Defensive intensity and hot shooting are becoming the identity of first-year coach Jalen Bourbon’s Sierra Timberwolves, with both fully on display Tuesday night in a 66-39 victory at Ripon in non-conference play.
“I was really happy with how we defended, especially in the first half,” Bourbon said. “The effort was there, and we forced some tough shots that helped us build a lead early on, as we got going offensively ourselves.”
The Timberwolves (3-0) held the Indians (0-2) to just four total points in the first quarter before an Andrew Shaw 3-pointer at the buzzer made it 18-7 Sierra going into the first break.
Six Timberwolves scored in the first quarter, led by junior guard Isaiah Revives, who scored seven of his game-high 17 early on.
“I wanted to come out fast getting the start tonight,” Revives said. “We moved the ball around really well, and I was just happy to get some good looks and knock them down.”
Like they did in their first two wins on the season, Sierra knocked down shots from the outside, shooting 8-of-19 from three to go 42% as a team. Revives, who missed last Tuesday’s game against Linden due to illness, was 5-for-7 from deep.
“I like the way our depth is shaking out,” Bourbon said. “We have a bunch of guys who are confident shooting the basketball, and it’s been contagious. When one guy gets going, others seem to follow.”
The young Indians, coached by Dean Balcao, got off to a slow start in just their second game of the season, as they look to replace a significant amount of offense that graduated last year in the form of leading scorer Marcus Madoski.
Ripon scored 11 points in the second quarter led by junior guard Gavin Decena (eight points), but would go into the halftime intermission trailing 36-18, as Sierra’s hot shooting start continued in the second period.
Senior center AJ Chapman, seeing his first action of the season after returning from a football injury, gave Bourbon’s Timberwolves yet another dimension in the third quarter, as he scored five of his nine points in the game to go along with seven rebounds in limited action.
“Having AJ out there is a game changer for us,” Revives said. “We have shot the ball really well from the outside, and if we have someone down low to keep defenses honest, it should only help us get more open looks.”
The Timberwolves defense was stout again in the third quarter, allowing just seven total points to Ripon, forcing 6 turnovers highlighted by a pair of steals from senior forward Jordan Garcia (eight points) that helped Sierra grow its lead to 55-25 going into the final break.
For the Indians, junior guard Gino Calderara scored a team-high 11 points, while center Tipeti Paini contributed eight points and six rebounds off of the bench. Junior forward AJ Vanderwerff was all over the glass coming up with a game high nine rebounds to go along with four points.
Ripon would outscore the Timberwolves 14-11 in the fourth quarter led by Paini and Decena, as Sierra hockey style line changed entire lineups at times as Bourbon looks to settle on a rotation going into the remainder of non-conference play and then a tough Valley Oak League schedule.
“We’re deep,” Bourbon said. “I don’t know if we’ll play as deep as we did tonight, but I feel confident in each and every one of our guys to play well on both offense and defense when they are called upon, and as a coach that is all you can ask for.”
Both teams will get right back onto the court, as Ripon hosts Patterson Wednesday night, while Sierra plays Tracy Thursday at the Amos Alonzo Stagg High School tournament.
“Thursday will be a good test for us,” Bourbon said. “We know they are a good team with some good players. It’ll be a good barometer of how well we are playing here early on in the season.”
Junior Varsity
Sierra 57, Ripon 40
Kiral Tran and Jack Taylor paced the Timberwolves with 10 points each. Akash Sekhon led Ripon with 10 points in the loss.
Freshman
Ripon 32, Sierra 39
Ripon came out victorious in a defensive battle over the Timberwolves. Harvir Singh led Sierra with 11 points in defeat.
