After falling behind early Thursday, the Sonoma Valley High cagers managed to pull to within three points of Analy in the last 30 seconds, but fell short as the Tigers topped the Dragons, 61-53.
“It was a tough loss,” said Dragon Coach Mike Boles.
“We came out strong, but couldn’t finish the first quarter.”
Analy took a 23-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and added to it in the second quarter taking a 38-23 lead at halftime.
But in the third quarter, the Dragon defense held the Tigers to only seven points, but still trailed by 14 going into the fourth quarter.
The Dragons mounted a furious fourth-quarter comeback closing the gap to 56-53 with 28 seconds to go, but they never got a chance at a game-tying shot.
“This was a tough road loss,” Boles said. “There’s no such thing as moral victories. However, we can build on the positives that occurred on the road.”
Senior Dylan Samaniego led the Dragons with 22 points, freshman Jay Taylor had 11 while senior Luke Severson and sophomore Tyler Garrett had five points apiece.
Boles likes the fact that even though the team fell behind, they didn’t give up.
“There was an absolute passion and refusal to give in,” he said. “Those are characteristics we’ll build on. We still need to execute and improve on defensive rebounding. But, that’s why we practice.”
The loss drops the Dragons to 9-8 overall, and 2-1 in Sonoma County League play.
The Dragons dropped a 59-43 decision to De Anza on Jan. 7.
The Dragons play their next five games at home.
“We have a huge week ahead of us with three home games. Home games and support can really uplift a team,” Boles said.
Tonight, Tuesday, the Dragons host El Molino; Thursday, Healdsburg comes to town while Petaluma is here Saturday evening in a make-up game from Jan. 10.
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