The Santa Rosa Junior College men’s basketball team (3-1) scraped out a 78-76 overtime win against the Napa Valley Storm (2-1) at home Nov. 11.
The Bear Cubs came into the game ready to build momentum off of their Nov. 7 win and keep a positive record.
SRJC started off sluggish in the first half, unable to find net until the 17-minute mark, giving Napa the opportunity to take an early lead, 7-3.
Napa’s shooters were lights-out early and throughout the first half.
The Bear Cubs struggled with offensive rebounds, making it difficult for them to get into the flow of the game.
“I thought our shot selection wasn’t very good,” head coach Craig McMillan said. “Which gave them a chance to get into a rhythm.”
However, it wasn’t all Napa momentum in the first half.
The Bear Cubs got to work in the final minutes and went into halftime with only a four-point deficit, trailing 40-36.
The second half played out much better for the Bear Cubs. Sophomore forward Travis Hightower and sophomore guard Gavin Cook-Whisenton played strong defense and got to the paint to score easy buckets.
Of the many questionable calls in the game, several hurt the Bear Cubs. Coach McMillan received a warning after complaining about a call later in the second half, despite there being multiple questionable calls beforehand, too.
“There were a couple of calls I didn’t like. That’s basketball. You gotta adjust to it,” McMillan said.
Napa led by as many as eight points in the second half, but the Bear Cubs hustled and took their first lead of the game with five minutes remaining.
The final five minutes went back and forth, with both teams calling timeouts after every basket in desperate attempts to reorganize and plan their next moves.
After a baseline hook miss from SRJC, the game went into overtime tied at 68.
Overtime began with sophomore guard Spencer Langowski making buckets to assert Bear Cub dominance. They scored several points from forced turnovers.
Langowski had a team high of 20 points, shooting 7-for-13.
“We got to know that any team that plays us, they’re going to give us 100%,” Langowski said. “We’re a high top team.”
Napa drew fouls and got to the line to keep the score close, but the Bear Cubs tightened up their defense and held the lead.
With the game at 78-76, SRJC needed to get a stop with 13 seconds left.
Every person in the crowd clenched their palms as sophomore forward Jaden Washington came up with a huge block to secure the win for the Bear Cubs.
Following the Napa Valley win, SRJC defeated Alameda 73-67 at home Nov. 15 to move to 4-1. They will travel to Shasta College to face Feather River College on Nov. 20.
