Thursday, December 5, 2024
Record: 2-0
“We are a great team.” Claimed Evan Palmer, Number 35.
The Junior Varsity Boys Basketball team showcased their greatness in the opening game of the John Rhodes Tournament. They dominated the San Marin Mustangs by a score of 64-21. As the season starts to unfold, the young Dons sit at 2-0.
JV Coach Eric Thomas does his homework. He finds film on his opponents to exploit their weakness. For the San Marin game, Eric felt a lineup featuring his two big men, John MacLeod and Caelan Augustine, would give him an advantage. This strategy had mixed results in the first quarter. The Dons’ defense easily stopped the Mustangs, but the Dons’ offense struggled to score. Anthony Heglie got the Dons on the board for a 2-0 lead. Bryce Mansour made two beautiful passes in a row. The first pass was a nice hand off pass to Jackson Boselli, number 4, for a score. This pass was followed by a full court pass to the streaking Heglie for another score. AJ Del Santo made a nice layup, which put the Dons up by nine points. Kaya Wingate, number two, came off the bench and contributed immediately. He poured in a quick layup then stole the ball and made another layup.
The Dons were up 18-6 after one quarter.
For the second quarter, Coach Thomas decided to switch up his lineup and go mainly with guards. This fast, aggressive lineup rewarded their coach. Kaya, sporting pink sneakers, continued to score. His two layups, one of which was created by Connon Eun’s steal, led to four quick points. Connor then stole the ball and fed Justice Hembrador for a score. The Dons led 24-6. The dagger three pointer came early in this game. Sean Khouw’s three pointer extended the lead by twenty-one points. It was no longer a question of whether the Dons would win, only a question of how much. Connor kept the onslaught going. He hit a mid-range jumper and followed it up with a layup. Ben Mickelson then hit a three pointer. Dons 35, their guests 6. Nolan Potts and Shea Stahl also scored in the quarter.
At halftime, the Dons had dismantled the Mustangs by a score of 44-8.
In the 3rd quarter, the Dons continued to dominate. Jackson Boselli’s layup opened the home team’s scoring. He was followed by AJ Del Santo’s layup. Bryce Mansour, one of the team captains, made a sweet pass to Caelan Augustine for another score. But the pass of the game was made by Oliver MacLeod, number 20. Oliver hit Ben Mickelson with a back door pass for an easy layup. The Dons found themselves up by 47 points! Even with the overwhelming talent in front of them, San Marin still competed. They went on a mini run to close the game to 40 points. However, Sean Khouw hit a three pointer to end their hopes.
After three quarters, the home team was in command, 62-17.
For the final quarter, Kaya Wingate opened it with a nice put back for a score. Yet, like the previous lopsided game, Coach Thomas displayed sportsmanship by not attacking his opponent defensively or offensively.
This led to a final score of 64 to 21 in favor of the Dons.
Evan Palmer, who exemplifies hard work and positive energy, offered additional insight to his team. “We are a really great team with allot of depth. If we run, run, and push hard to go, everyone does well. We really are capable of great things if we all work hard.”
JV Hoopster invite you to witness their hard work.
Please check out their schedule at JV Schedule – Acalanes Dons (Lafayette, CA) JV Basketball 24-25
Reported by: Spencer and Steve Clark