Men’s Basketball rolls past Kimball
December 18, 2019
On Nov. 30, the Wildcats soundly defeated the Jaguars 85-37 in a home preseason game which they controlled from start to finish by an overall complete performance on both offense and defense.
The first quarter clearly set the tone for the game as Dougherty rushed to an early 29-10 lead. Freshman Ryan Beasley impressed the crowd early in the game with 3 steals and a reverse layup. Being a 5 ft 9 in. freshman, Beasley, the shortest player on the team, showcased stout defensive coverage.
“I thought we were really good defensively. They really struggled with our pressure. We were at home. The crowd was pretty good. It could be better. Would love to get the students out there,” Head Coach Mike Hansen said, regarding the team’s stellar defense against Kimball.
Both the senior leaders, Donovan Sevilla and Robby Beasley, took control of the game in the next quarter. Sevilla made a 3-pointer and converted both his steals to points, one being his own layup and another being an assist to junior Jacoby Lacey for a mid-range shot. This rhythm powered the Wildcats to a 53-19 halftime lead.
“We shot the ball from three a lot better in that game. I don’t know how many threes we hit. I know I hit four. A lot of my teammates hit at least two or three. We were firing, and it was hitting,” Sevilla said, about the team’s offensive chemistry.
The second half didn’t fare very differently either. Senior Beasley powered DV to a 6-0 run by scoring on a mid-range shot, reverse layup, and forward layup consecutively. Kimball had no answer for a stout Wildcat defense that held them to only 8 points in the quarter. As a result, DV increased their lead to 79-27 by fourth quarter.
“I think our defense has been very good. It needs to continue to improve. I think the way [the team] shares the basketball on offense has been great. Guys really don’t care who scores as long as we score,” Hansen mentioned, regarding the team spirit on both sides of the ball.
DV benched their starters in fourth quarter to give other players opportunity to contribute. Freshman Landon Edmond left a great impression on the game by successfully shooting a foul free throw and mid-range shot. The game ended with a Wildcat victory of 85-37 over the Jaguars.
“Our seniors, Donovan, Rob Beasley and Justin, have all set the tone of how we are going to play. I think the other guys have all fallen behind them,” Hansen claimed, about the senior leadership on the team.
The Wildcats (3-0) will next play an away non-conference game at San Leandro (2-0) on Dec. 18, striving to maintain their perfect record.
“Right now, since it’s preseason, we just want to win every game we can. Every single one of these games count, so is our record. Once it hits [East Bay Athletic League], striving for 13-0, get that EBAL championship, trying to be the first Dougherty team in history to win an EBAL championship. Kind of fun. We got the potential. We are just going to keep fighting for each other, and that’s how we are going to win it this year,” Sevilla mentioned, about the team’s future goals.
