The Acalanes Freshmen went 2 & 1 in the third week of the regular season, with big wins against Mt. Diablo and Benicia, sandwiched around a close loss to a tough Clayton Valley squad.
Game 1 – Acalanes 68, Mt. Diablo 29
The Dons traveled to take on the Mt. Diablo Red Devils and get back to their winning ways by applying the lessons learned in tough losses to Campolindo and Dublin. From the tip, Acalanes was the more aggressive team, getting turnovers and hitting seven threes on the way to a 29 – 8 first quarter lead. Cash Woehrle (3), Brandon Blatteis (2), Pengyu Chen, and Zubin Krishnan all connected from deep. When Mt. Diablo moved to guard the 3-point line more closely, Aca took the ball to the basket, with Nick Zagorov scoring inside three times.
Acalanes continued to dominate both sides of the court, as more players filled up the stat sheet and played great team basketball. The Dons had 21 assists on 25 made baskets, made 11 of 20 2-point FGs (55%), and 14 of 34 3-point FGs (41%) for perhaps their best all around offensive game of the year. 11 different players scored and every player on the team had a positive plus / minus for the game. The prettiest play of the game came on a Zagorov pass to a backdoor cut by Cade Korpita, who finished with a reverse layup. The defense was stout, as well. Aca held the Red Devils to under 10 points in each quarter, except the third, and to just 3 points in the fourth quarter. Krishnan (14), Zagorov (13), and Woerhle (12) led the scoring for the Dons.
Game 2 – Acalanes 50, Clayton Valley Charter 65
Acalanes was on the road again to take on the Clayton Valley Ugly Eagles in a midweek matchup of two good teams. This set up to be a contest of shooting and quickness for the Dons versus size for Clayton Valley. The first quarter played out accordingly, with Brandon Blatteis dropping in three 3-pointers for 9 of Aca’s 10 points, and the Eagles two main players netting 13 of their 16 points either at the rim or the free throw line.
The second quarter was one of Acalanes’ best of the year and showed what a quick, hounding press can do against even good teams. The Dons forced multiple turnovers and steals, with Pengyu Chen leading the charge. Those live ball turnovers led to layups and open threes in transition, and five different Dons cashed in. Blatteis and Chen led with 8 and 7, respectively, and Kainoa Brinkman added a deep three, Brayden Sarbiewski converted two free throws, and Nick Zagorov added another. When the halftime buzzer sounded, Acalanes had turned a 6-point deficit into an 8-point lead, 31 – 23.
The Eagles turned the tables in the third, as their two big guns combined to score all 23 points. Clayton Valley did not make a single 3-pointer in the game, but really didn’t need to, as they continued to use their size to get layups or fouls. Acalanes managed to put up 15 points of their own, with Zagorov adding 6 in the quarter. Chen continued to play great defense and led the Dons with 6 steals, but was forced to leave the game with a calf strain. The game was tied after 3, 46 – 46.
With Chen out, the Acalanes press and defense softened, and Clayton Valley methodically worked the ball down court and into the paint for good looks for their 6’4” center. Acalanes got a number of good looks of their own for 3-pointers, but they all seemed to get half-way down just to spin out. Aca wouldn’t score until the two-minute mark when Christian Dunphy got downhill and finished at the rim. Ary Deepak added two free throws near the end to end the scoring for the Dons. In the end, it was a solid three quarters against a quality opponent that was undone by 25 turnovers and cold shooting late. Blatteis (17) and Chen (12) led the scoring for the Dons.
Game 3 – Acalanes 69, Benicia 38
The Dons were back home to host the Benicia Panthers and end the week with a win. The fans didn’t have to wait long for the fireworks to begin, as Aca won the tip and Nick Zagorov scored on a driving layup just 10 seconds into the game. Cash Woehrle followed up with a 3-pointer from the corner 20 seconds later, and the Dons were off and running, playing almost perfect basketball for the first four minutes of the game. On defense, Aca racked up 4 deflections, 4 steals, and gave up ZERO offensive rebounds. On offense, the team shot 83% on 2-point FGs (5 of 6) and 60% on 3-point FGs (3 of 5). They dished out four assists, grabbed an offensive rebound of their own, and committed just one lone turnover, resulting in a 19-4 Acalanes lead. Woehrle (+21), Zagorov (+30), Zubin Krishnan (+21), Brayden Sarbiewski (+24), and Brandon Blatteis (+27) set the tone for the game and got the Dons off to a roaring start and a 22-9 lead after one.
The Dons kept it rolling in the second with Cade Korpita opening the scoring with a 3-pointer from the corner, and Zagorov adding two more threes. Two highlight plays punctuated the quarter, however. The first was a transition, half-court pass from Kiran Ouk to Frankie Rocca, who rose for the catch and made a perfect touch pass to a cutting Grady Branagh for a beautiful layup. The second was a no-look pass from Zagorov to Ary Deepak, who laid it in from the left side while getting fouled. Acalanes extended the lead by three in the quarter, and went into halftime ahead 35 – 19.
There was no letdown for the Dons to start the third quarter, as Krishnan stole a pass on the Panthers’ first possession and took it the length of the court for two, as part of a 10 – 0 run to extend the lead to 26. Coach Richards rolled in five fresh players at the 4:23 mark, and they kept the fine play going. Kainoa Brinkman hit a wing 3-pointer, and Cade Korpita stole the ball right back that led to a Grady Branagh elbow jumper. Kiran Ouk and Frankie Rocca drained back to back 3-pointers from the top of the key, and Rocca ended the quarter with a nice runner in the lane. Aca won the quarter 25 – 10 and led by 31 after three.
Even though the game was well in hand, the Dons kept hustling. Early in the quarter, Mason Andersen chased down the ball handler from behind, tipped the ball away to Christian Dunphy, who threw it ahead to Andersen sprinting the other direction for a breakaway layup. With their large lead, the Dons controlled the tempo and moved the ball around well on offense. Dunphy closed the scoring for Acalanes with a driving layup through the lane and a lefty finish. Every Don got on the board for a convincing 69 – 38 win.
