The freshman Dons have been busy taking down competitors.  They put together a four game win streak beating Serra 53-51, Washington 55-45, Clayton Valley Charter 53-42 and Miramonte 68-35.

There were a lot of great contributions by many players.  Justice Hembrador scored 16 points and Ben Mickelson had 9 points and 7 rebounds against Serra.  In the Washington game Bryce Mansour had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Finn Rivera had 10 points, 3 assists and 5 steals and Sam Phillips had 8 points and 4 assists.  Against Clayton Valley Bryce scored 12 points, Justice scored 10, Jackson Boselli had 5 assists and Ben Mickelson had 4 steals.  Kaya Wingate scored 12 points and Paul Bacon had 5 steals and 5 rebounds against Miramonte.  Caelan Augustine and Jon MacLeod also produced consistent buckets and rebounds across all the games.

On Saturday the Dons faced a 10-3 Benicia team in a game that turned out to be a double overtime thriller.  Benicia led most of the game.  The first quarter was tight, Justice Hembrador and Finn Rivera supplied the scoring and the quarter ending 11-9.  Ben Mickelson went on a run hitting three 3 pointers in the 2nd quarter keeping the Dons close, but a Benicia 3 point buzzer beater put the Panthers up 24-20 at half.

In the 3rd quarter Ben, Bryce and Finn kept the scoring going but the Panthers extended their lead to 32-26.  The Dons mounted a 10 point comeback in the 4th quarter and played great defense forcing overtime.  Jackson scored 5 points, Finn got to the rim and Ben hit 2 free throws and had a block, tied 36-36.

First OT, free throws by Jackson and Finn keep the Dons in it and once again we’re tied, 40-40 double OT.  Another defensive block by Ben, steal and score by Finn and free throws by Bryce and Finn were enough to take the lead but the Panthers hit their free throws and a 3 pointer and a contested last second shot by Ben didn’t go, so Bencia took the victory 47-44.

Next up, the freshman Dons take on Alhambra in an away game on Wednesday 1/17.