Dragon boys pillaged by Piner

Sonoma at Healdsburg Wednesday, ?hosts Elsie ?Friday; JVs, frosh|

On the heels of winning back-to-back Sonoma County League road games, the Sonoma Valley High School varsity basketball boys returned home to host challenging SCL foe Piner in Pfeiffer Gym Friday night.

Capturing two straight road wins at El Molino and Petaluma after dropping their league-opener to visiting defending champion Analy, the Dragons battled perennial SCL contender Piner through a seesaw first half and ended trailing just 25-24 at the break.

Then came the disastrous third quarter, when the visiting Prospectors used quickness to change the course of the game with a 24-8 run that had Sonoma facing a daunting 49-32 deficit entering the fourth period.

But the Dragons still had fight in them and answered with a 14-5 run that pulled them within three possessions of overtaking Piner, which managed to hold its ground, stall the rally, and pull out a 60-51 win that has them unbeaten in SCL play and alone atop the standings.

Sonoma was paced by senior Cyle Caselli’s 14 points, three rebounds, three assists, three steals and one blocked shot; senior Ryan Fisher’s nine points, three rebounds and three assists; senior Alex Gustafson’s eight points, three rebounds, two assists and one block; senior Ryan Wilbanks’ seven points, four rebounds, two assists and one block; junior Max Yankovich’s six points; junior Edwin Reyes’ two points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals; sophomore Colton Mertens’ three points, two steals and one block; and senior Tristan Mertens’ two points and three rebounds.

The Dragon boy cagers play at longtime league rival Healdsburg tomorrow night, Wednesday, Jan. 21, before returning to the Valley to host tough SCL foe Elsie Allen Friday night, Jan. 23, in Pfeiffer Gym, with the freshmen starting at 4:30, the junior varsity play at 6, and the varsity tips off at 7:30 p.m.

•••

Sonoma’s junior varsity hoops boys defeated perennially strong Analy 50-42 in their recent SCL opener in Pfeiffer Gym, marking their first win in more than five years over the visitors.

Comprising the Dragon jayvee boys’ team, coached by Lee Cambra, are sophomores Eric Bailey, Ben Finley, Japhy Koch, Nazir Lyle, Miles Marsh, Campbell Martin, Colton Mertens, Ricardo Rico, Luke Severson and Tenzing Sherpa; and freshman Max Gustafson.

Sonoma’s frosh hoops boys’ team is coached by Jon Sevenau and consists of Chris Bruton, Dominic Chiotti, Anthony Costanzo, Kristopher Macedonio, Delfino Macias, Kole Morgan, John Murray, David Neumann, Jazson Olhava, Fabian Oseguera, Dylan Samaniego, Evan Sandeen and Robbie Sherwood.

A jayvee and frosh hoops update with game results will appear in a future I-T issue.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.