ORANGE LEAGUE : Defense of Old Helps Western Beat Valencia
Greg Hoffman, Western High School’s basketball coach, didn’t want his team loosening its grip on the Orange League lead Wednesday night against Valencia.
And thinking in terms of defense, he figured his team was due for a change.
Hoffman shocked everyone by ordering the Pioneers to open the game in a diamond-and-one full-court press, a defense they hadn’t run in a year.
The result: 11 Valencia turnovers and a 10-point lead in the first quarter as Western pulled away for a 67-54 victory at Valencia.
“It was my favorite press, but we hadn’t run it because one of my assistant coaches talked me into using a man-to-man press,” Hoffman said. “But I woke up this morning and thought, ‘Why not go back to the bread and butter?’
“You can chalk this one up to the old coach, but the kids who have played for me for three years could run that press in their sleep. They knew what they were doing.”
The victory moved the Pioneers (18-2, 6-1) closer to the league title. They have a two-game lead over Anaheim, Brea-Olinda and Savanna, with three games to play.
The press helped the Pioneers build a 21-11 lead. Steve Sietken scored seven of his 15 points in the quarter and Tom Barraza had six of his 15.
Valencia (13-6, 3-4) cut the deficit to 28-22 when John Wilson made a three-pointer with 2 minutes 18 seconds left in the second quarter. But Matt Umbarger made a layup and Barraza made a free throw in the final 2:04 of the first half as Western led, 31-22, at halftime.
“Our defense has carried us this year,” Hoffman said. “We’re ranked eighth in the county and we don’t have a top-10 scorer.”
Valencia’s final run came midway through the fourth quarter. Marc O’Brien made a layup with 4:42 left to cut the deficit to 51-44. But Western, sparked by five points by Umbarger, went on a 10-5 run in the next 2:30 to seal the victory.
Valencia’s John Wilson scored seven of his team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter. Justin Jimenez had 13 for the Tigers.
Chris Jackson scored 14 points and Nueishi Stevenson added 12 for Western.
“After coming off an emotional loss (last Friday) to Anaheim, this might be our biggest win of the season,” Hoffman said.
In other league games:
Brea-Olinda 74, Anaheim 66--Leading, 51-49, entering the fourth quarter, Brea-Olinda (9-12, 4-3) outscored Anaheim, 23-17, to pull away. Anaheim (11-9, 4-3) trailed by two with three minutes remaining, but Jeff Roeser made one of two free throws and Doug Yeo made two technical foul shots to put Brea-Olinda ahead by five.
Savanna 80, Magnolia 47--Toby Priest and Trent Ramseyer each scored 16 points and Andy Trumpour scored 10 for visiting Savanna (13-9, 4-3). Wayne Thomas scored 17 points for Magnolia (6-13, 0-7).