?Playing with a very depleted bench, the St. Vincent Mustangs dropped a spirited 65-61 decision to Sonoma Academy in their DeCarli Gym on Friday.
Only eight players were in uniform for the Mustangs, but they kept the game within reach until the final horn.
Illness and college visits took a major toll on the St. Vincent lineup, but it did not hinder the aggressiveness of either team as double-digit fouls were in order before and after intermission.
St. Vincent led, 33-27, at halftime on some notable outside shooting, but Sonoma rallied with a 23-point final period to pull out the win in the exciting contest. The Mustangs knocked down eight shots from behind the arc to maintain a slim advantage the entire first two periods, but fouls would hinder any chance to pull away in the late going.
Two St. Vincent players fouled out with lots of clock remaining, and the visiting Coyotes took advantage by hitting 9 of 16 charity tosses in the fourth quarter to pull out the game.
Ten points by Coyote forward Eli Bayer turned out to be the difference down the stretch.
The first half turned into an outside-shooting exhibition by the red-hot Mustangs. Joe Sartori railed three long-range shots in the first quarter, and young Jake DeCarli came off the bench to knock in four more before the break. It was a breakout game at home for DeCarli, who had shown some explosiveness earlier in Casa Grande’s Callan Tournament.
Sartori finished with 12 points.
Fouls on both squads were whistled in bunches, but it didn’t curb the roughness throughout the game. At one point, a double technical was called on one player from each squad on the same sequence.
DeCarli wound up leading the Mustangs with 18 points, followed by 16 scored by Vince Gawronski, who had a big 2-pointer to break a dry spell in the third period when Sonoma Academy took a 2-point advantage.
Center Tyler Pease had to carry the load inside for the Mustangs, but he had to battle 6-foot-7 Iain Wade, and was eventually lost with five fouls.
Despite the parade of fouls, St. Vincent coach Scott Himes and his staff kept a competitive team on the floor from start to finish. Assistant coach John Furrer had his work cut out in making substitutions from the opening stanza.
It was the first North Central League II contest for Sonoma Academy as the Coyotes improved overall to 8-7. The Mustangs slipped to 1-1 in league and 7-11 overall.
St. Vincent captured the junior varsity game, 42-26.
Mustang girls win
“We need to play better defensively,” said a frustrated St. Vincent girls coach Jim Fagundes before playing defending NCL II co-champ Sonoma Academy on Friday.
?That the Mustangs did - in spades. ?St. Vincent tightened the screws in a strong defensive performance against its league rivals by knocking off the Coyotes, 49-44, in front of an appreciative crowd.
?The Mustangs grabbed a 22-19 advantage before halftime behind the shooting of senior guard Alexandra Saisi, and never looked back.
?Saisi kept up her marksmanship in the second half with solid backing of teammate Alex Ditizio, and St. Vincent led by 15 points until a final burst by Sonoma made the score appear closer than the game actually was.
?Saisi finished with 20 points and Ditizio had one of her best all around games with 13 points and four assists. It was a solid outing for Ditizio, who played with patience and purpose in both halves.
?Sophia Licata and Olivia Badaglia had four points each and provided some well-directed passing on the perimeter against a full-court press.
?It was the fourth win in six outings for the Mustangs, who improved to 1-1 in league and 8-10 for the season. Sonoma Academy fell to 1-1 and 9-6 overall.
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