point lead. Miramonte turned to a press after making 2 FT but Zeg coolly hit Zubin for a press break layup to maintain the 9 point advantage. Theo forced a jump ball for a Dons possession with 90 seconds left and the Dons again broke the press but failed to convert. Miramonte got a 2 on this trip and then was forced to send Theo to the line for a 1 and 1, he stepped up and hit both to make it a 9 point game once again. Needless to say…it was intense! Miramonte got a quick layup and the and 1 but a nice long inbounds pass to Zeg gave Acalanes more free throws. Jake grabbed a missed FT offensive rebound and kicked to Theo who was fouled and hit both his FTs to go up 8. Zeg secured the next Miramonte miss leading to 2 more FT from Theo and a 10 point lead. That was the final margin and Acalanes took home the win 63-53. Jake led all scorers with 23 following a 30 point effort Tuesday against Northgate, Zubin dropped 16, Theo had 15, many on crucial late free throws, Jack had 6, and Zeg added his huge momentum shifting 3. The Dons play their last regular season game Saturday at Campo at 6pm. Come out and support your Dons!