Analy too hot for Trojans to handle in SCL final

Analy’s Tigers proved too hot to handle for Petaluma High’s Trojans in the boys finals of the Sonoma County League Basketball Tournament, popping in seven 3-pointers on their way to a 58-41 victory.

Playing in the spacious Walter Haehl Pavilion on Santa Rosa Junior College’s Santa Rosa Campus, Petaluma hung with the SCL champion Tigers through the first half, but at the finish, 56 percent Analy shooting from the floor proved too much to match.

“The shots they hit were not that easy,” said Petaluma coach Scott Behrs. “We had our hands up. We defended well, but you can’t tackle them.”

Even tackling might not been enough to stop Analy’s Aidan Toner-rodgers, who was deadly from the outside, connecting on five shots from beyond the arc. He spiced up his assault with some acrobatic drives, finishing with 21 points.

Teammate Dom Tripodi proved an effective complement to the Tiger leader, finishing with 16 points.

The Tigers were 7-of-11 from 3-point range, and especially deadly in the second half when they hit five of the seven distance shots they took.

Petaluma, meanwhile, had trouble penetrating the Analy zone defense, and the Trojans weren’t accurate enough to shoot over the top. The Trojans hit on just 5-of-13 shots from distance. Overall, they hit 13-of-33 shots from the floor (39 percent).

Guard Austin Paretti, as he has done often this season when the Trojans were unable to get the ball inside, picked up the scoring slack with a team-high 12 points. Trey Davis hustled his way to eight and Devin Gottschall came off the bench to give Petaluma a lift, scoring seven points. Brendan O’Neill added six.

Analy’s shooting accuracy was not apparent early, as the Tigers were stymied by the Trojans’ man-to-man challenge defense for most of the first half, reaching the mid-point leading just 27-20, and that only because the Trojans had a pair of late second-period turnovers, and Analy scored the final four points of the half.

Paretti hit a pair of treys in the opening half and Davis started the game with a 3-pointer for the Trojans, who led at the end of the period, 10-9.

Toner-rodgers was a one-man gang for the Tigers in the second quarter, scoring half of their 18 points in the period.

After the halftime pause, it was the Tigers who took charge. Toner-rodgers opened the floodgates with a 3-pointer. There followed seven straight Analy points for a 36-20 lead, and the trophy ownership was decided. Petaluma helped the Tigers with seven turnovers in the quarter.

With about two minutes to play, both coaches cleared the benches, giving everyone a chance to play in the big venue. By then, both teams were already thinking ahead to the North Coast Section playoffs.