Sports
Boys Basketball: Wolves Rebound from First Loss, Defeat Amador Valley 45-35
After dropping the first game of their season Friday, the Wolves rebounded quickly to defeat the Dons by 10.
San Ramon Valley 45, Amador Valley 35
The Star: Mark Tollefsen was all over the court, scoring 25 of the Wolves' 45 points, grabbing rebounds and making passes to break the press. He hit the Wolves' only three-point shot and was six of six from the free-throw line.
The Turning Point: With the game tied at 35 with just more than two minutes left, Jordan Giusti hit Tollefsen with a perfect alley-oop pass that Tollefsen threw down. The Wolves scored 10 straight points following the dunk.
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The Quote: “We just wanted to use the loss as fuel to come out really strong against this team. We really emphasized our fast break because we didn’t emphasize that in our loss against De La Salle.” – Mark Tollefsen on the Wolves' adjustments after losing for the first time Friday.
What's next? San Ramon Valley hosts Livermore on Friday at 7 p.m.
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Bottom Line: After losing their first game of the season Friday against De La Salle, the Wolves bounced back with a closely contested win over the Dons, dominating the paint and scoring 13 unanswered points to end the game.
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The boys basketball team defeated Amador Valley on Tuesday night to get back on track after last week.
“We just wanted to use the loss as fuel to come out really strong against this team,” San Ramon forward Mark Tollefsen said. “We really emphasized our fast break because we didn’t emphasize that in our .”
The Wolves won 45-35, but the game was close throughout.
The first half was a fast-paced seesaw battle between the two teams. In the first quarter alone there were eight lead changes. At the end of the first quarter, the Wolves led 11-10.
“Amador has a lot of great three-point shooters. We prepared for that except we weren’t getting over the screens and they were knocking down shots,” Tollefsen said. “We needed to play better defense so we could start our fast break.”
The second quarter was much the same. A San Ramon Valley run would answer an Amador Valley run. Back and forth the teams went, exchanging the lead four times during the second quarter. Tollefsen, a 6-9 forward, scored eight-straight San Ramon Valley points, keeping his team up 22-21 going into halftime.
“They switched their small guys on me, so I thought I could post up and get fouled in order to get a lot of buckets underneath,” said Tollefsen, who had 13 of his team’s 22 first-half points. “My teammates kept throwing the ball down to me and I was finishing. It felt good.”
The Wolves dominated the paint during the third quarter. Austin Holliday and Tollefsen scored all 10 of the Wolves' third-quarter points on dunks or layups. Holliday and Tollefsen also combined for four blocks while holding the Dons to seven points during the third. The Wolves nursed a 32-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“I felt like no one could stop me while I was down low,” Tollefsen said. “I felt like I was just going to go up and make every single shot.”
The Dons responded in the fourth quarter. The Wolves went on a five minute and 20 second dry spell while the Dons went on a 7-0 run. With 2:40 left in the game, they now trailed 35-32.
When Jordan Giusti answered with an old fashioned three-point play, the game was tied at 33. Giusti aggressively drove the lane, drew contact and made both his layup and his free throw.
On the next possession, the Dons missed a three-point attempt and Giusti streaked down the court. He saw Tollefsen running with him and threw up a perfect alley oop pass. Tollefsen did the rest, slamming it down with authority as the San Ramon Valley sixth man went wild.
“We do that all the time in practice and we say, ‘We need to do that in a game,’ ” Tollefsen said. “Jordan threw a great lob that was right there. It was great.”
The Wolves scored eight more unanswered points to end the game on a 13-0 run. The team won by 10 despite trailing by three with only 2:40 left. Tollefsen scored 25 of the Wolves' 45 points.
“My teammates give me the ball, which makes me perform. I give all the credit to them,” Tollefsen said. “They are a major part of my success.”
The Wolves (14-1, 2-1 EBAL) host Livermore on Friday at 7 p.m., where they will continue to try and improve.
“Fast break's our big game, that’s how we play,” Tollefsen said. “We need to play strong and get up and down the floor.”
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San Ramon Valley 45, Amador Valley 35
SRV
11 11 10 13— 45 Amador 10 11 7 7— 35 Individuals — (fg ftm-fta tp) SRV Kevorkian 1 2-3 4, Guisti 1 2-3 4, Marvin 1 0-0 2, Garrett 1 0-0 2, Holliday 3 2-6 8, Tollefsen 9 6-6 25, Dobrzynski 0 0-2 0. Totals 16 12-20 45. Amador Ruotolo 1 0-0 3, Johansen 3 0-1 6, King 4 4-4 14, Lady 1 0-0 2, Contreras 4 0-0 10. Totals 13 4-5 35. 3-point goals: Contreras 2, King 2, Routolo and Tollefsen. Records: San Ramon Valley 14-1, 2-1 EBAL;Amador Valley 10-5, 2-1 EBAL East Bay Athletic League, boys basketball, 1/11/11
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