SAN MATEO — Take the first and third quarters of Stuart Hall’s 60-57 win over Aragon and the Knights look like a force to be reckoned with. Take the second and fourth and the host Dons look like a junior-heavy team with promise.
Take the full game and it’s a more holistic evaluation, with a pair of teams tasked with replacing their three top players from last year showing that reports of their demise were greatly exaggerated.
Stuart Hall (1-0) had the unenviable task of replacing the production of Miles Amos, Nigel Burris and Spencer O’Brien-Steele, but if Wednesday is a sign of things to come, the Knights are going to be right in the mix in the BCL West again. With a game-high 24 points from Kyle Jasper, 12 from Jay-Henry Ryan and a strong all-around game from Tomas Wolber, who had 12 points and eight assists, the Knights got strong performances from their two returning starters and saw tremendous outings from players who were in a bench role last year, including Jasper.
“I worked really hard this offseason trying to expand my game,” the 5-foot-11 Jasper said.
With at least five points in every quarter, buoyed by a 7-for-8 free throw performance, Jasper showed that he’s more than just a sharp 3-point shooter. After Aragon (0-1) had closed the gap to one at the half by outscoring the Knights 16-7 in the second quarter, Jasper opened the third with a three, keying a dominant quarter from the visitors that was capped off by a Ryan transition layup off a heady pass from Joe Weinstein at the buzzer to make it 50-39.
The Dons still weren’t done, even trailing by 10 with four minutes left. An off-balance three by Dennis Fasnacht, who scored eight off the bench, injected life into the hosts, and even after a Jasper steal and layup made it 58-48, an inspired final stretch by junior guard Jace Jeremiah kept the Dons afloat.
Jeremiah scored seven of his team-high 17 over the final two minutes, including back-to-back baskets off turnovers to give the Dons a chance in the dying moments. After two of Murphy Caffo’s 15 points cut it to 60-53, Aragon head coach Hosea Patton’s unorthodox decision to play the following possession out rather than foul paid off handsomely, with a steal at the end of Stuart Hall’s next possession leading to a basket by Jeremiah. An offensive foul with 30.8 seconds left set up another Jeremiah layup, and when Wolber missed the front end of a 1-and-1, the Dons had one last chance before Jack Fitzgerald’s three from the wing struck iron.
Just as Stuart Hall had to replace three standouts from last year’s roster, the Dons were in the same boat after graduating Sam Manu, David Avak and Noah Salah.
“I just started getting into rhythm and got adjusted,” said Fasnacht, who struggled mightily in his first few minutes on the floor but showed his value as the game went on with Ryan Victor in foul trouble.
With 15 points and eight rebounds from Caffo, a strong game from Jeremiah and a nine-point, nine-rebound outing from Matthew Mukai, Aragon showed that replacing last year’s production won’t be quite as difficult as feared.
“We lost a lot of key players last year, so we’ve been stepping up in practice,” Mukai said. “As I got older, I wanted to be a better rebounder. They don’t box out very well and I took advantage.”
Rebounding was a main concern for Stuart Hall head coach Charley Johnson after his team was beaten 40-25 on the boards, surrendering 17 offensive rebounds while grabbing just eight.
“We’re going to have to figure out how to rebound the ball, and I think that’ll be a thing that sticks with us all season,” he said.
Stuart Hall travels to Miramonte on Saturday afternoon, while Aragon will return to action Monday at Terra Nova.
