VARSITY BOYS HOOPS TAMES THE BRONCOS FOR 6TH STRAIGHT W AND TAKE FIRST PLACE IN DAL, PLAY MARIN CATHOLIC TONIGHT 630PM

The DONS put their five-game winning streak on the line Wednesday night at home against the Northgate Broncos. Both teams came in with identical records at 13-4, 3-0 in league so someone was going home with their first league defeat. The Broncos were banged up with both leading scorers #10 David at 17 PPG and #22 Grayson 14 PPG expected to be out but Grayson got cleared that day and was able to give it a go. More and more people ae coming to see this DONS team and we had the added aura of Cal Hi Sports covering this game as the Crumbl Cookie Game of the Week.

Northgate got on the board first as #23 Deangelo hit a baseline jumper and shushed the student section. That was the high point for the Broncos as the DONS exploded on an 18-0 run over the rest of the quarter. Maddox was running point and feeling it early as he hit a step back three and then went coast-to-coast with Luka-like tempo change of pace finishing from the left with his off hand. He added another three and a slashing drive down the lane both assisted by Ryder. Maddox had 10 points over a four-minute span, also setting up buckets from Ian and Brady who had a nice move from the left corner. Cam nailed a jumper as time expired and we were rolling 18-2!

Northgate steadied the ship a bit in the second. Maddox found Cam inside for an easy reverse layup. Chase had a solid game and got into the mix scoring on a drive down the lane off the glass then finding a cutting Brady on the next possession for two. Brady scored again minutes later and it was 26-8 at that point but the DONS struggled to score the rest of the half. Deangelo would score the next 5 for the Broncos making it a 26-13 game at the break.

The Broncos got it down to 9 a couple minutes into the third and then things got really fun. Rufus #3 drove to the lane and Ryder came up with a massive block that triggered a fast break ending in Ryder cleaning up the board for two. Seconds later Maddox streaked across the court stealing a pass then shuffled it to Ian a the last second for the and-1. Northgate called time but that didn’t stop the momo. Maddox came up with a huge block after the TO and then brought the ball down and launched a bomb from Orinda…BOOM! Then Brady found Gavin who splashed a three from the corner. LET”S GO!!!! 38-17 DONS. Chase crashed the lane on a missed three and got the rebound and bucket in one fell swoop. Gavin picked up two more on a pretty spin move and finish with his left. The Broncos banked in a buzzer beating three to make the score 45-25 after three.

The bench came in to finish them off. AJ found Arman underneath for two. Cam hit a pull up jumper. Landon found AJ who nailed a three – much to the fans’ delight. AJ returned the favor to a cutting Landon for two more. Lorenzo assisted the last bucket to Landon on another great cut down the lane. 60-40 final, DONS win their sixth straight and 8 of their last 9 only losing to Serra. After the game, the team huddled around the camera and celebrated their latest athletic conquest with joy and a gigantic box of free sugar marked “Crumbl” on it…LOL.

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The DONS shot 38% (24/64) from the field, 31% (5/24) from three, and 78% (7/9) from the line. Broncos shot 29% (15/58) from the field, 6% (1/18) from three, and 60% (9/15) from the line. Dons doubled them up on the boards 52-26 but lost the turnover battle with 16 to their 13.

BALL MOVEMENT WATCH

Assists on FGs Made – 13 assists on 24 field goals (54%) – 65% considered good, >75% is ideal

Assist to Turnovers – 16 turnovers (0.81) – 1.00 considered good, >1.50 is ideal

Maddox led the way with team highs of 15 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and +22 joining his brother in the double double club. Brady added 8 points and 4 rebounds. Gavin had 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. Chase had a really solid game with 6 points and 6 rebounds. More scoring came from Cam with 6 and Ian 5. Ryder had 4 points along with 9 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 assists. Preston had 6 boards.

In DAL action last night, Las Lomas beat Campolindo 58-53 and Ygnacio Valley got their first league win over Clayton Valley which means the DONS are now in sole possession of first place at 4-0. Campo and Las Lomas are tied at 4-1 and Clayton at 3-1.

Up next for the DONS (13-4, 4-0) a quick road trip to San Marin HS in Novato tonight for a 630PM tipoff against Marin Catholic as part of the MLK- John Lewis Memorial Classic. The Wildcats are 10-10, 3-0 in League but have won 5 of their last 6 with wins over San Marin, Archie Williams (who beat Campo), San Rafael and Ukiah and a loss to Redwood by 5. Common opponents include Las Lomas (L, 58-53) and Serra (L, 68-45). This will be a good non-league mid-season test for the DONS as they get ready to host Alhambra next Wednesday 1/22 and the biggest game of the year vs. Campolindo next Friday night 1/24. FEAR THE BLUE!!!!!

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DONS DUNK-O-METER: 19 (NC) Click to see some of the BEST DUNKS of the YEAR!

***DONS LIVE BROADCASTING UPDATE***

Starting with the Huber Tournament in mid-December, you may have noticed a new addition to the bench side of the stands as efforts have been underway to start a live broadcasting program at Acalanes. After several games and countless hours of fine tuning all the technical stuff, the Northgate game was the first time we were live on the air with Hank Bauer doing play-by-play and Donovan McGrath doing color. Listen in to the livestream for the remaining home games as these two and Miles Blackheart will bring life to the broadcast. Special thanks to all who have made this possible in addition to the boys: Eric Morford – Technical Director, Andres Caicedo and Stuart Colaco – Senior Technical Advisors, Bob Sofman – Senior Consultant/Broadcast Journalism at Campolindo, Kevin McCarthy – Boosters President and someone at Miramonte for loaning us the official headsets. The plan is to grow the program and expand it to more sports at ACA year round!