Prep Basketball: First quarter lull costs Sobrato in 78-64 loss to Leigh

Sobrato had one bad quarter against Leigh and could never recover.
The Bulldogs had 11 turnovers in the first quarter and went down 28-9 in route to a 78-64 loss at home Tuesday.
Even worse, Sobrato had to spend the entire second half without its big man after Karl Mann went down late in the second quarter with an apparent shoulder injury.
He left the game with eight points and eight boards.
The Bulldogs in the first quarter didn’t put up its first field goal until the 3:25 mark of the quarter. By then, Leigh led 20-3.
The Longhorns used a full court press that sped up Sobrato’s game and forced the Bulldogs into turnovers.
Coach Lee Washington said while the press made things difficult, it was more not sticking to the game plan that ultimately hurt the boys.
“It wasn’t so much their full court press, it was that we weren’t getting back on defense. We just weren’t getting back,” Washington said. “They were just running and scoring. Part of our game plan is we knew they like to play just like we do. They like to run on every made basket and they did it. They ran on ever miss too.”
The Bulldogs still put together a strong effort in the second quarter and well into the third, cutting the 19-point deficit down to five early in the second half.
“Once we calmed down — and we played our game — we flipped the score on them in the second quarter as opposed to how they did in the first quarter against us,” Washington said.
He said once Sobrato calmed down, the team was able to attack Leigh’s zone better and make a run.
But that was as close as Sobrato got as Leigh outscored the team 40-31 the rest of the way.
Much of it was the sheer numbers Leigh could throw at Sobrato, able to bring in 12 people, compared to Sobrato’s four that were available off the bench.
“We knew coming in to the season that we needed to be conditioned. We weren’t going to be rolling out a line up as deep as some other squads,” Washington said. “That just forced our guys — not just our starters, but the other guys — to stay in shape and make sure they ready.”
Despite double figures from Max Mosgrove, Bryce Shore and Alex Minagawa, the Bulldogs weren’t able to keep the game close down the stretch. In the fourth quarter, Sobrato went down as much as 21 points before Leigh started pulling most of its players.
Minagawa led the Bulldogs with 17 points. Shore added 11 points and Mosgrove had 13 points with seven rebounds.
Joe Giacchetti led the charge for the Longhorns, putting up 17 of his game leading 25 points in the second half.
Jared Williams added a double-double for Leigh with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Sobrato will take the next week before it will take on James Lick at home. The tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 17.