Feb. 5, 2010
Two Weeks Left In NCAL Boys Chase
The Nevada County Athletic League junior high boys basketball chases are starting to heat up as two weeks remain in the regular season.
Currently, teams in both the 8th and 7th grade divisions are starting to jockey for league standing which will determine the final seeding process for the NCAL tournaments which are slated Feb. 18-20.
More importantly, both regular season league races, which determine the league championships and which schools will hold the NCAL Perpetual Trophy for one year, also look to be going down to the wire.
In the 8th grade race, Weimar Hills (8-1) holds a one-game lead over Union Hill (7-2) and a two-game advantage over Seven Hills (6-3). In key upcoming games, Weimar Hills still must deal with Pleasant Valley (5-4) and Union Hill while Seven Hills also meets Union Hill.
In the 7th grade race, Weimar Hills (8-1) owns a two- game lead with three left over second place standing Seven Hills (6-3). But the Warriors aren’t home free yet as they still must navigate tough away games with Gilmore and Union Hill.
All in all, it looks like another exciting finish for NCAL teams and their fans. Here’s a recap of Thursday’s NCAL action:
8th Grade
Union Hill 46 Pleasant Valley 42, at Grass Valley, - In a tough battle for second place, host Union Hill outlasted the Vikimgs for the tight win. Leading the UH squad were Jake Berger with 18 points, Michael Tapia had 10 and Kyle McCombs chipped in 8.. Cleaning up on the boards were McCombs with 11 while Beau DesPois grabbed five. PV kept in the game by pounding the boards and with very aggressive play by John Henry Jones with 15 points, Jakob Freele with 13 and Nolan Stefani with five..
Magnolia 45 Gilmore 30, at Lake of the Pines - The Rattlers used a great defensive effort and strong shooting in the second half to overcome a strong start by the Bombers to rally for the win . The Bombers led by 10 after the first quarter 17 to 7 but the Rattlers defense tightened in the second quarter outscoring the Bombers 10 to 4 and trail just by four at halftime, 21-17. In the second half the Rattlers had the hot hand as they canned 13 of 19 shots from the floor.
Using a big third quarter where they outscored the Bombers, 16-5, Magnolia took a 33 to 26 leadafter the 3rd quarter.High scorer for the Rattlers was Braden Duncan with 12 points. Jared Skowronski was huge on the night recording a double double scoring 11 points and snaring 13 rebounds along with going 5 for 6 at the free throw line.
Zack Quirarte also had a nice game scoring 8 points and tallying 7 steals. Justin Rypma added 6 points, Charlie Espinoza added 4 and Tyler Toft and Jake Sypnicki added two a piece. For the Bombers, the top scorer was Gareth Nixon with 12 points.
NCAL 8th Grade
W L
Weimar Hills 8 1
Union Hill 7 1
Seven Hills 6 3
P. Valley 5 4
Magnolia 4 6
Forest Lake 2 8
Gilmore 1 9
7th Grade
Gilmore 43 Magnolia 41, at Lake of the Pines – Visiting Gilmore improved to 6-4 in NCAL play with the nip and tuck win over the Rattlers. Jess Sutton’s 19 points which included four buckets from three point shooting range, sparked the Bombers. Jericho Mendez added 12 while Brock Grininger and Josh Belendez both chipped in with six points apiece. In the rebounding department, Grininger led the way with 10 while Belendez, Caspar Hendricksen and Jake Moseman all grabbed six each.
Union Hill 46 Pleasant Valley 12, at Grass Valley - The host Bearcats built a 24-7 lead at halftime before cruising home to the victory. Christian Straub poured in 20 points for the winners while Jared Fernandez added seven and Sam Powell six.
NCAL 7th Grade
W L
Weimar Hills 8 1
Seven Hills 6 3
Forest Lake 6 4
Gilmore 6 4
Magnolia 4 6
Union Hill 3 6
P. Valley 0 9