Grizzlies complete weekend sweep

RENO - With three noteworthy wins already under its belt this week, the Galena High School boys basketball team showed no signs up letting up on Saturday afternoon.

Playing their third California opponent in as many days, the Grizzlies used Mark Cofer's 18 points and some free throw shooting accuracy down the stretch to secure a 62-53 victory against Jefferson High from Daly City.

Even though it wasn't pretty, coach Tom Maurer had no complaints, especially considering the Grizzlies were coming off a 57-53 overtime win against Northern 4A rival Reno on Tuesday, an 5-71 win over Bonita Vista from the San Diego area on Thursday, and a highly-charged 43-38 win against Bay Area power St. Francis on Friday night.

"Two years ago we gave St. Francis a helluva game and the next day an average team beats us by 44, so I'm happy that we came back at 1 o'clock today and won against a team that had nothing to lose," Maurer said.

Jefferson's season record is now 1-5 after losing to Elko, Sparks and Galena during its weekend visit to the Reno area. The team is better than the record shows, Maurer insists.

"That's a scrappy team we beat today," he said. "They gave Elko a five-point game and they're from the Bay Area and they heard we beat St. Francis, so they've got nothing to lose coming into this game. And they went out and showed it."

The Grizzlies led 33-26 at halftime and 47-37 after three quarters, then maintained their advantage down the stretch with the aid of 9-for-13 free throw shooting.

Depth has been a factor for the Grizzlies and this game was no exception. Eight players reached the score column, led by Mark Cofer with 18 points, while Chase Altom and Joe Heaton added 11 each.

"This summer we played 10 kids very evenly and I think that has paid off tremendously because each kid has come to the table nicely," Maurer said. "I think our substitutions are going to be big this year. We're going 10 deep and we're wearing teams out."

The Grizzlies won this game without center Travis Williams, who was absent due to a death in the family. The 6-foot-9 senior was a factor in Friday's win over St. Francis.

"Travis did an awesome job yesterday on their big kid (6-9 junior David Chiotti). He's big time, he had 21 points in one half against McQueen and we held him to nine touches," Maurer said.

The Grizzlies play again Tuesday and will be in search of their first-ever win at South Tahoe.

"I'm happy to get through this week. Now, next week is another week," Maurer said. "Our goal, basically, is to get into January healthy, experienced and know exactly what my rotation is with my kids. That's what the preseason is for."