Vanden boys come up just short
Sacramento comes from behind in fourth quarter to win 66-61
SACRAMENTO >> The Vanden High School boys basketball team was looking for a section three-peat, but it was too many 3-pointers by Sacramento that eventually doomed the Vikings at the Golden 1 Center on Saturday.
The Dragons hit five 3-pointers in the first quarter to build a big lead and then came back in the fourth quarter with big long-distance shots from Landon Minnifield and Mike Wilson for a 66-61 win and a Sac-Joaquin Section Division III title.
Vanden held a 47-44 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but couldn't hold on.
“We had turnovers at the wrong moments and then gave up back-toback 3-pointers that were wide open and that was a back-breaker,” Vanden head coach Micheal Holloway said. “It was a combination of them doing stuff and us not doing stuff. We had key turnovers and they made big shots and that gave them momentum. Today they played faster than us and were better.”
The Vikings fell behind 9-2 before they could even blink as Sir Marius Jones hit two shots from long distance and Minnifield hit another.
Vanden climbed went on an 8-2 run sparked by a jumper from Elijah Lewis, a put-back from Sterling McClanahan and a put-back by Jayden
Robinson to make it 14-11 in favor of the Dragons.
Sacramento led 19-13 after the first quarter, increasing the lead to 25-13 early in the period on back-toback layups from Jones and Kendahl Hearne's jumper.
Vanden responded with a 12-4 run of its own, sparked by a 3-pointer from E'Jay Rogers to make it 29-25. Vanden got even closer at the buzzer when Jayden Robinson hit a 3-pointer at the top of the key to bridge the gap to 32-30.
The Vikings kept the momentum up in the third when Edric Dennis nailed a 3-pointer to make it 33-32 and give Vanden its first lead of the game.
The teams stayed close in the third period with neither lead leading by more than three points for the first four minutes of the second half. Rogers hit a 3-pointer near the top of the key to give Vanden the lead back at 42-40 and then hit another long-distance shot on the next possession to make it 45-40. Vanden led 47-44 heading to the fourth quarter.
“I really liked the energy,” Holloway said. “One thing about this group — they trust that we will put them in the right positions. Usually, in the second half we do a good job of making a run. I said the run is coming, but whatever happens after the run is key.”
What happened is that Sacramento took control of the game.
A dunk by Hearne and a 3-pointer by Wilson tied the game up at 49-all with 6:29 left in regulation. Hearne hit three layups soon after and the Dragons had a 55-49 lead. Vanden came back to tie the game at 56 with a layup by Luka Radovanovic, but Sacramento then got hot from beyond the 3-point line. Wilson and Minnifield hit back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 62-56 with one minute remaining.
The Vikings wouldn't go away, making one last gasp with Rogers hitting two free throws and then converting on a 3-point play. Rogers finished the game with 21 points.
“E'Jay Rogers stepped up with a huge game. His 21 points were huge,” Holloway said. “Jayden Robinson with 11 rebounds was huge. So those two need to continue stepping up, especially Jayden returning next year. We need him to soon be stepping up.”
Vanden will await its seeding in the NorCal tournament.
“Now the message is one and done,” Holloway said. “Next time you lose it's over.
So you want to put yourself in a position to make a run. You need to take 24 hours to cry, hug your mom, and move on.”