Garlington leads Santa Rosa basketball team to win

Santa Rosa Academy's Dylan Sapong drives past a defender during Wednesday's game. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

By Paige Mendez, Correspondent

Santa Rosa Academy’s boys basketball team scored its first win of the new year Wednesday night at home. With a 47-36 win over the California Military Institute, the Rangers now hold a 10-4 record, staying undefeated in their league.

Santa Rosa was led by senior guard Anthony Garlington, who put up 12 points and four steals on the night. More than half of his points came in the second half of the game, which he said is due to his increase in aggression after a rough first half offensively.

“Shots weren’t falling so I had to find something else to answer in the game,” Garlington said. “My defense or scoring on the drive is what changed the game.”

It wasn’t just his shots that wouldn’t fall, though. On the night, the Rangers went 1 for 25 from behind the arc, while the Rough Riders went 0 for 6. Head coach Tom Crunk said he was happy they found a way to win in spite of the 3-point struggle.

“Not one of those 25 shots was a bad look,” said Crunk. “It’s a rhythm thing. We had 14 days without a game. We got lucky to shoot that badly and still come away with a victory.”

CMI’s 40 percent shooting inside the arc surely helped with the Rangers’ luck, as well as their own adjustments late in the second quarter after being down by as much as 8 before tying the score at 21 before the half.

“It was really just noticing what their press break was and adjusting to it,” said Crunk, who added that Daniel Flores —a transfer center — and Garlington were keys in figuring out those changes.

Regular starting center Century Castle was absent from the Ranger bench due to a cancelled flight coming back from a family vacation. His absence made Flores that much more necessary in the win.

“Knowing that we had Daniel to step in and fill that gap makes us more excited to have them both in together,” Crunk said.

Flores finished the night with 10 points, five steals and two rebounds.

The Rangers will continue league play Monday at Temecula Prep at 6:30 p.m.

Daniel Flores goes up between two defenders for a shot in Wednesday's game. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

 Joshua Grace goes up for a jump shot in the game, won by Santa Rosa Academy. (Photo by Rick Rowell)