Wildcats get defensive in rout of Vista del Lago, 77-49

Senior forward Gannon Tillman led all scorers with 18 points Thursday. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

If you ask Darius Randolph, it’s all about the defense.

Randolph is in his first year as head coach of the Paloma Valley High boys basketball team, but he was an assistant at the school for 11 years prior. If his players didn’t already know Randolph’s philosophy on defense, they do now.

Just as Randolph draws it up, the Wildcats used tough defense to set up transitions to a fast-break offense Thursday night. That, combined with accurate 3-point shooting early on, translated into a 77-49 victory over Vista Del Lago. It was the Wildcats’ first Sunbelt League win in three tries and improved the team’s overall record to 6-11.

“Defensive pressure from the very beginning helped us,” said Randolph, whose team led 24-17 after the first quarter and broke the game open with a 20-8 advantage in the second period. “We’re learning and maturing as we learn that defense is a part of our offense. They’re getting it together and understanding that if we’re locked in and play good defense, we’re going to be fine.”

The visiting Ravens, who haven’t won a game this season, couldn’t consistently penetrate the Wildcat defense, leading to a series of turnovers, missed shots and Paloma Valley fast breaks the other way. Those breaks often resulted in layups, but there were also opportunities to work for outside shots.

Senior forward Gannon Tillman took advantage of those opportunities, making four 3-point shots in the first half. He also drove hard to the basket often in the second half to draw fouls. Tillman finished with a game-high 18 points.

“Gannon really shot very well and also drove to the basket well,” said Randolph. “That was one of our best games by a player. He was locked in, he played good defense, shot well and drove to the basket.”

The Wildcats also got good performances from senior forward Nathan Torres (15 points) and junior point guard Donovan Larry (12 points). But the topic of the day was the team defense.

“Defense is going to be this team’s mantra,” Randolph said. “Learning how to play defense, and how to play it together. No matter what, if we play defense, we can come back, even if we’re down. It’s about teaching them that defense transitions into offense, so they’re not only worrying about offense.

“Sometimes we get to where we settle for 3-point shots because we are a pretty good 3-point shooting team when we’re on. But when we’re not, how are we going to play then? That’s where we focus on defense.”

Randolph knows that there’s much work to be done as he works to develop the culture of the team and get the players to buy in. The work continues next Tuesday with a league game at crosstown rival Heritage.

“We make take our lumps a little bit as we change the culture and understand how we win,” Randolph said, “but if we hard and we play together, we’ll be OK.”

Point guard Donovan Larry puts up a shot in the key in Thursday's win. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)

 Nathan Torres goes up for two points against Vista del Lago. (Photo by Action Captures Media Group)