A key win for Napa High boys’ basketball, defeating Justin-Siena, 39-37
A game is never over until that buzzer rings. It can take just a tiny bit of momentum to win a game.
On Wednesday night at Messner Gym, Napa High beat Justin-Siena, 39-37, in a low-scoring battle to end the first round of Vine Valley Athletic League play.
The Grizzlies (7-12 overall, 4-2 VVAL) roared back thanks to a huge fourth quarter that they won 12-4. On top of that, they opened up the frame by going on a key 7-0 run, which cut their deficit to a point with 2:39 to go in the game.
“I just wanted to execute,” Napa High head coach Carson Carattini said of the key run of the game. “I wanted to give them something they were comfortable with. They decided to go with an action that they liked, and when they have, when they’re comfortable and confident, I think we’re a very capable team.”
With Napa trailing 37-36, they got a turnover and then worked the ball down the court. Then, with just 7.2 seconds remaining, Will Flynn knocked down a three-pointer from the wing to give the Grizzlies the victory.
“I think we wanted to come down and get into our offense and allow the tempo right there,” Carattini explained of the game-winning shot sequence. “I think sometimes when the game’s flowing like that late, it’s hard defensively to get set up, and so we just relied on our ball movement, and we trust Will. He’s been on our team for four years as a varsity player, and he’s taken a couple of those shots in the past and not made them, and tonight was the night he made it, and he had the confidence to take it, so got to give him credit.”
Napa High didn’t have any players reach double-digits in the game. Leading them was a pair of seniors with 8 points each.
One of them was Cris Rendon, who ended the night with 8 points and 3 rebounds. Rendon did the majority of his scoring in the first half, where he scored 6 points and missed his two shots from the free-throw line in the game.
Sawyer Knecht added 8 points as well. He scored 4 points in each half while making three of four free throws in the game.
Others scoring for the Grizzlies in the contest were Henry MacPherson (7 points), Flynn (6 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocked shots), Tideus Chaidez (6 points, 2 rebounds), Milo Buoncristiani (2 points, 2 rebounds), and Hunter Griffin (2 points).
The win is key for Napa as it also snaps a brief two-game losing streak they had been on after a strong start to league play. This is also the third time they’ve played a 39-37 barnburner, coming out victorious in two of them now, with the other win being the Dec. 16 game against Montgomery. The defeat came last week against Sonoma Valley.
“I think we want to represent ourselves well,” Carattini added. “I think these games are great when we play our local rivals because a lot of people come out and watch, and lot of kids that I coach in other places, and fans that we have that people that know me in town, and I get, always get people come up to me and say, ‘Hey, coach you’re doing a great job.’”
The Grizzlies also beat all their local rivals in the first round of league play. They have now won three straight against Justin-Siena, dating back to last season.
Justin-Siena (10-8, 4-2 VVAL) was in control for the first three quarters of the game. After all, they held the lead after the first three quarters of play. They held a lead of 35-27 at one point before being shut down over the final few minutes of the game.
“Just playing as hard as we can,” Justin-Siena head coach Corey Battle said of his team and how they controlled the game until the final period. “That’s all I can ask them to do is play as hard as they can. You know, no excuses. They went out there, and they fought, they played as hard as we could. At the end of the day, they made plays down the stretch, and we didn’t.”
The Braves were led by senior Asa Hightower, who had a game-leading 12 points and 8 rebounds in the contest. He scored 6 points in each half and made one of three free throws.
“He’s the man who kept us in it,” Battle added. “He had a big bucket down there. I thought the way the game was going, I thought when he made the fade away down on the box, I thought that had a chance to kind of put the game away. But you can’t make up for everything he does.”
After that, Justin-Siena had very little scoring. Others scoring in the game were Alex Winske (6 points, 5 rebounds, blocked shot), Adam Nahmias (6 points, 1 rebound), Alijandro Perryman (5 points, 5 rebounds), Colin Moye (3 points, 2 rebounds), and Dylan Arnold (3 points, 2 rebounds).
After starting league play 4-0, the Braves have now dropped back-to-back games on heartbreaking buzzer-beaters. That being said, they can and have played with everyone so far. It didn’t help that they suited up just eight guys, due to injuries and sickness on Wednesday night.
Both teams will continue league play as the second part of the round robin begins on Friday at 7 p.m. Napa will host American Canyon, and Justin-Siena will have the league bye and host San Marin in a non-league game at 7:30 before visiting American Canyon on Monday at 7.
In the previous meetings, Napa beat American Canyon, 57-50, on Jan. 6, and Justin-Siena beat American Canyon, 57-55, on Jan. 8.
In other VVAL games on Wednesday, Vintage beat Sonoma Valley 72-66, and Casa Grande beat American Canyon 51-36. To view the full standings, go here.
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