On December 29, the Dons faced Tamalpais for the championship in the Chris Huber Classic. Led by 8 points from senior guard Ian Archer, the Dons jumped out to a 16-8 lead after the first quarter. Although the Dons extended their lead to double digits, Tam captured some momentum heading into halftime with effective full court pressure and cut the Dons’ lead to 32-27 at halftime.
After the intermission, Tam picked up where it left off and dominated the third quarter. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Dons trailed 46-40. Senior guard Jack Wickline then led the Dons’ fourth-quarter comeback. Drawing fouls by aggressively attacking the hoop, Wickline made Tam pay by going 5-5 from the charity stripe. After Wickline converted a 3-point play with a free throw, the game was tied at 52 in the fourth quarter. Tam kept pressing though and was up a point on what figured to be the Dons’ final possession. Archer made a beautiful pass to sophomore guard Jackson Aris-Dumas who made an equally impressive finish in traffic to put the Dons up 62-61 with 8 seconds left. Unfortunately, Tam responded to convert a driving layup in the last second to win the championship.
Archer, who was named to the all-tourney team, led the Dons with 19 points, junior center John Kalil capped off a strong tourney with 13 points, and sophomore guard Scott Ruegg had 10.
The Dons conclude non-league play on Saturday, January 5, at San Lorenzo High at 4 p.m. League play starts on January 8 at 7:00 p.m. at Miramonte High.

On Friday, December 28, the Dons faced DeAnza in the second round of the Chris Huber Classic. The game was a rematch of their game earlier in the month, when DeAnza beat the Dons by 7 at the Amador Valley Tournament.  Seeking to avenge that defeat, the Dons jumped out to a an early lead with two 3-pointers from senior guard Ian Archer, 7 points from sophomore guard Scott Ruegg and another 6 from sophomore forward Joey Carrillo. The first quarter ended with the Dons up 22-16.
The Dons’ offense stagnated, as they scored fewer points in the next two quarters combined than they had scored in the first quarter. Still, the Dons led 39-34 when the buzzer to end the third quarter sounded. However, the officials put two seconds back on the clock, and DeAnza then converted a 4-point play to cut the Dons’ lead to 39-38 and captured momentum heading into the final stanza.
Led by Archer who scored 9 points in the fourth quarter, the Dons responded with poise to the disastrous end of the third quarter. Junior center John Kalil and Archer each hit two free throws and Archer hit another 3. DeAnza kept pace though and the Dons were up 46-44 when Kalil hit another free throw. Archer then hit yet another 3 to put the Dons up 50-46. After DeAnza answered, Ruegg’s layup made it 52-48. Junior forward Aidan Bodner made a free throw but then DeAnza hit a 3 to cut the lead. Bodner then converted two free throws to put the game out of reach. The Dons won 57-51, and Ruegg led the Dons with 18 points, Archer had 15 and Carrillo had 12.  The Dons next face Tamalpais in the championship Saturday at 5:30 at Acalanes. 

On Thursday, December 27, the Acalanes Dons hosted the Concord Minutemen in the opening round of the Chris Huber Classic, named after longtime coach and teacher Chris Huber.  The Minutemen came into the contest with a 4-2 record. The first quarter was evenly matched, as it ended with the Dons up 19-18 behind 9 points from senior guard Ian Archer.   Sophomore guard Scott Ruegg took the game over in the second quarter with 15 points while Archer and senior swingman Clark King each had 5 points, and the Dons lead 48-34 at halftime.  The Dons continued to run their offense effectively and coasted to an 80-60 victory.  Ruegg led all scorers with 27, Archer had 20, and sophomore forward Joey Carrillo had 10.  The 80 points posted by the Dons were a season high; they previously had not scored more than 63.

The Dons next face DeAnza on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at Acalanes in the second round of the Chris Huber Classic.  In addition to recognizing Coach Huber, the tournament is a major fundraiser for the team so come out to support the Dons!

The Dons traveled to El Cerrito on Thursday for the start of a three-day tourney featuring high quality competition.  The Dons opened against the host El Cerrito.  Playing on its home floor, El Cerrito jumped out to an early 12-2 lead. The Dons fought back to close the lead to 14-11 after sophomore guard Scott Ruegg hit a 3 but then El Cerrito regained control.  The Dons trailed 31-21 at halftime and went down 12 right away to start the 3rd quarter, but the Dons again came back with a 12-0 run fueled by Ruegg finishing in transition to tie the score at 33.  El Cerrito went back up again and the Dons were down 48-43 entering the fourth quarter. The Dons clawed back once more to tie the game at 52.  Junior forward Aidan Bodner then hit two free throws and a 3 to put the Dons up 57-52. Another 3, this one by senior guard Ian Archer gave the Dons a 60-54 lead, and the Dons prevailed 62-57.  This was a great comeback win for the Dons, coming back from multiple double-digit deficits.  Ruegg led the Dons with 22 points, Archer had 14 and Bodner 12 to lead the Dons.

Dons Freshmen’s team launched the Santa Rosa Triple header with a win of 54-37. They dominated the game from the start. 

Seeking to avenge a previous loss to Santa Rosa earlier in the season, the Dons jumped out to a 9-0 lead on Tuesday night.  The rest of the evening was marred by turnovers and missed free throws, as the Dons fell 58-49. Junior forward Aidan Bodner had a season-high 12 points.  Senior guard Ian Archer also scored 12 while sophomore guard Scott Ruegg had 11 to place three Dons in double figures in scoring. The Dons are off for more than a week before going to the El Cerrito Tourney starting on December 20.