The Varsity Boys hosted the 12th Annual Chris Huber Classic last weekend in Lafayette. The Boys easily made it past Stagg in the opener and a tough Mountain House team in the Semis to make it into the Finals in a match up with 8-1 Woodcreek out of Roseville. The Timberwolves are led by #33 Big Max, a 4-star recruit, and one of the best Class of 26’ big men in NorCal. They came in with an eight game winning streak after dropping their first game of the year to a very good Monterey Trail team.
The Dons had an opportunity to win their own tournament for the first time ever, setting the stage for a dramatic battle all night long. Both teams had trouble scoring in the first but Woodcreek was able to jump out to an 8-2 lead with four buckets inside. Ian found Ryder for an easy two and Cam found Joe for a triple as the Dons were only down 5-8 going into the second.
The Timberwolves pushed the lead to 6-12 when Joe made a tremendous spin move on Max and finished with the left as he fell out of bounds. Woodcreek continued to patiently try to break down the Dons D, getting a big second chance rebound that led to two free throws, scoring a couple times inside and hitting a nice step back jumper to push the lead to ten with about 2 minutes to go in the half. The Dons woke up when Gavin finished a nice 3 point play and then Maddox found Brady for a baseline J. Then Ryder pinned a Timberwolves shot off the glass and Maddox picked up the rebound going coast to coast for two. Maddox scored again on a pretty drive extending his right arm to the cup faster than Big Max could react to it and the Dons were down 4 at the break.
The Timberwolves pushed the lead to 8 again when Brady found Gavin inside for two and Maddox who stroked a three, then Brady made a jumper of his own to make it 26-27. Woodcreek would not go away, again taking their time on offense to get another layup and convert two midrange jumpers pushing the lead back up to 7. Brady found Gavin in the corner for three and Chase found Cam in the opposite corner for another, 33-37 Dons down four after three quarters.
Cam found Joe again for a huge three to open up scoring in the fourth. Then Cam found Maddox for a top of the key splash to tie it all at 39 with just over 6 minutes to go. The crowd was coming alive, could the Dons make history? Two minutes later and on another Brady assist, Maddox drove to the hoop and threw up a wild off balance shot that swished in. Dons with their first lead of the night 41-39 with 4 minutes to go. Woodcreek countered going into the post to Max who hit an extremely difficult high arching fallaway over the outstretched arm of Ryder to tie it back up. The final 3+ minutes saw no points scored as teams exchanged missed shots and turnovers. The Dons had the ball with 30 seconds left and called timeout. After multiple dribble exchanges in the backcourt, Ryder went to set a screen for Gavin but was called for a tough moving screen foul with just 10 seconds to go. Woodcreek had the chance to win it but the jumper by #10 clanked off the rim as time expired and we were going to OT.
Dons won the jump and Brady found a cutting Maddox who finished with the left over Big Max to go back up 2. Woodcreek went back inside to their big who was able to convert down, 43 all. After some missed three’s and turnovers both ways, Woodcreek had the ball with just over 1:30 left. With the shot clock winding down they made the entry pass to Max who drove baseline and was met at the rim by Gavin rejecting the shot. Unfortunately, #22 came streaking in from the three point line, corralling the rebound and laying it in as the shot clock expired drawing the foul in the process. After banking in the free throw the Wolves were up 3 with just over a minute to go. On the next possession, the Dons were forced to throw up a tough 3 that missed long as the shot clock was winding down and the Wolves seized the rebound. At that point It became a foul game and Woodcreek was unfazed there all night, going 17/18 (94%) from the line. The lead grew to 8 before Brady found Gavin for a deep three. That would be all for this Dons crew that battled hard all night and 46-53 was the final.
The Dons only shot 29% overall from the field while Woodcreek shot 34%. The Dons were 7/28 (25%) from deep while the Wolves struggled going 0/10. However, Woodcreek was dominant at the line going 17/18 (94%) while Acalanes was only 3/6 (50%). The Dons shared the ball well with 14 assists on 18 made field goals. Woodcreek won the battle of the boards 36-44. Very low turnover game overall, the Dons had 5 to Woodcreek’s 8.
Maddox led the way with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Gavin had 13 points and 6 rebounds. Joe had his best game of the year with 8 points, two clutch three’s and solid D on Big Max. Brady added 6 assists and Ryder 7 rebounds. Big Max played all 36 minutes with 19 points on 6/14 shooting plus 18 rebounds and 4 turnovers. Woodcreek only played 7 players with two guys going the distance. Woodcreek has since beat Del Oro to extend their winning streak to 10 games and is now ranked #28 in CA by MaxPreps.
Here are some MaxPreps photos from the game: https://bit.ly/4fo71Ey
The Dons crushed Stagg in the opener 82-47 behind 13 points from Cam who had another hot shooting night going 3/4 from deep. Gavin added 10 points with 2 assists, Maddox had 9 points and 3 blocks, Ryder 8 points and 5 assists, Joe had 8 points and AJ had a team high 4 assists. The Malm Brothers put on a first half dunk show pushing the DONS DUNKOMETER up to 6 on the year. One of Ryder’s three dunks was named the #1 insane dunk in CA by HUDL for the week: http://bit.ly/3VKJCpW
In the Semis, the Dons outlasted a solid Mountain House team with a strong fourth quarter finish, winning 74-60. Gavin had 22 points and 9 rebounds, Cam added 15 points, Brady 10 points and 8 assists, Maddox 9 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists and Ian 8 points and 7 boards.
Next up for the Dons (5-2) is the Surf N’ Slam Tournament in San Diego from December 26-30th where they will face a tough St. John’s team from Texas in the opener. The tournament includes a few other CA schools plus teams from Hawaii, Idaho, Alaska and Oklahoma which should make for interesting competition.
DONS DUNKOMETER: 6 (up 4 from prior week)
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Photos Courtesy Nicole Malm: https://www.instagram.com/cappedbycoco
