In a near perfect encapsulation of the season, the Frosh Boys Basketball team won a thriller against rival Miramonte, hung tough against powerhouse De La Salle, and decisively beat an overmatched College Park team to finish 14 – 13 for the year.
Game 1 – Acalanes 65, Miramonte 63
The final week of the season started with a rivalry game against a short-handed but fired-up Miramonte squad. Both teams came out hot in the first quarter. Brayden Sarbiewski got things going for the Dons with a block on the first Matador shot and a corner three to open the scoring. Miramonte came right back with two inside scoring plays of their own. Aca answered on the next possession with a quick ball reversal to Cash Woehrle for a wing three to start a mini run. Nick Zagorov split two defenders and got to the rim for two. Sarbiewski stole a pass under the Matador basket and laid it in for another two. Miramonte fought back again by making tough shots both inside and out. Play continued at a high level for both teams, but the Dons’ hustle made the difference in the quarter. A Zagorov / Sarbiewski trap forced a travel, followed by a Sarbiewski offensive rebound and putback. Aca’s movement on offense freed up Brandon Blatteis for two deep threes. Woehrle followed his missed three to grab a diving offensive rebound and find Pengyu Chen cutting to the basket for a lefty layup. A Frankie Rocca steal and pass to Chen gave the Dons 24 points in the quarter and a 4-point lead after one. The Mats shot a blistering 7 for 11 from two and 1 for 2 from three, while the Dons were 6 of 9 for two and 4 for 11 from 3. Acalanes’ steals and offensive rebounds gave them 7 extra chances in the period.
The solid play continued in the second with Chen getting to the rim, and a classic Zagarov / Mason Andersen pick and roll layup. Aca grabbed a 28 – 22 lead, only to see Miramonte go on an 11 – 0 run that included two unbelievable circus shots. Zubin Krishnan hit a three to stop the bleeding and let Aca set up the press, which paid off with a Sarbiewski deflection and a Blatteis steal and layup. The scoring went back and forth from there, with neither team gaining separation. Zagorov beat a closeout down the lane for two with 25 seconds left to give the Dons a 3-point lead, but the Mats sliced the press for an easy lay-in to cut the deficit to 1, 42 – 41.
It looked like the torrid pace would continue in the third, when Miramonte hit a corner three on their opening possession to retake the lead. But both defenses tightened up and scoring became harder. Krishnan hit two free throws to tie it up at 44, and the game see-sawed back and forth for the rest of the quarter. Winning would come down to which team could grab that one extra rebound, get a timely deflection and steal, or knock down that dagger three or free throw. Miramonte struck first with two buckets in the paint. Then Blatteis nailed a three, and Sarbiewski grabbed a key loose ball, which led to the Dons executing a perfect inbound play for a Krishnan layup and the lead, 49-48. On one critical possession, Acalanes grabbed three straight offensive rebounds, leading to a killer backdoor pass from Zagorov to Blatteis for two. Rocca drilled a three from the corner and the Dons led 57 – 54 after 3.
Everyone seemed to get tight, and maybe a bit tired, in the fourth. Both teams started cold, missing several open looks, including a few at the rim. Miramonte finally nailed a jumper, and Woehrle beat a closeout and got to the rim for two. The Dons started collecting fouls, and the Mats connected on 2 of 4 to get within one. Still, at the 4-minute mark, Aca had scored two points; the Matadors 4. The defenses deserve some credit for the low scoring. Chen made perhaps the defensive play of the game by chasing down the Mats’ best player from behind to block his layup and save two points. The Dons’ foul trouble put Miramonte in the bonus early, and they converted 1 of 2 to tie the game at 59. Aca got a few more good looks, but couldn’t get anything to fall, and the Matadors took the lead, 61 – 59, on a runner in the lane. A Blatteis’ three was blocked on the next possession, and it looked bleak for the Dons, but they never panicked.
After getting a stop and a timeout, the Dons ran their best offensive set of the day when they needed it most. Chen passed to Sarbiewski at the elbow, then he and Krishnan set a solid, double pin-down screen to spring Blatteis open on the wing. Sarbiewski hit Blatteis just as his feet got set, and he splashed the 3-pointer to give Aca the lead, 62 – 61. With 40 seconds to go, the Dons got a big stop, and Miramonte needed to foul to extend the game. They sent Krishnan to the line, where he converted 1 of 2 for a two point Acalanes lead. The Mats had another chance with 10 seconds to go to tie or take the lead, but their jumper went long and Sarbiewski corralled the rebound and got fouled. At the line with a chance to ice the game, Sarbiewski calmly knocked down both free throws. The Mats got an uncontested layup as time expired. Dons win 65 – 63. Blatteis led the scoring for Acalanes with 23, followed by Krishnan with 11 and Sarbiewski with 9.
Game 2 – Acalanes 54, De La Salle 68
In a test of how far they’ve come this season, the freshmen Dons squared off against the De La Salle Spartans, whose frontcourt stood 6’, 6’4”, and 6’4” and 280 lbs. The last of which apparently already has SEC football scholarship offers. Acalanes would need to win on speed and shooting while fighting with everything they could muster inside. Nick Zagorov got Aca started with a clever backdoor pass to Brandon Blatteis for a lay-in. De La Salle’s BIG man came right back with a short drive and finish, bouncing the Don defender out of his way like he wasn’t even there – a scene that would repeat itself nearly a dozen times throughout the game. But the Dons would not go quietly. Blatteis and Cash Woehrle each got to the basket, Zagorov found Blatteis on another back-cut, and followed up with a 3-pointer of his own for an 11 – 4 Acalanes lead. A quick trap led to a Brayden Sarbiewski steal and an open 3-pointer for Blatteis that rattled out. The Spartans followed with two threes of their own to close the gap. Aca led 14 – 12 with a few seconds remaining, when a DLS guard hit a deep 3 to give them a 15 – 14 lead after one.
The game was lost, or rather De La Salle won the game in the second and third quarters by using their size to rebound and score in the paint. The Spartans were a lowly 6 for 24 from three, but 23 of 43 from two, with 16 offensive rebounds and winning the turnover battle. All told, DLS attempted 19 more shots than the Dons. De La Salle opened the quarter with a 10 – 2 run, scoring all their baskets at the rim, save for two free throws. The Dons played them to a draw the rest of the way, with Woehrle and Blatteis hitting threes and Pengyu Chen driving in for two. DLS led at half 39 – 30.
The third period started with Blatteis hitting two technical free throws, and Sarbiewski grabbing an offensive rebound and putback to cut the lead to 5, 39 – 34. The Spartans hit a three to get on the board, and the teams battled back and forth. On three separate possessions, Acalanes had chances to cut the lead to 3 or 4 with open 3-pointers, only to see them go halfway down and out. Sarbiewski knocked down a corner three to break the seal on the basket, but DLS chased down a 50 / 50 rebound on their end and found a Spartan wide open at the basket for an easy lay-in. The Dons’ cold shooting continued, and DLS knocked down a short jumper to win the quarter 20 – 15 and take a 59 – 44 lead into the fourth.
The Dons kept fighting until the very end, and the quarter featured another strong drive and finish from Chen and threes from Blatteis and Zubin Krishnan. Aca got the lead down to 10, 64 – 54 with three minutes left, but the Spartans went out the way they came in – in the paint. Each team tallied 9 points in the quarter, giving De La Salle the 14-point victory. The Dons had their chances, but they needed a few more threes to fall (6 of 23 for the game), fewer giveaways, and more defensive rebounds. Scoring for the Dons was relatively balanced – Blatteis (19), Zagorov (9), Chen (9), and Sarbiewski (8).
Game 3 – Acalanes 62, College Park Falcons 36
In the final game of the season for both teams, the Dons traveled to College Park to take on the freshmen Falcons. Neither team could get much going in the first few minutes, but College Park broke the ice with a 3-pointer at the 5-minute mark. Nick Zagorov answered with a three of his own on the next trip down the court, and the offenses were on the board. The Falcons converted two free throws to lead 5 – 3, but it would be their last lead of the day. Brandon Blatteis walked into a warm-up three for the Dons, who then forced a turnover with their press and earned Blatteis two free throws, which he converted. Cash Woehrle hit a floater for a 10 – 5 Dons lead. College Park managed to get to the line twice and made 3 of 4 to close the gap. The quarter ended on an exquisite Zagorov drive and kick to Blatteis for a three as the buzzer sounded. The scoreboard read Dons 13, Falcons 8.
Aca started to find its rhythm on both sides of the ball. An early steal led to a Blatteis layup, quickly followed by a Zagorov three. The Falcons fought hard and made some nice plays, but Acalanes just kept building their lead bit by bit. Kiran Ouk hit a wing three, and Zubin Krishnan found the range with a lefty floater to up the lead to 12, 26 – 14. College Park got inside for a couple of baskets, only to be outdone by Zagorov, who hit a deep three and a bank shot at the buzzer. The Dons went into halftime with a 31 – 18 lead.
The second half showcased some solid Dons defense, as Brayden Sarbiewski and Ary Deepak combined to deflect or block half a dozen Falcon shots. On offense, Zagorov (7) and Blatteis (8) scored the first 15 points for the Dons, and Pengyu Chen swished a wing three to close the quarter. College Park converted a rare, 4-point play mid-quarter to keep in touch, but Aca still grew its lead to 49 – 30 heading into the fourth.
The start of the final quarter belonged to Deepak and Grady Branagh. Deepak muscled into the lane for an offensive rebound and got fouled as he laid the ball back in. He missed the free throw, but Branagh grabbed two more offensive rebounds to give the Dons extra chances. Deepak and Chen ran a tight give and go for another Deepak bucket and a 53 – 30 lead. Acalanes reeled off another seven points, capped by a Cade Korpita baseline drive and finish. Frankie Rocca followed a possession later with a jump hook. With two minutes to go, the Dons (and the Acalanes cheering section) were determined to get Mason Andersen a three. With his teammates hustling for turnovers and feeding him the ball, Andersen managed to get up seven good tries, but unfortunately none fell. But it was a thrilling way to end the last game of the season, and it put a smile on everyone’s faces, even the College Park players. The Dons closed out the season in style with a 62 – 36 victory and an overall record of 14 wins and 13 losses.
