EAGLES HEAD TO NORCAL GAME TODAY
Elliot Christian’s boys basketball team unveiled a pair of hidden weapons from its arsenal earlier this week — the half-court offense and half-court defense.
That’s what the Eagles used to defeat Branson 41-34 in the CIF Championship Division V semifinal game at the Tokay High gym on Tuesday. Most Elliot and local basketball fans were expecting the Eagles’ high-octane offense to corral the Bulls, along with the smothering full-court defense that has left most of its opponents this season gasping for air by halftime — if not sooner.
Today at 6 p.m., No. 2 Elliot (29-4) will take its beefed up play book on both sides of the ball to Watsonville to play at No. 1 St. Francis (28-2) for the DV NorCal title. This is the first NorCal game for Elliot, and the first-ever for any of the four Lodi high schools — Elliot, plus Lodi, Tokay and Lodi Academy — at this level.
To reach today’s game, the Eagles had to battle the Bulls’ pressure defense with their half-court offense. On the other end of the floor, Elliot used a half-court defense that forced the Bulls into turnovers. The Eagles have practiced both this season, but have shown them rarely this season.
“Branson was the best coached team I’ve (coached) against in a long time,” said Elliot coach Jason Hitt. “It definitely made our basketball IQ’s stronger, as well as strengthened our confidence and mental toughness.”
Elliot senior point guard Jalen Valverde agreed with his coach.
“I think playing with that slow type of game was a great confidence boost for us because it showed everyone else and ourselves that we are able to win games in the defensive end,” said Valverde, who scored 10 points against the Bulls, well below his season average of 14.8, “especially when shots aren’t falling for us.”
Another key for the Eagles in the NorCal playoffs is rebounding. That has been led by junior forward/center Cody Doell, who had eight in Tuesday’s semifinal game against the Bulls. Doell had eight in the game, and has 178 for the season.
“Cody played unbelievable,” said Hitt after Tuesday’s win over Branson. “He got some major rebounds in major situations (late in the game). When you’re playing a onepossession ball game, you’ve got to have that ball and not let put-backs happen.”
Practices after Tuesday’s win have been business as usual for the Eagles. But there’s a little bit of added work into the half-court offense and defense.
“We have worked on more half-court defense and halfcourt offensive strategies,” Hitt said. “My focus has been to keep our boys in shape and healthy.”
It the Eagles win, they would become the sixth San Joaquin County high school to win a NorCal boys or girls hoops title. The other schools are St. Mary’s, Brookside Christian, Ripon Christian, Manteca and Stockton High, which closed its doors in 1966.
As it did after winning the Central California Athletic Association and Sac-Joaquin Section D-V titles within the last 30 days, Elliot will celebrate quietly, knowing there’s still work to be done.
“Coach (Hitt) has instilled in us a sense of that we should act as if we’ve been there before in every situation,” Valverde said. “In the locker room, we show our emotion. We believe we have a chance at the state title, and that’s been the goal since the start (of this season) ... the goal is still the same.”
Hitt added, “This group set their goals in the beginning of the year: Win league, get back to NorCals, win the section, win NorCal (and) win state. They are a pretty humble group. They do a lot more celebrating behind close doors.”
The Elliot-St. Francis winner will play the winner of the SoCal matchup between No. 2 Rolling Hills Prep (27-2) and No. 1 Notre Dame (31-3) for the state DV title. That game is schedule for noon next Friday at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.