5th Grade Blue-5/8 Spring Shootout

The YBA 5th Grade Blue team went 3-0 during the XtremeHoops one day tournament. With their first game being won by forfeit, they did not let that throw their game off. They were still able to get three games in, though it was not the normal schedule one would expect. The first game played was against the Reno Ballers White team. The DAWGS got off to a quick start, since they were delayed and anxious to play, and never slowed down. Bryson Zorich led the team with 24 points and 6 steals and Joshua Ohara contributed 16 points in the 74-11 win.


The second game played (keep in mind the DAWGS won their first scheduled game by forfeit so the whole day was “off”), was against the same Reno Ballers White team. The opponent did have the services of a couple of new players that were not at the first game, but the outcome was the same. Bryson Zorich again torched the team for 24 points and had 7 assists. Jashon Lewis had a great all around game with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 8 steals and 4 blocks! Alex Martinex also had a phenomenal game contributing 20 points and 10 rebounds and Joshua Ohara was the "Thief of the Game" with 7 steals. “Hustle Player” of the game was Alex Schneider for great plays that don’t show up in the stat book, such as boxing out and many tipped passes.

In the championship game, the DAWGS played the Reno Ballers Blue team. It being their third game of the day, and immediately was played after their 2nd game, they got off to a slow start (10-2 at the end of the first). But, they picked it up and finished the game on top 77-46. Jashon Lewis was on his game again with 20 points, and Alex Martinez contributed 22 points and 7 rebounds. Alex Schneider dropped in 10 points on 5-6 shooting, and both Joshua Ohara and Bryson Zorich each had three "trifectas" (three pointers) each.

Overall, the DAWGS were on their "A" game. For the tournament, they averaged 73 points a game while shooting a scorching 60% as a team. They had great ball movement, and suffocating defense. All of this with a short roster (only 5 blue team players, with one sub in 2 of the 3 games).

Coach's thoughts: The kids did great! What I was most proud of was the fact that we boxed out very well! We've been working on this for weeks, and I think the kids have turned the corner on this concept. We had many times when different players were boxing their man out of bounds! Also, we worked well on defense TOGETHER as a team. Opposing coaches asked how we get our kids to "shoot so well" (Bryson and Alex Martinez shot 67% and Jashon shot 60%, and the lowest individual shooting percentage was 47%- which is still great!) and commented that they thought we are one of the top teams in the area. Another comment by an official was that he said it looks like we must practice "40 hours a week" (due to us playing a strong game). These are the things we work for. It's not so much about the wins or losses, but that the kids get better as individuals and as team players so when they reach higher levels of play, they will be able to compete.


Coach Lance