PREP BASKETBALL 2016: Petaluma boys rally in the second half to defeat Novato

Petaluma pulled away from visiting Novato in the second half to beat the Hornets, 61-46, in a non-league game Tuesday.

The Trojans struggled with ball-handling issues in the first half, but settled in during the final minutes to gradually separate from their Marin County Athletic League foes.

Center Joey Potts opened with a solid game for Petaluma by scoring eight points and pulling down nine rebounds in the first half, but the Trojans broke for intermission leading by only a 26-23 margin.

Rushed shots and pressured sideline mistakes by Trojan backcourt players helped keep the fired-up Hornets in the game. Petaluma coach Scott Behrs substituted liberally in the early going in an effort to find some rhythm against the Hornets’ full-court pressure defense, but the mistakes kept coming.

“Ball security has been our problem,” he said. “We got beat by both Montgomery and San Marin by turning the ball over far too many times. We made 52 turnovers combined against those teams, and you cannot win like that.”

Behrs found a more consistent combination in the back court, and it paid off as the Trojans separated to a 48-40 margin at the end of three periods. It got worse for the tiring Hornets as they were held to six points in the final stanza. Two Hornet buckets came in the final minute of play.

One unheralded component to the Trojan court was junior Whitaker Ellis, who added some stability to the full-court press breaker. While not spectacular, Ellis added a touch of fundamental play that was a bit more patient, but free of careless mistakes. The Trojans opened up a commanding lead in the final stanza.

Potts, on the floor for most of the game, turned in a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds. The Rose City All-Tournament selection also blocked three Hornet shot attempts.

Colin Stremlau, a 6-2 all purpose player, turned in an outstanding effort, finding a scoring touch in every period to give the Trojans a balanced attack. Stremlau finished with 15 points with nine coming when the Hornets were solidly in the contest.

“We are very athletic,” said Behrs. “Our issues have been that everything is played at the same accelerated pace. We are going to get better as the season progresses, and some help is on the way when Trey Davis becomes eligible.”

Petaluma doubled up on the Hornets by coasting to a 13-6 advantage down the stretch. Behrs turned to a version of a high-low attack by playing both Potts and 6-4 Scott Anderson together, and the tandem responded with alternating assists leading to easy baskets underneath by waiting teammates. Anderson finished with five points.

Brendan O’Neil tossed in eight points and sophomore Robbie Isetta added seven for the Trojans, who improved to 5-2 for the season.

Freshman star Marcus Orleans, who leads the Hornets in rebounds, came off the bench to grab seven boards for Novato. The Hornets slipped to 1-6.

Novato held off a furious charge by the Petaluma junior varsity to win an entertaining 66-65 decision in the preliminary game. Both teams pressed most of the way. Novato won the Petaluma Junior Varsity Tournament earlier in the season.