The Sonoma Valley High boys basketball team split a pair of games last week, beating Rancho Cotate on Saturday but losing to Piner on Thursday.
Saturday, Jack Boydell scored 26 points and Dylan Samaniego had 11 as the Dragons beat the Ranch, 59-54.
The Dragons took a 17-11 first quarter lead, but the offense sputtered in the second quarter, although the Dragons led at the half, 27-21. The Dragons increased their lead to 10 points by the end of the third quarter.
But the Cougars narrowed the gap to a mere point in the last minute at 55-54, but a pair of free throws by Samaniego and a basket by Boydell gave the Dragons their five-point margin.
“It was good to go get a win on the road,” said Dragon Coach Mike Boles. “We had lots of positives and learning opportunities. We’re still learning how to handle a lead. This time we held on.”
The Dragons were in control for more than 30 minutes before the Cougars, playing with desperation, disrupted the Sonoma flow.
“The experience we’re gaining is so beneficial to our development and continued growth,” Boles said. “We finally have a couple of back-to-back days of practice to work on little things. This team has spirit, a personality, and is gaining confidence.”
Kahlil Villias Martinis chipped in with eight points and Tyler Garrett had six.
Thursday, the Dragons dropped a close one to Piner, 53-49. Sonoma ran off to an early lead but only scored five points in the second quarter and were behind, 21-20 at the half.
Sonoma came back and took the lead in the third quarter when a Boydell three gave Sonoma a 40-35 lead. Pineer narrowed the margin to 43-40 before running off a 12-0 run to take the lead at 52-43. Three-pointers by Boydell and Riley Phelan cut the deficit, but it wasn’t enough.
“We played a good game against a very good team,” Boles said. “Piner showed their experience and discipline down the stretch. They didn’t get rattled, stuck to their game plan, and defended. We can learn from that.
“We played tough, showed some grit, and are so close to breaking through. We had opportunities to extend leads and couldn’t convert. We also had a scoring drought in crunch time,” Boles added.
Boydell again led the Sonoma attack with 21 points, Phelan had a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards, while Garrett had eight points and seven boards.
The split gives the Dragons an 8-12 overall record and a 2-4 SCL mark.
The Dragons open the second half of the SCL season Wednesday when they host Healdsburg. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
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