ALAMEDA, Calif. — Longtime rivals Alameda and Encinal showed that they don’t need a big crowd to feel the heat.
Even with Encinal’s gym, which only seats a few hundred at most, barely half-full for a Saturday afternoon tip, there was plenty of energy on the court as the visiting Hornets led wire-to-wire and held on down the stretch for a 49-44 win.
“It wasn’t the normal crowd for the game, but I was extremely proud of our energy,” Alameda head coach Cameron Quick said. “This game means a lot to a lot of people, especially former alumni, and I wanted to make them proud.”
Quick was a great representation of that energy, with an emphatic shout and fist pump after Nick Rondenet’s rebound to seal the game. Alameda (16-7) led by 11 after three quarters but had to fend the Jets off down the stretch as Encinal (11-8) used a 9-3 run to close to 47-44 on an Isaiah Coss bucket off the glass with 20 seconds left. Ivan Yu made two free throws with 18.7 seconds remaining, the Jets came up empty on their ensuing possession and Rondenet’s rebound sealed the game.
Yu scored 13 to lead the Hornets, including 11 in the first half. He knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter as the visitors went up by as much as 12 before a Diego Cerna layup cut the lead to 30-20 just shy of the buzzer. Yu cooled off in a second half where Joseph Lemos accounted for Alameda’s lone 3-pointer, but the Hornets were able to stay in control thanks to their mid-range shooting ability.
“It’s been a strength for us,” Quick said of his team’s ability to hit 15-footers. “Our guards aren’t the tallest or quickest and we know teams want to take threes away. I don’t mind the mid-range as long as it’s a good shot.”
Lemos scored eight off the bench for an Alameda team in desperate need of depth contributions after hosting Bishop O’Dowd just 20 hours earlier. Mason Harris, Rondenet and Jackson Yep each scored six, while Jacob Baca scored a game-high 14 for the Jets, with seven apiece in the second and fourth quarters. Coss finished with 13 and Loyal Morris chipped in six.
