Trojan boys hang on to beat Lobos

Petaluma boys beat Elsie Allen, follow with win over Sonoma.|

The Petaluma High School boys basketball team seemed forever to be on the verge of blowing open its Sonoma County League basketball game against Elsie Allen on Thursday night. The Trojans had to grimly hang on to record a 56-52 win over a gutsy Lobo squad.

Thursday night in their home gym, the Trojans led by seven at halftime (29-22) and by 13 late in the third quarter. But the Lobos. out sized and looking to be out gunned, kept driving and driving, finally catching the Trojans at 52-52 with about two minutes to play.

Shaken, Petaluma used a suddenly aroused defense to squeeze the Lobos away from the basket, not allowing an Elsie Allen point over the game’s final minute and a half.

Joey Potts put Petaluma in front to stay with 1:14 left, forcing his way to the rim. Brendan O’Neill and Austin Paretti bought insurance from the foul line as the game closed.

Petaluma coach Scott Behrs said the Lobos’ record is deceiving. “They’re tough,” he said. “They gave us a good game. We had to pull it out with our defense.”

Petaluma had a bad shooting night, going 21 for 55 from the floor (38 percent) and 10 of 17 (58 percent) from the foul line.

The ultimate difference was Potts. The slender, but rugged, 6-8 center played every minute, giving Petaluma a big advantage on the boards and clogging the middle on defense. And, of course, there was his 25 points, which included two emphatic slams and a 3-point hit to start the game.

Petaluma’s standouts were mostly of the defensive variety, with O’Neill adding to his reputation as one of the Redwood Empire’s best defenders while chipping in 10 points.

Austin Paretti continued to provide outside scoring, hitting a pair of treys on his way to a nine-point game. He spent much of the first half on the bench after picking up a pair of quick fouls. In his stead, Whittaker Ellis and sophomore Robbie Isetta gave the Trojans good guard play off the bench.

Despite the presence of Potts in the middle, Elsie Allen found ways of getting to the hoop, interspersing a few timely treys with creative finishes on drives by Isidro Garcia and Erick Vargas. Garcia, who is listed at 5-11, fearlessly bored into the taller Trojans for 22 points, while Vargas added 14.

Petaluma easily won the junior varsity game, 54-18.

Win at Sonoma

Petaluma followed up that victory with a 49-34 win at Sonoma on Saturday night. The game was a make-up of one postponed by flooding last week.

“It was the first time we’ve played in a gym besides our own, and played well,” noted Petaluma coach Scott Behrs.

Petaluma was able to gun down Sonoma’s hosting Dragons from long range, hitting a multitude of 3-pointers.

Jack Anderson and O’Neill each hit three shots from beyond the arc and Potts and Colin Stremlau also contributed long-range shots.

Potts finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

“For a change, we were able to control the boards and get second and third shots,” Behrs noted.

The coach also noted the floor play of guard Paretti. “He did a good job controlling our offense,” Behrs said.

Petaluma is 7-11 on the season and 4-2 in SCL play.

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