 Consistent
offense leads Jaguars to two more convincing basketball wins
Photo: Gabriel Santana / for
The Roadrunner
Michael McInerny (24) finds James Siva (34) with this pass.
By DAN KIDDER
Valley Center’s varsity boys basketball
team has been consistent on offense so far this year, averaging
just over 55 points per game with only six more contests left
in the season.
And the Jaguars showed that offense consistently
again this week, scoring a total of 100 points in their last two
games. But the Jags played especially well on defense, holding
their two opponents to just 71 points total and paving the way
for a pair of easy victories.
The first game of the week came on Wednesday
at San Dieguito Academy, and the Jaguars came out on fire to build
a big lead that they held for a 48–35 win.
Valley Center racked up 17 points in the first
quarter by moving the ball around well on the perimeter and making
the most of the opportunities they created. The Jags held San
Dieguito to only six points in the opening period to jump out
to an 11-point lead right away.
The lead got bigger in the second quarter, as
the Jaguars continued to shoot accurately and outscored the Mustangs
11–8 in the period to take a 28–14 lead at halftime.
San Dieguito came back a little bit in the third
quarter, picking up the tempo on offense and scoring 17 points,
but Valley Center added 12 points and still led 40–31 heading
into the fourth quarter.
In the final period, the Jaguars slammed the
door on any comeback attempts, holding the Mustangs to only four
points down the stretch and sealing the win with eight points
of their own.
James Siva continued his stellar year with a
game-high 20 points, while Michael McInerny and Brett Henderson
each added eight points, Mitchell Rush had six, Ryan Kleiman had
four and John Broomell had two.
The Jaguars continued to play well on both sides
of the ball on Friday night at Orange Glen, and behind a well-balanced
inside-out attack, they came home with a 52–36 win.
Siva was on fire early in the game, connecting
on a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter and helping the
Jags take a 14–11 lead in the opening period. The Jaguars
spread the ball around effectively in the second quarter, as Rush
established an inside presence, while Siva shot well from the
outside and McInerny racked up points from the free throw line.
Heading into halftime, Valley Center had built a 26–19 lead
and looked to be in control of the game.
The great outside shooting continued in the third
quarter, as Siva hit another pair of shots from beyond the arc,
and both Broomell and Rush continued to work well in the paint.
At the end of the third, the Jags held a 42–26 lead.
Both teams scored ten points in the fourth quarter,
as the Valley Center bench players saw plenty of action and kept
the pressure on to put the game away.
Siva connected on five three-pointers in the
game and led all scorers with 17 points, while Broomell and Rush
each scored 12, McInerny had five, Henderson had four and James
Schwindt had two.
With the two victories, the Jaguars are now 17–4
overall and are in command of the Valley League at 4–0 so
far. Next up, the Jags play at Mission Vista on Wednesday and
at Canyon Crest on Friday. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m.
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