The DONS (10-4, 1-0 League) travelled back down Ygnacio Valley Road Friday night, this time to face the Berean Christian Eagles (7-6, 0-1). Starting for Acalanes were Brady, Gavin, Ian, Ryder and Joe filling in for Maddox who was nursing injuries from the big Ygnacio Valley win on Wednesday.
The Dons controlled the tip and went right to work as Ian hit Brady for a corner three. The press gave the Eagles trouble early as Ian got a steal, finding Brady underneath for the easy two and then Ian found Joe in the corner for a triple. Gavin splashed a three and Joe another one, all from Ian again who had 7 assists on the night. Next Brady with the swipe hitting a streaking Ian who took flight like an eagle and got his first dunk of the season, swinging on the rim with his feet almost hitting the backboard just long enough to avoid the technical. Ryder got into the act with a feed in the post from Joe then one from Brady who fired a pass through two Berean defenders as Ryder hammered it home. 18-2 DONS five minutes into the contest as Eagles called timeout. Cameron sliced and diced his way through the defense as time ran out in the quarter and we were up 20-6.
Cameron opened the scoring in the second and AJ found Brady for a baseline jumper. Ryder scored on an offensive rebound and another feed inside from Joe. Gavin added a putback and it was 31-12 Dons with two minutes to go in the half. Then the Big Fella put on a dunk show for the fans with the first coming off a steal right under the hoop. A minute later, Brady laid it off the glass and LOOK OUT BELOW Ryder came flying through the air dunking it with two hands. But he wasn’t done and Ian found a cutting Ryder for another monster jam down the lane. Brady got the steal in the waning seconds and hit Ian for two as time expired. 41-12 at the break as the Dons forced 16 first half turnovers!
The Starters watched the rest of this one from the bench as the second and third units came in and increased the spread over the Eagles. After a slow start offensively, Chase scored on a tough finish inside and converted the and-1. Arman found AJ for a three and Josh scored on an offensive rebound down low. Then Chase found Lorenzo for an easy bucket as the Dons won the quarter 19-5 extending the lead to 60-17.
Due to the margin the clock ran the whole fourth quarter. Josh scored on a four pivot post move as the bench barked for the Junkyard Dog. Lorenzo found Arman for the baseline J and AJ hit Julian for a top of the key three. Landon inhaled 7 rebounds in the quarter and AJ dropped his last dime to Julian for the final bucket. 69-26 final. DONS WIN!
HUDL Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2RRCAA
The Dons shot 44% (27/62) from the field, 19% (5/26) from three and 59% (10/17) from the line. Berean shot 28% from the field, 13% from three and 0% (0/2) from the line. The Eagles were crushed on the boards 45-21 and we forced 21 turnovers to our 10.
BALL MOVEMENT WATCH – OUTSTANDING!
21 assists on 27 made field goals (78%), 10 turnovers (2.1 A/TO ratio)
Ryder led the way with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 dunks, +28 in 11 minutes. Brady had 7 points, 5 steals and 4 assists, +28 in 11 minutes. Ian had 4 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds +24 in 10 minutes. Chase had 7 points and 2 assists. Preston had 6 boards and AJ had 3 assists.
Next up for the DONS is a huge game against Las Lomas (7-8, 3-0) tonight at 7:30PM! The Knights are looking to avenge their home playoff loss to the DONS last season and already have league wins over College Park, Alhambra and Ygnacio Valley. Don’t let the 7-8 record fool you, Las Lomas has played an extremely hard early schedule with losses to Archbishop Mitty, Dougherty Valley, De La Salle and Liberty. This will be a doozy.
Livestream: https://youtube.com/@acalaneshubergym1200
DONS DUNKOMETER: 17 (+5)
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Photos Courtesy Nicole Malm: https://www.instagram.com/cappedbycoco
