The Frosh basketball team wrapped up their pre-season schedule with a feisty loss to a tough Serra team, followed by wire-to-wire victories against Pinole Valley and Vintage High Schools.
Game 1 – Acalanes 44, Serra 58
The Dons traveled to San Mateo to take on the undefeated peninsula power, Junipero Serra Padres on Thursday, Jan 2nd. The Padres had length and athleticism at every position, posing a stiff challenge and a good measuring stick. Serra jumped out early hitting 6 of their first 7 shots and getting to the line twice. Aca fought back with threes from Zubin Krishnan and Brandon Blatteis, a great drive and layup by Pengyu Chen and another three from Brayden Sarbiewski to close the gap, 15 – 12. Unfortunately, nearly every good play and score on offense was undone with a live ball turnover and easy layup for Serra. The Dons’ offense let them hang in there in the first quarter, 20 – 15, but the more aggressive Padres created and converted 10 of 11 live ball turnovers into 20 points and took a 39 to 25 lead into halftime.
In the third, Acalanes took much better care of the ball, but the offense stalled out, scoring just four points. The defense remained solid and limited Serra to just ten points, but that still left them with an 18 point edge going into the final period, 49 – 31. The Padres’ coach may have felt the game was under control and rotated in new players, but the Dons refused to go quietly. Mason Andersen and Christian Dunphy started the 4th with Chen, Blatteis, and Sarbiewski, and they proceeded to get a quick stop. Chen beat his man and dished to Sarbiewski for a three from the wing. The defense forced a Serra travel on the next possession, and the Padres coach quickly brought his starters back in to try and stop Aca’s momentum. The Dons played their best quarter, winning it 13 to 9, but the deficit was too much to make up. Final score: Acalanes 44, Serra 58. Blatteis led Acalanes with 17 points, followed by Sarbiewski (10) and Chen (9).
Game 2 – Acalanes 66, Pinole Valley 41
One day after facing Serra, the Dons hosted the Pinole Valley Spartans for an early afternoon matchup. The game started slowly, as both teams spent the first few minutes figuring out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Pengyu Chen got the scoring started with a free throw and a steal for a layup. Both teams worked to get to the basket, and Frankie Rocca found Cash Woehrle and Zubin Krishan on successive cuts for layups. Woehrle followed with a three to push the lead to 17 – 11 as the quarter drew to a close. But with just 4.8 seconds left, Grady Branagh rebounded a Pinole free throw and whipped the ball to Brandon Blatteis, who drained a 55-footer as time expired for a 20 – 11 lead.
With the gym still buzzing from that last shot, the entire Freshman team began to display all they’ve been learning these past few months. The good plays and highlights are almost too many to mention. Blatteis’ jumper stayed hot; Branagh got a great sideline steal on the press; Cade Korpita was a blur of hustle and energy, nabbing rebounds and a great steal that led two points; Mason Andersen was relentless in driving to the hoop and snaring boards; Woehrle stepped in and took a great charge for a Spartan turnover; And Ary Deepak dominated the boards, got three put-backs, and drained a 1-dribble pull up from elbow for an 8-point quarter. Acalanes rolled into halftime with a 37 – 16 lead.
The highlights continued in the second half with a beautiful Woehrle euro-step for two, a great Korpita rebound and put-back, a Branagh put back and foul, and two Christian Dunphy left-hand finishes through contact. Everyone got in the act on both ends of the floor. The scoring ended with a near-perfect pick and roll executed by Korpita and Branagh, with Grady finishing uncontested at the rim. Korpita scored the final buck on a one-man fast break layup. Ten players scored, with Woehrle (16) and Blatteis (16) leading the way, and Deepak getting to double figures (10).
Game 3 – Acalanes 70, Vintage 47
Day 3, game 3, and the Dons traveled up to Napa to take on the Vintage High School Crushers. The gym was cold and dark, but the team was still hot from the Pinole game. Vintage opened the scoring with a nice pass into the post and an old school drop step for 2. That would be their only lead of the day, as Brandon Blatteis would score the next five points for a 7 – 2 Aca lead. Vintage’s ball handlers struggled against the press, and their defense kept losing the Don shooters. Cade Korpita nailed two threes from the corner, starting a barrage of threes from Blatteis, Cash Woehrle, and Frankie Rocca that led to a 27 – 12 first quarter lead.
The offense cooled only slightly in the second, with another 4 threes, including ones from Christian Dunphy and Kainoa Brinkman. The highlight of the quarter was a lightning quick fastbreak off of a missed Vintage free throw, which saw Blatteis grab the rebound, throw ahead to Woehrle, who found Zubin Krishnan across the court ahead of everyone for an easy lay-in. Aca led 47 – 24 at the half.
Acalanes took their foot off the gas a bit in the third, and the Crushers went on an 8 to 1 run to open the period. Grady Branagh and Ary Deepak came into the game and brought back the energy, with Branagh fighting for a tough offensive rebound and Deepak getting inside for two off of an errant shot. Vintage won the quarter, 12 to 8, but Aca still led by 19 going into the fourth. The Dons won the fourth quarter, 15 to 11, and the play of the day was another fast break. Rocca grabbed a defensive rebound and threw a long pass ahead to Dunphy, who saw Mason Andersen streaking past him and went airborne to hit him in stride with a one-touch pass, which Andersen took in for a lefty layup. Dons win going away, 70 – 47.
