8th Grade-September 11th

It was another successful weekend for YBA! We went 3-0 in a series of hard-fought games. We beat the Stockton Tigers 46-34 in the first game. The offense was very balanced, led by Grady with 12 points and Jackson and Connor with 11 each. Connor hauled down 6 boards, and Jared, Jackson, and Grady had 3 assists apiece. The team shot 56% from the floor, which is our best showing by far all season.


The good shooting didn't carry over to the next game, though. The offense was limited by several missed open shots, and Santa Rosa was able to stay in the game. It was a nip and tuck battle all the way, with our pressure defense forcing the Cagers into many turnovers which kept us in the low-scoring game. YBA led most of the way, but the Cagers chipped away and tied the score late in the 4th. Jackson drew a foul with about 30 seconds to play and calmly sank both ends of the 1-and-1 to put YBA up by 2. After a flurry of timeouts and coaching adjustments, the Dawgs lived up to their name (*) by sealing the win with an excellent defensive possession for a final margin of 34-32. In a rare show of in-game emotion, Coach Shaw celebrated the victory with several fist pumps. :-) Connor made strong contributions with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Jackson had 10 points. Scott dished out 6 assists, and Jared grabbed 5 caroms.

YBA beat a very athletic Jr. Falcons team 42-32 in the championship tilt. The team again came out cold from the floor, and the score was tied 19-19 at the half. The Dawgs would have been in much worse shape but for Jackson's hot shooting from beyond the arc. The boys executed very well early in the 2nd half to grab the lead, but the aggressive Falcons never gave up. They turned up the defensive pressure, but the team protected the ball to seal the win. Jackson netted a career-high 22 points. Scott played another strong floor game with 4 assists, 5 boards, and 4 steals against 0 turnovers. Trevor played his best game as a Dawg, and Cody pulled down 2 boards. It was a tough, gutty effort by our boys. Connor contributed 6 points and 8 boards despite tired legs, Vinny gave his all even though he was limited by stomach problems, and Grady battled a back strain suffered in the second game to pressure the ball on defense, share the ballhandling load, and contribute a few 2nd half buckets.

This weekend, we will enter the 9th grade bracket at SAS. It will be a one-day tournament on Saturday. The location and schedule will be posted Thursday evening. It should be a good challenge for the team!

Kevin
(*) For those new to the program, DAWGS stands for Defense Always Wins Games!