Galena boys hoops beats Jefferson

Staff Reports

The Galena boys basketball team had an encouraging effort in a 50-38 win over Jefferson of Daly City, Calif., on Friday at home.

Jefferson came in with a 2-1 mark and is considered to be one of the Bay Area's better teams. Galena was able to slow down Jefferson, who plays a similar style to Nothern 4A power Hug, who beat the Grizzlies 56-43 on Tuesday.

"We're starting to compete with the really good teams," Galena coach Tom Maurer said.

Along with playing strong defense, Maurer said his team handled the ball well. "We've really been throwing th ball away," he said. "I just felt that we took better care of the ball. We did a good job against their press and we kept our tempo."

Derek Lorenzen scored 18 points and Bobby Contreras added 11 points. Maurer said Lorenzen's inside play was able to open up Contreras outside. Lorenzen also made 5-of-5 foul shots down the stretch to keep Galena safely ahead. The Grizzlies led 34-27 after three quarters.

Maurer said that Justin Houk, who scored seven points, also had a strong game offensively and defensively.

Galena was able to win without senior Ryan Bristol, who sat out with an ankle injury. It's hoped that Bristol will return for Tuesday's game against Douglas.

GALENA DROPS TWO

For the second straight night, the Galena girls basketball team let a fourth quarter lead slip away in a 50-40 loss to Red Bluff, Calif., at the West Coast Classic in Reno. The Grizzlies also squandered a fourth quarter lead in a 44-39 loss to Bear River, Calif., on Thursday.

One night after scoring just five points in the fourth quarter against Bear River, Galena scored just three points in the final period against Red Bluff. Galena got off to a strong start against Red Bluff, leading 21-16 after one quarter and the game was tied 37-37 before Red Bluff outscored the Grizzlies 13-3 in the final period.

Galena coach Karen Friel said the difference was Red Bluff's offensive rebounding. "Offensive rebounds killed us," she said.

Caitlin Crofts scored 14 points and Dominique Pavich added nine points. Pavich's effort was encouraging as Galena has been looking for a third scorer to support Crofts and Anderson, who scored 19 points against Bear River. Anderson was held to six points against Red Bluff. "We've got to have other people score beside the two Caitlins," Friel said.

Galena held a 34-28 lead after three quarters, but was outscored 16-5 in the final period against Bear River. Crofts added nine points against Bear River.