TOKAY BOYS FALL BEHIND IN SECOND HALF
Rams run away with second half of TCAL opener
Adam Johnson and Victor Nateras were responsible for the Tokay High boys basketball team’s points from behind the arc in their TriCity Athletic League opener against a tough St. Mary’s squad.
But the Rams shut them down in the second half, while forward Bryce Johnson was just as hot when it came to second chance shots. That helped St. Mary’s break free from a 2222 halftime score to a 63-28 victory over the Tigers, who lost their fifth consecutive game, at The Jungle on Friday.
In the second quarter, Adam Johnson (nine points) and Nateras (team-high 11 points) combined for four 3pointers for Tokay (0-1 in the TCAL, 3-15). Three of those four treys came at times when St. Mary’s (1-0, 13-4) was trying to built its lead thanks to its half-court defense that led to steals at mid-court and inside the Tigers’ paint. The Rams led 9-8 at the start of the quarter, and jumped out to a 13-8 advantage before the 3pointers came into play for the Tigers.
“Lots of energy, good ball movement,” said Tokay coach Chris Boss. “That was a good ball game.”
At the start of the third quarter, the Tigers’ players on the court were Nateras and Hamad Arif in the backcourt, Jack Gobel and Anoop Singh at forwards and Max Starkovich at center. The Rams countered with three guards in Carson Simi, Tom Rigdon and Jamar Marshall, forward Darius Lindley and Bryce Johnson at the post. For the first two minutes of the game, the players battled for control of the ball after re-
bounds and steals.
After Nateras completed a four-point play — he nailed another 3-pointer, fouled in the process and sank his 1-on1 shot — for a 27-25 score with 6:32 left in the contest, Johnson scored half of the Rams’ 19 points, which included three putback shots. That led to St. Mary’s leading 39-27 entering the final quarter.
“Those shots will eventually fall,” said Boss of Johnson’s buckets. “These were the things that we talked about. It doesn’t matter what St. Mary’s team comes out, they have a system and they work it very well.”
St. Mary’s guard AJ Ratto, coming off the bench, scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, using a combined lay-ups and putbacks to register his points.
Meanwhile, the Tigers’ only point in the final quarter came on a free throw from Michael Shoaib. Tokay finished with a combined six points in the final 16 minutes of the game.
Johnson finished with a game-high 18 points for the Rams. After Ratto’s scoring efforts, Marshall had seven points, Simi six and forward Sam Bettencourt five.
Tokay had 12 rebounds in the game, and four assists, all from Nateras. The Tigers were guilty of 18 turnovers, most of which came when they had the ball and inside the paint.
The Tigers resume TCAL action against Tracy at The Jungle next Wednesday.