California High School boys basketball took a road trip Friday night to Mexico to take on the Missouri Military Academy Colonels.
The Pintos were coming off a 69-59 win against the Knob Noster Panthers last Tuesday night and were looking to start a new winning streak after finishing in second place behind Blair Oaks at the Tri-County Conference Tournament just more than a week ago. With senior forward Trevor Myers leading the way, California picked up another road win and defeated the Colonels 57-34 to improve to 6-1 on the season.
Head coach Brad Conway said the Missouri Military Academy team was a young and inexperienced one, which he thought would allow for the Pintos (6-1) to have more of a presence in the paint throughout the game and get easy baskets at a more consistent rate.
The Colonels (0-4) also had a smaller team in terms of size, and this gave Conway an opportunity to dig deep into his bench and give several of his junior varsity role-players some extra minutes.
The game began with both teams splitting the first eight points to tie the score at 4. From that point on, the Pintos' defense made sure that nothing came easy for Missouri Military Academy.
Conway told his team to go on and off with backcourt pressure, but it was the Pintos' aggression of playing the passing lanes that stole the spotlight. California forced six first-quarter turnovers and frustrated the Colonels guards with their on-and-off doubling of the ball handler. The Pintos used their defense to go on an 11-0 run to end the first quarter and led 15-4 after eight minutes of play.
In the second quarter, California continued to assert their first-quarter dominance by attacking the basket, forcing turnovers and getting to the free-throw line. Trevor Myers scored six points in the second quarter -- four off turnovers. Also providing a spark was senior forward Jaden Trachsel, who contributed six points, three rebounds and two assists in the first half. With Myers, Traschel and five other Pintos scoring points in the first half, the Pintos commanded a 33-14 lead at the half.
The second half saw the Pintos singing to a familiar tune. Despite the Colonels converting their shots at a higher percentage in the third quarter, the Pintos continued to make them pay for their turnovers and scored off of them. Trevor Myers continued to be the Pintos' leading man with eight points in the third quarter, with all four of his field goals coming from ten feet or closer. Even with only three Pintos scoring points in the third, California led by 22 going into the fourth quarter, 49-27.
Conway went to his reserves for most of the fourth quarter as guys like Kade Keeran, Peter Dampf, Chase Schlup, Karson McKinney, Brooks Volkart and Derek Bollinger got playing time off the bench. Volkart helped operate the Pintos' offense as the point guard. Dampf hit two-free throws and a jumper, Schlup provided strong interior defense, and McKinney set strong screens and spread the floor.
With their reserves keeping the Colonels at a distance, the Pintos sealed their sixth win of the season by more than 20 points.
Trevor Myers led California with 18 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Senior guard Calen Kruger had 10 points, five steals and four rebounds.
The Pintos didn't make a 3-pointer and shot only 40 percent from the field, but the biggest differences for California were out-rebounding Missouri Military Academy 41-29, stealing the ball 12 times and forcing the Colonels into 21 turnovers.
Because the Colonels were a young and inexperienced team, Conway said he wanted to use that to California's advantage when they had chances to run their offensive sets. The Pintos were able to attack from multiple angles because their offense was able to get the ball into the paint. Most times in basketball, when a team gets the ball into the paint, good things happen, Conway said.
"We felt like we could get some easy paint touches, and it just came down to setting good screens and executing," Conway said. "The very first time we came down, we ran a little quick hitter and got an easy one. And then, we stayed with it and played well in spurts."
Conway said the game against Missouri Military Academy wasn't one of the Pintos' best wins because of a few lapses of concentration, forcing the action and turnovers throughout the game. Conway said in his eyes, the Pintos were not playing at their highest level, and that's something that he expects out of his team every game.
"I told the guys at halftime, I felt like we were playing down to their level instead of playing like we're capable of playing," Conway said. "In the second half, in spurts, I think we were doing what we were capable of doing. It can get frustrating at times, but the guys are coach-able. They're doing what we ask them to do."
After a game Tuesday at Centralia (2-4), the Pintos will look to continue their hot start to the season next week as they host conference rival Southern Boone (3-2) on Friday night. In their last clash, California came back from a 14-point halftime deficit to defeat Southern Boone by seven Nov. 30. California will then host the New Bloomfield Wildcats (1-7) on Tuesday.
Democrat photo/Evan Holmes
Junior forward Peter Dampf hits two free throws off the bench in the second quarter against Missouri Military Academy.
Democrat photo/Evan Holmes
Sophomore guard Ayden Bryant gets a field goal on a breakaway layup in the third quarter. Bryant had six points and four assist against Missouri Military Academy Friday night.