The Boys were busy last week with a tournament of sorts as they had back-to-back-to-back games against Serra, home vs Pinole Valley and a Saturday afternoon special at Vintage.
It all started Thursday night in San Mateo against the Serra Padres. The Dons hosted at the same time last year and it turned out to be one of those almost big wins as we had a six point lead with three minutes left but couldn’t finish them off. Excitement was in the air as Cal-Hi Sports was in attendance and this was the Chick-Fil-A Sportsmanship Game of the Week. Serra was coming in at 8-1 and ranked in the top ten amongst Bay Area teams. Dons were without Gavin and Serra was missing Sophomore big Jace #24.
The Dons came out on fire looking to make a statement. We won the tip and Maddox swished a three within ten seconds. Cam got the and-1 layup and Brady a sweet lefty finish, then the Dons poured it on as Cam drilled a top of the key triple and Ian hit Ryder for a rainbow three. Dons up 14-5 as Serra needed a time out with 3:30 left in the first!Â
However, momentum quickly changed and the Dons would go 5 minutes without a field goal as Serra went on a 15-2 run to take the lead 20-16 with 6:30 left in the second. The Big Fella went to work as Brady hit Ryder for a layup and then Ryder followed a Brady fastbreak with a thunderous follow up slam. Cam hit another wing three to put the Dons back ahead 23-22 halfway through the second. It was 30-25 Serra at the break.
Maddox got the first bucket in the third with a pretty euro step move shrinking the lead to two. Things went south again for the Dons as Serra ripped off another 10-1 run extending the lead to 40-28 midway through the quarter. But the Dons were not done yet. Cam picked #10 and went coast-to-coast for the deuce. Then Maddox whipped a cross-court pass to Brady for a corner three.   Ryder scored on consecutive tip-ins and Big Game Joe deposited a triple to cut the lead to 48-44 going into the fourth.
Joe made another big play early in the fourth scooping up a loose ball and getting the and-1 finish, Dons down 52-49 with 6 minutes to go. After getting a stop, the Dons threw the ball away on a halfcourt inbounds then kicked the ball away on the following possession. There would be no more Dons field goals the rest of the way as Sera ended the game on an 18-2 run.
This was a game of runs and Serra had three big ones (15-2, 10-1, and 18-2) after the initial Dons avalanche. Serra shot 51% from the field, 40% from three and was a perfect 100% (13/13) from the stripe. The Dons only shot 35%, 30% from deep and were only 45% (10/22) from the line. Serra outrebounded us 33-25 and had 22 assists to our season low 7.
Cameron was high scorer with 13 points on 5/15 shooting and was a team best +5. Ryder had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Brady finished with 9 points and Joe had a really nice game with 7 points all in the second half. Serra was led by Ryan #12 with 15 on 6/9 shooting (3/5 from deep), Mikey #10 with 13 points on 4/8 with 9 rebounds and 5 assist and point guard Sebastian #3 with 11 points and 7 assists.
Serra Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2RNFbs
Serra Cal-Hi Sports Coverage:Â https://youtu.be/0d2A0r__nrg?si=bJ-M7q0D1zXDqUx5
Dons then hosted Pinole Valley Friday night which was the first home game in almost 3 weeks since the tough OT loss to Woodcreek in the Huber Final. The Dons led 10-8 midway through the first then exploded and finished the half on a 38-6 run. AJ hit a three to end the first and added another in the second. Ryder slung a trademark pass to Arman Craig for a triple, Ian was running around like a gazelle scoring on multiple drives and Maddox scored 8 points in 2 minutes to give us the 48-14 lead at the break. That was pretty much all she wrote as the Dons won the third and eased off the throttle a bit in the fourth. The final was 80-44.
The Dons shot 52% from the field, 31% from three and 55% (5/9) from the line. We had a season high of 23 assists  and forced 23 turnovers. Maddox led the way with 19 points on 9/12 shooting, 2 assists/steals and +25. Ian had 16 points on 8/13, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and was +27. Chase had a team best +31 with 3 assists and 3 steals. AJ and Lorenzo both had 8 points on 3/3 shooting plus AJ stole the show with his Magic-like fake pass and layup finish in the third. Arman and Preston both had 7 points. Ryder had 4 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks.Â
Pinole Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2RNP5s
The last game was against a 2-9 Vintage team that had come in with two wins in a row. The Dons jumped all over the Crushers winning every quarter in this one with a 65-34 final. The Dons shot 44% from the field, 25% from three and 39% (5/13) from the line. We had 18 assists to their 4 and forced 21 turnovers to our 10. Ian had 11 points on 5/8 with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Preston and Joe had 8 points apiece. Ryder had 7 points plus three highlight reel blocks and possibly the dunk of the year on an absolute poster in the third. Maddox had 5 points and team highs of 5 assists and +23. Landon dominated the fourth scoring 10 points with 2 steals.
Vintage Highlights:Â http://www.hudl.com/v/2RNxLi
The Dons move to 9-4 on the season already hitting the win total from last year. First league game is tonight vs. 9-5 Ygnacio Valley who won the regular season but lost to Clayton Valley by 1 in the league tournament finals last year. The Wolves went on to play six more games ultimately losing to Santa Cruz in the Regional Semis of the D3 CIF State Championships. The Dons were down 50-49 in the fourth last year at home before losing by ten. The Wolves have played a tougher schedule with a close win over Branson and close losses to Serra and Saint Mary’s (who Dons narrowly beat in a scrimmage) so this should be a good one. Tipoff at 7PM.
DONS DUNKOMETER: 12 (up 4 from prior week)
Remember to follow @ACABoysBBall on X/Twitter for in game updates, stats, highlights and more:Â https://x.com/ACABoysBball
Pinole Photos Courtesy Cimon Yiannikos: https://www.instagram.com/yiannikospics
Serra Photos Courtesy Nicole Malm: https://www.instagram.com/cappedbycoco
