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The Reedley Pirates lost to the Villa
Park Spartans 58-42 in the first round of the California state
basketball playoffs. With the loss the coach Darren Minami's
Pirates concluded their great season with a record of 25-4.
Villa Park, coached by Kevin Reynolds,
won the Orange County Century League championship but suffered
a surprising upset loss to Sunny Hills in the championship game of
the Southern Section Division IIAA playoffs last Saturday. The
Spartans journeyed to Reedley to find a gym full of enthusiastic
Reedley fans a full hour before the opening tip. But the
Spartans were not deterred by the partisan crowd.
Reedley jumped to an early 10-3 lead
thanks to four free throws by Jon Lepp, plus baskets by Abel Lucca,
Jon Wallen, and Pepijn Dekker. The Spartans countered,
exerting their inside strength, and trailed the Pirates by one at
the quarter break, 14-13.
In the second quarter the Spartans took
full advantage of their superior height and received strong play
from their bench players. By the half the Orange County team
had a 34-23 advantage.
In the second half the Pirates worked
hard to get back into the game but never found their offensive
rhythm. The Pirates got within eight at 43-35 early in the
final quarter on a basket by Colin Hofer off of a feed from Jordan
Penner, but Villa Park forced Reedley to work hard for every shot
and the Pirates were never able to draw closer.
Throughout the season Minami's team has
depended on their transition game and outside shooting. The
Spartans limited transition opportunities and the Pirates only
connected on (unofficially) one out of 16 three-point attempts.
Lucca's second quarter three-pointer was the Pirates only trey on
the night.
Afterwards Villa Park's fine point guard
complimented the Pirates on their hard work and noted that the
Reedley crowd was "awesome."
While the loss meant the campaign ended
on a sour note, the Pirates will look back with fondness on a season
which saw the team win the North Yosemite League title and claim a
Valley championship for the first time since 1966.
Jon Lepp led the Pirates in scoring with
14 points. Colin Hofer scored all seven of his points in the
second half. Abel Lucca tallied seven to conclude a brilliant
season. Pepijn Dekker scored six, Jon Wallen four, Jordan
Penner three, and Ian Brinkman one to round out the Pirates'
scoring.
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