Bulldogs (6-0) have no room for complacency on their bench
SAN JOSE — The Sobrato boys basketball team was about to begin warmups Friday when a familiar song began blaring in the Gunderson High gym; one that posed a question for coach Lee Washington’s Bulldogs.
“Who’s gonna run this town tonight?”
Washington quickly brought his team together.
“You hear this? This is our song. Listen to the words,” Washington said with a pause, letting Rihanna take over. “Victory’s within the mile.”
Each Santa Teresa Division outing has been a short mile for Sobrato, especially the team’s starting five. That unit has grown to take pride in riding the bench late in games, allowing more mop-up time for the Bulldogs’ reserves.
Sobrato has won each of its six league contests by an average of 21.7 points.
“Bryan (Bradley) and I were talking about that a few days ago; how we love working hard in the first half and letting the guys that don’t usually play as much go the second,” senior forward Charley Bynum said. “It’s special for us seeing everyone get in on the success we’re having.”
Even with their starters out for most of the third and fourth quarters, the Bulldogs didn’t lose any steam while pummeling the Grizzlies 85-39. Ryan Williams, Bradley and Bynum led Sobrato’s starters with 18, nine and nine points respectively, and Howard Kwong, George Baraona and Kenny Mounteer bolstered the bench scoring with 12, seven and seven. Williams and Bynum also corralled seven rebounds apiece.
And with that, the Bulldogs turned the latest obstacle standing between them and their second conference championship into another speed bump.
Winner of seven straight, Sobrato (11-5 overall, 6-0 league) wraps up the opening half of Santa Teresa play at 7 p.m. Wednesday against visiting Hill, which is searching for victory No. 1 of the new year.
“We definitely think we can keep this up,” said Bulldogs guard Pierre Hemphill, who had seven rebounds, four steals and three assists. “We expected to be doing this before the season. We work hard every day and it’s showing.”
It showed in the first half when Sobrato went on a 25-2 scoring run, building a 48-20 lead by halftime.
It showed late in the third quarter when Mounteer dove for two loose balls, and Kwong made three consecutive put-back shots.
“Coach inspires us to go the whole way no matter who the opponent is,” Bynum said. “That’s how you stay sharp.”
With eight games left in the regular season, complacency is the Bulldogs’ chief concern. They address it every practice.
“Getting comfortable is something to worry about,” Washington said simply. “That’s why I challenge these guys to do their best each day and keep improving. I couldn’t be happier with the effort and results I’m seeing. They earn it; they earn the right to share each win with all of their teammates.”
Lodiniel Vertilus led Gunderson (4-13, 1-5) with 17 points, and Niko Evaristo chipped in 13.
The Grizzlies led 6-4 four minutes into the game, but that was as in control as they got. Williams tied it with a turnaround hook, Kwong added two of his six charity points, and Chris Bradley and Bynum poured in five points apiece to help close out the first quarter. Chris Bradley opened the second period with a 3-point basket from left of the key, sparking a 14-2 run.
In the final minute, Kaele Shannon kicked outside to Hilario Villegas for a trey from the right corner, giving Sobrato its largest lead, 85-37.
“This shows how deep our team is,” said Kwong, a 6-foot-1, 226-pound center. “We have a lot of guys with high potential and we’re getting better.”
Lick 57, Live Oak 50
Dominic Leach, Nathan Seifert, Michael Schreiber and Cody Gallizioli totaled all of Live Oak’s points for the second straight game — but with a different result.
Lick received 19 points apiece from Clinton Okoro and Hector Lopez on the way to snapping the Acorns’ two-game win streak, 57-50, Friday in San Jose.
The first-place Comets (8-8 overall, 5-1 league) have won four straight, moving a game ahead of three teams in the West Valley Division.
Live Oak (6-10, 3-3) led 15-14 after the first quarter but played catch-up the rest of the way.
Leach scored 11 of his team-high 17 points from the free-throw line and had 10 rebounds. Seifert finished with 13 points, Schreiber scored 11 and Gallizioli nine.
NOTE: The original version of this story stated that the Sobrato boys basketball team has not won a league title. The Bulldogs did so during the 2006-07 season. The Times apologizes for this error.
