Gavin Vogenson's back was bleeding which caused him to switch from the #4 jersey to the #12 jersey and then to the #10 but it didn't seem to affect him much as he went 4 of 9 from the field, scoring 11 points while putting up a rebound and 4 assists. The Cardinals got 39 of their 66 points from Seniors Sam Cline and Drew Krillich with Cline going for 21 and Krillich going for 18. Cline also had 2 assists and 3 rebounds while Krillich won Player of the Game going 5 for 6 from 3 point range while racking up 8 rebounds and 3 steals. The Cardinals had solid performances from big men Vero Poueu, who had 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist, and Madhi Camara who had 6 points and 9 rebounds. Charlie Oandson also had 6 points and 3 rebounds. Newman cruised to a 66-46 win behind these performances.
The game was a good one with Newman facing off against defending NBL Champs Montgomery Vikings who swept the Cardinals last year, but this year was different. Newman was 9-0, coming off a big win over St. Francis in the Rose City Tournament Championship and were ranked #1 in NCS Division II and #20 overall in the state. The Vikings were 5-1, coming off a big win over Vallejo and were ready to start their NBL journey on a quest to get another title. The Vikings lead early 6-5, but from then on, the Cardinals took control. Madhi Camara and Drew Krillich were incredible in the first quarter and helped get the Cardinals a 17-9 lead entering the 2nd Quarter. The Vikings had great performances from Izeyah Wright who had a big slam dunk in the second quarter and Will Grafe who had 6 points along with 2 steals in the 1st Half. The Cardinals kept rolling and after a late 3 pointer from Krillich, the Cardinals lead heading into half by 10, 30-20.
You can tell by the halftime stats how close this game was despite Newman's 10 point lead. A lot of the 1st Half came down to rebounds and free throws.
Team | Newman | Monty |
FG M/A | 10/26 | 8/25 |
3 PT M/A | 5/15 | 1/6 |
Free Throws M/A | 5/5 | 3/4 |
Rebounds | 18 | 13 |
Turnovers | 4 | 6 |
Fouls | 3 | 3 |
Leading Scorer | Drew Krillich (8 pts) | Izeyah Wright and Will Grafe (Both 6 pts) |
Newman's Sam Cline who had been dormant throughout the first half started heating up along with Monty's Caden Devries whi started to hit everything for the Vikings and quickly became their top scorer, but the Cardinals had answers to everything. The Vikings cut the lead to nine early in the third, but the Cardinals took the ball and went on an incredible 14-4 run that ended late in the third with Devries hitting a three and the Cardinals inbounded it with 2 seconds left, giving the ball to Drew Krillich who hit a buzzerbeater 3 pointer which got the Newman student section going crazy. The Cardinals had done their damage and were up 49-30 after the third. The 4th Quarter was Sam Cline and Caden Devries' quarter with the two swapping shots, but Newman always answered. Whilst Devries had 21 points and scored 12 of Monty's 16 4th Quarter points, Cline went off hitting 3 free throws and 2 three pointers that put Monty's student section and offense to sleep. McGovern went to the line a couple times early on and made all 4 of his free throws, but Cline responded by hitting all 3 free throws and Krillich helped out with a clutch corner three that put the momentum heavily on the side of Newman. Newman lead 63-46 after Vero Poueu had a nice layup off a great pass from Cline and cline buried his final 3 bringing his grand total to 5 3 pointers and 21 total points. The Cardinals won 66-46. The Community First Credit Union Player of the Game was Drew Krillich who said this about his performance and the team's performance:
"Our coach has set up a great offense that every other night a different number gets called up so it just ends up being whoever the hothand is, our offense finds a way to get it to him so it ebbs and flows every game, but we have a lot of great players and a lot of great coaching"
Newman fought well against a tough Monty team who threw multiple different kinds of defenses at the Cardinals. Newman looks ready for another league game against Analy on Tuesday in Sebastopol and a non-league rivalry game against Marin Catholic on Thursday in Kentfield. Monty has flowed into a tournament this weekend at Casa Grande which will prepare them even more for League in January. Newman and Monty will meet again in the Viking Dome on January 18th in what will be another exciting game.
Above: Izeyah Wright's dunk