Concentrating on its strengths, the Branham High School boys basketball team has bolted out to a 4-0 start in the Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division.
The Bruins, who have three 6-foot-5 players on its roster, have focused on its post play and fundamentals to win three of those four games by at least 15 points, including both of last week’s Santa Teresa Division games.
“Slowing it down, taking care of the ball and executing our plays,” said Branham coach Larry Loeffler about his team’s approach. “Our focus has been to feed it down low to our posts.”
Loeffler scheduled a tough nonleague schedule to prepare his team for Santa Teresa Division play. Although it only won three of its first nine games, the Bruins have finished games well in the first two weeks of Santa Teresa Division action.
Against Independence on Jan. 10, the Bruins trailed 31-29 in the first half before a 31-13 second-half run to end the game in a 60-44 victory.
“The first half, we weren’t executing the game plan,” said Loeffler, pointing out that his team’s offense needed to get “back to the basics, taking care of the ball, getting the ball down low.” Defensively, the team’s focus on pressure played dividends.
Branham took control a little earlier against Mt. Pleasant on Jan. 12. The Bruins outscored the Cardinals 11-7 in the second quarter for a 26-21 halftime lead, then were in control of the third quarter with an 18-7 scoring advantage.
Through Branham’s first 12 games of the season, 6-5 junior forward Luke Sayre leads the team in points (13.7 per game) and also averages 6.2 rebounds per game. Brandon Anders, a 6-5 senior forward/center, averages 13.2 points per game and a team-leading 9.2 rebounds per game.
Entering this week, the Bruins were alone in first place in the Santa Teresa Division, one game ahead of Independence and Silver Creek.
Leigh won both of its games last week to vault into a tie for third place in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division entering this week.
On Jan. 10, host Leigh had a strong first quarter as it forged to a 22-13 lead. It also led 41-25 at halftime and 61-39 at the end of the third quarter on its way to a 77-62 victory.
Riley Houser led the way for the Longhorns with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Ryan Shenefiel added 17 points, including 6 for 9 field-goal shooting and a trio of 3-pointers.
Jaxon Richards had nine points, eight rebounds and four assists for Leigh. Dylan Johnston passed for a team-high seven assists and also had a team-high two steals.
Against Sobrato on Jan. 12, Leigh also led in the first quarter (17-12), halftime (30-22) and at the end of the third quarter (42-30) in a 54-43 victory.
Ethan Thompson paced the Longhorns in scoring with 14 points on 7-of-8 field-goal shooting. The 6-foot-7 senior wing also had five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Houser added 11 points. Connor Smith had a team-high six rebounds. Owen Dyer paced the Longhorns in assists with four.
Leland lost 77-36 to Piedmont Hills and 53-51 to Evergreen Valley last week.
In the Piedmont Hills game on Jan. 10, the host Pirates took a 23-12 first-quarter lead on their way to the win. Khalil Simmons led the Chargers in scoring with 13 points, including 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the three-point line. Sohan Kshirsagar added a team-high four rebounds and two assists in the loss.
Against Evergreen Valley on Jan. 12, the Chargers outscored the Cougars 14-12 in the final quarter, but fell three points short of a victory.
Pioneer split its two BVAL Santa Teresa Division games last week.
On Jan. 10, the Mustangs led 50-49 at the end of the third quarter against visiting Silver Creek, but fell 63-60. Pioneer rebounded with a 62-41 victory over Oak Grove on Jan. 12.
Girls Basketball
Branham opened its BVAL Santa Teresa West Division schedule with a 52-32 victory over Lincoln on Jan. 11. Tori Mok scored a team-high 11 points for the Bruins and Katarina Knezevic grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
But Leigh outscored Branham 33-25 in the second half of their nonleague game on Jan. 13 to win 59-51. The Longhorns fell 47-36 to Gunderson in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division opener for both teams on Jan. 11. The Grizzlies led 27-14 at halftime in the victory.
Leigh beat Del Mar 55-28 on Jan. 9 in a nonleague game. The Longhorns held a 26-9 halftime advantage in the victory.
Leland also fell in its BVAL Mt. Hamilton opening game. Sobrato led 26-15 at halftime on its way to a 63-44 victory on Jan. 11.
The Chargers had three players score in double figures – Karli Mukai (13 points), Ericka Sangco-Lidgey (12) and Simran Bagri (11). Sangco-Lidgey had a team-high five rebounds, and Hailey Uyeda produced a team-high three steals.
Pioneer is 1-1 in BVAL Santa Teresa West play after a 43-25 victory over Del Mar on Jan. 11. The Mustangs held a 19-9 halftime lead and a 28-10 advantage at the end of three quarters in the victory.
The Mustangs also defeated Hill 47-33 in a nonleague game on Jan. 8. A 12-2 scoring advantage in the third quarter was a key part of Pioneer’s victory.
Girls Soccer
Pioneer edged Santa Teresa 1-0 on Jan. 9 on a second-half goal, but tied Piedmont Hills 0-0 on Jan. 12. The Mustangs entered this week with an 8-0-2 overall record and 3-0-1 mark in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division.
Leigh tied Willow Glen 1-1 on Jan. 9 with a second-half goal. It then defeated Leland 2-0 on Jan. 12 with two more second-half goals. The Longhorns entered this week with a 2-0-2 record in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division and a 4-2-3 overall mark.
Leland beat Branham 6-0 on Jan. 9. The Chargers’ loss to Leigh left Leland with a record of 2-4-2 overall and 1-2-1 mark in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division.
In addition to the Leland loss, Branham fell to Willow Glen 2-1 on Jan. 12. Emily Trampeneau scored the Bruins’ goal and Lily Muddari-Spencer grabbed four saves. Muddari-Spencer also had four saves against Leland.
Boys Soccer
Leland improved to 3-1 in the BVAL Santa Teresa Division with a pair of victories last week. On Jan. 8, the Chargers beat Independence 2-1, and a pair of second-half goals lifted Leland to a 2-0 win over host Willow Glen on Jan. 11.
Branham beat Hill 4-0 on Jan. 8 with two goals in both halves. But the scoring was much harder to achieve on Jan. 11 against Evergreen Valley in a 1-1 tie. Entering this week, Branham is 5-3-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division.
Pioneer fell 1-0 to Overfelt on Jan. 11. Leigh was edged 2-1 by Evergreen Valley on Jan. 8 to fall to 1-2 in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division (1-6-1 overall).
