The St. Vincent High School boys basketball team precisely placed all the pieces Tuesday night, putting together a pretty picture of basketball precision in overwhelming North Central League II rival Rincon Valley Christian, 58-36.
The Mustangs were at their best on their home court in DeCarli Gymnasium, scoring from both inside and out, moving and sharing the ball and dominating the backboard. What they did best, however, was play defense.
Rincon Valley Christian’s Eagles, unable to score from distance and missing two seniors that hampered their ability to compete with the taller Mustangs inside, had to rely on driving to the hoop for their offense. St. Vincent did a masterful job in barricading those driving lanes.
Everyone contributed for the Mustangs. St. Vincent coach Lance Phillips rotated players throughout the game with consistent results. When the accounting was done, Liam Galten had 16 points, sharp-shooting guard Grant Devoe 11, Aaron Siota 10 and Reilly Tobin and Mike Awad six apiece.
No one had a bigger game than 6-foot, 5-inch Will Tarrant who was a tower in the paint, plugging the Eagle driving game and snaring every missed shot within grabbing distance. He finished with 12 rebounds.
The suspense was taken out of the game right at the start. In St. Vincent’s first possession, Galten followed up a missed shot with a basket, was fouled and dropped in the free throw to give the Mustangs a 3-point lead that steadily grew the rest of the game.
With Galten and Tarrant working inside, Tobin hitting from middle range and Grant DeVoe bombing for a three, the Mustangs romped to a 20-11 opening quarter lead.
Awad, off the bench, helped keep the momentum rolling in the second round, while the St. Vincent defense held the Eagles to just seven points and, by the half, the game was a blowout, with St. Vincent in front, 35-18.
St. Vincent had more of a slow down than a let down in the second half, allowing the Eagles’ Willie Chung and Joe Lin occasional access to the basket. Lin ended with 15 points to lead RVC.
The win moved St. Vincent close to break-even for the season with an 8-9 record and improved its league mark to 4-1. RVC is now 7-6 overall and 3-1 in league.
St. Vincent hopes to keep the momentum growing when it plays at home Friday night against Calistoga.
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