Tuesday. January 9, 2024
Record: 13-3

The JV Basketball team 2023-2024 journey is turning into a magical season. The hard-working Dons defeated the talented, well coached Clayton Valley Ugly Eagles by a score of 59-58. The Dons now stand at 13-3 for the season!

Many of the Clayton Valley’s players participate in NorCal AAU program, which allows the Ugly Eagle players to train and play all year long with one another. Moreover, Clayton Valley teams are always physically and mentally prepared to excel and win. The young Dons clearly entered this match as underdogs.

The first quarter showed that the Dons were not intimated by their opponent. Each time Clayton Valley scored, Acalanes would match it. The game sat at 4-4 until Josh Elerts with a nice move inside put the Dons up by two. Chase Bahou three pointer extended the lead. Clayton Valley answered with a run of their own. The game was tied at 11 all. Josh closed out the quarter with a bucket and foul shot. The Dons led 14-11.

The second quarter belonged to the Ugly Eagles. They went down by three points to up by one point, 29-28. Lorenzo Cangini, #20, carried the Dons throughout the quarter. Not only did Lorenzo score eight points, but he had a beautiful assist to Arman Craig. Arman contributed four points in the quarter.

After halftime, Acalanes played it is finest quarter of the season. The Dons hit the visitors hard with an opening run. Lorenzo, who had 18 points for the game, scored five straight points to give the Dons a 33-31 advantage. Nice passing by Chase extended the lead to six points. The Dons defended their opponents well, only committed two turnovers, and shot the ball well. Acalanes was 50% from the field for both 2 pointers and 3 pointers. The quarter ended on a Josh free throw. The Dons were now crushing the Ugly Eagles by a score of 50-42.

The final quarter taught the Dons not to give a quality opponent any type of opportunity. Acalanes fumbled the ball repeatedly or took ill-advised shots. This allowed Clayton Valley to go on a five-point run. A Lorenzo three pointer stopped the run momentarily. More miscues by the home team allowed Clayton Valley to narrow the lead by one point. Coach Thomas wisely called a timeout and turned to Josh Elerts for help. Josh delivered. Chase, who had 12 points for the game, followed Josh with a dagger of a three pointer. The Dons were now back up by six points. Clayton Valley hit a buzzer three pointer which made the game appear closer than it was. David had beaten Goliath 59 to 58.

“It was a great statement win.” Said the jubilant Coach Eric Thomas. Eric further added: “We can beat anyone in our league. Even though it was only 1 point win, I felt like the game was never out of our control, and we were comfortable from start to finish.”

The JV Basketball team’s next game is Saturday, January 13, 2024. We go on the road to play Benecia. Tipoff is at 6:00pm. Fear the Blue!