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The Reedley
Pirates, playing a complete all-around game, roared to their first
Valley championship in 38 years, defeating the Hoover Patriots
73-51 before a standing-room only crowd in the Reedley High School
gym. In winning the Central Valley Division II championship
the Pirates improved their record on the season to 25-3.
Coach Darren
Minami's team played one of their finest games of the season in
defeating the talented Patriots. Minami's team, moving
constantly without the ball and passing smartly, created inside
scoring opportunities and converted on six three-point shots.
In addition, the Pirates converted 19 out of 20 free throws.
The Pirates offense
was triggered by their rock-solid defense. Reedley played
tremendous help defense all night long, constantly thwarting
Hoover's attempts to drive the hoop, thus dulling Hoover's
offensive strategies.
The game began
slowly, both teams getting accustomed to the electric atmosphere.
With the score tied at six Abel Lucca hit the first three of the
night off of a pass from Pepijn Dekker. The duo hooked up
again moments later giving the Pirates a 11-6 late first
quarter lead which they never relinquished.
Reedley stretched
the lead in the second quarter, outscoring Hoover 24-13 to take a
35-22 lead into intermission. During the quarter Colin Hofer
scored 10 points and Jon Wallen added nine. In one key
sequence Jon Lepp made a steal and passed the ball to Wallen for
the lay-up. The basket stretched the lead to 33-17.
Hoover was
handicapped when star center Albert Moore was handed his second
personal foul late in the first quarter. Hoover coach Peter
Sharkey elected to sit Moore throughout the second quarter,
preserving his star for the second half.
But the Pirates
lost none of their fire following the half-time pause. On
their first possession Reedley ran a smooth offensive play which
resulted in a successful Lepp drive to the basket.
During the second half the Patriots were never able to cut the
margin to less than 11 points. When Lucca accepted a pass
from Jordan Penner in the left corner and converted the long three
plus a free throw for a four point play, the advantage was
52-34 and the home crowd could sense that the long Valley
championship drought was about to end.
Hoover never
seriously threatened in the fourth quarter and with the Pirates
draining their free throws, the issue was never in doubt.
Afterwards the new
D-II champs accepted hugs, posed for countless photos, kissed the
championship plaque, and cut down the net. Coach Darren
Minami, now 50-30 as the Pirate head coach, smiled broadly and
reveled in the moment. Assistant coach Jorge Delport said,
"we put 32 minutes of good basketball together."
Lepp summed up the
night this way, "this victory is attributed to coaching, hard
work, community, and chemistry. Everyone knows their role
and did their job."
Hoover coach
Sharkey said, "we got beat by a great team that played very
well tonight. They are well coached, they run their stuff,
and they are well disciplined. They have those three guys
who can score. I thought we didn't shoot well but they
probably had something to do with that. We flat out got
beat, there are no excuses."
Lucca led all
scorers with 25, including three three-point shots. Wallen
scored 18 in another strong all-around performance. Hofer
contributed 12 and played big all night. Dekker battled
underneath the boards and scored eight. Lepp offered his
usual court leadership and poured in eight points. Ian
Brinkman scored two on a decisive drive to the basket.
Penner and Jose Alvarez played their usual strong games coming off
the bench.
The Pirates now
await word on their opponent in the California state D-II
tournament. The first game will be on Tuesday, March 9 at a
site to be announced on Sunday.
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