Page 9 - Sanger Herald 2-1-18 E-edition

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SANGER HERALD * PAGE 1B * THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2018
Free throws foul an otherwise competitive Edison contest
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
Four seconds remained on the clock.
The home crowd in the Coach Dean Nicholson Gym, which just moments before had been loud enough to rattle any visiting team, settled to an uneasy hush.
Sanger had the ball. If the ghost of the legendary former coach chose a moment to enlighten any of his beloved Apaches or maybe influence fate from above, this would have been the moment. Edison’s Tigers, a tenacious team that dogged Sanger every second of the final half, led by a point.
One point.
Morice Norris, who had just scored in the previous play, got the ball. Time slowed. He surged forward, willing his body to find the invisible staircase he often climbs to the backboard before finding the rim. He knew he could do it. The crowd knew, too.
Norris had the ability to do it again. The Tigers
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Senior Morice Norris goes up for two as he attempts to break open the game against Edison's Tigers. Despite a furious rally, the Apaches came up short Jan. 26 in Coach Dean Nicholson's gym with a 61-60 loss.
wanted to be, didn’t fall. The win that should have been, disappeared.
Norris delivered an amazing feat of athleticism, essentially dodging in midair while leaping over and completely avoiding Edison’s high-jumping defenders. The ball almost found its mark.
Almost. But this night, Jan. 26, went to Edison High. Final score was 61-60.
“Hey, good game,” said Ronnie Wilson to Norris after the game. “You good, man.”
Wilson, an Edison fan who made the drive from southwest Fresno, wasn’t the only one who sought out the Apache star. A couple Edison fans and many Apache fans, at least a dozen or so, stopped to congratulate Norris. They shook his hand, offered condolences and told him how impressed they were with his effort. Norris had 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists and three steals.
“Your boy did a fantastic job, a great job,” Wilson said.
Norris thought he had
it. “I’m just thinking about that layup,” he said as the crowd began to disburse. “The rim play you.”
He shook his head. A win was so close. And Sanger needed another boost. That big adrenaline enhancing victory against San Joaquin Memorial’s Panthers on Jan. 16 had faded to near distant memory. Since then, the Apaches have lost three straight — to Madera 69-68 in overtime, to Bullard 83-77 in double overtime and now this one.
Sanger master statistician Ron Blackwood said that despite the Apaches outscoring their opponents from the floor, the numbers reveal the discrepancy. Sanger shot 38 percent from the free throw line while their opponents shot 62 percent, he wrote in his game notes.
Coach Al Alvarado III mentioned free throws in his post-game comments to the team. He admonished his players to simulate game conditions at practice.
“This game exposes you,” he said. “There are no easy games in CMAC. We better
fix this.”
Division III Sanger sunk
to a 16-7 overall record. Comparatively, Edison, playing in Division I, had a 15-8 record.
“It’s still a good record,” Alvarado said of the Apaches efforts this season. But he said they need to improve their camaraderie, their bond with one another. “We’re there. It will be games like this. It’s right there. It has to come from within to play as a team.
“But look where we’re at. Four years ago, we’d be crying to face Edison.”
Alvarado said, “It’s been the little things, all year.”
Isaiah Rodriguez said he was hurting a bit and had to track down some ice. “We’ve got to finish,” he said. “Learn to execute and make our free throws.”
Leo Leon said much the same thing. “Start working harder at practice,” he said. “And get better.”
Isaiah Cuevas scored a game high 22 points, six from three-point range, and he collected six rebounds
See Boys, Page 2B
By Mike Nemeth
Sanger Herald
By all accounts, the Lady Apaches had it coming. And, after outplaying rival Bullard on Jan. 24 with a stepped up defense in the Coach Dean Nicholson Gym, many on the team felt at least a little vindication on a season that has had some highs and lows.
Sanger came out hard and fast, rolling the Knights from the opening minutes. The Apaches maintained the pressure throughout the 50-42 victory. The only blip came in the third quarter when Bullard squeaked ahead by a point.
Still, nothing was certain especially midway through the fourth quarter with the score tied 36-36.
That’s when teammates found freshman Jackie Kulow on the perimeter and began feeding her the ball. With 4:28 minutes remaining, Kulow bombed the basket from three-point range and found her mark.
Kulow’s corner shot drew chanted appreciation from the crowd and bumped the score to 40-38. The Lady Knights led briefly by a point after scoring on a previous possession.
Kulow nailed another three with 3:43 remaining, putting the game away for good. She finished the contest with 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
“We wanted to finish with a lot of intensity,” Kulow said after the game. “God got me through it.”
“It was a great game,” said senior Stephanie Herring, who had four points. “We adjusted to the types of press (Bullard devised), and we played together better than we have in a long time.”
“It’s a huge game,” said Savannah Rocha, a former member of the team, who witnessed the win. “They worked as a team. They started to trust each other.”
Sanger took that momentum to Edison two
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Jackie Kulow drains one of her two three-pointers in the game against rival Bullard's Lady Knights. Kulow led the Apaches with 14 points in the Jan. 24 game.
knew it, and their coach, Tim Wilkins, put all his Edison players in the way.
Norris had the crowd in
his pocket. He just had to deliver.
The basketball had other ideas. The bucket that
Lady Apaches take aim at Bullard
Mike Nemeth / Sanger Herald
Senior Stephanie Herring shoots from the floor. Herring collected nine rebounds in the game and pulled down six more against Edison two days later. Her 703 career rebounds puts her at No. 4 all-time in Sanger history.
Sanger history with 703. Blackwood also pointed out that sophomore Kelly Anderson scored on her first four attempts from the floor to lead scoring in the first half.
Cu-Nisha Mitchell collected seven rebounds, dished four assists and scored five points in the win against Bullard. After the game, she was just a little out of breath. “The rush of the game,” she said. “We want to get those wins. We came out with a lot of intensity.
“We had trust tonight. We just flowed. It was under control. We just planned
out how we would play at practice. And it worked.”
Former coach David Garza attended the game and was impressed. “Tell you what,” he said. “The girls came in. They were focused. This is no easy game, trust me. They executed. They finished. And I’m proud of my girls.”
He said that despite handing over the reins to coach David Campbell this year, he still feels close to the team.
Campbell echoed the sentiment on the performance against
See Basketball, Page 2B
days later and beat the slumping Lady Tigers by an even greater pronounced score, 54-37. The Apaches are 11-12 overall. Herring scored a game-high 17
points against the Tigers, shooting a near perfect eight of 10 from the floor and gathering six rebounds and three steals.
In the Bullard game,
Herring grabbed nine rebounds for what Sanger master statistician Ron Blackwood said is a career rebound record placing heratNo.4alltimein