5th Grade White-January 15-16

With only one team practice under their belt the team relied on instinct and effort against the much taller Norcal Matrix.  Leading from start to finish-the tenacious dribble drive attack from RJ Billena, Brennan Rodell, and  James Sweet forced Norcal into a zone defense in the second half.  While it was a total team effort, Harmon Kehell’s 10 rebounds, 6 points, and two steals helped lead the team to a 33-31 victory.

With one win under our belt confidence was high as we squared off against the Reno Ballers. James Sweet (6 steals) and RJ Billena (4 steals) once again controlled the pace at the guard position. On route to our second victory, the team out worked and hustled the Ballers dominating the boards with 41 rebounds (Cole Cavarra 10, Harmon Kehell 7, and Zack Book 5). Cole Cavarra seemed to be everywhere during their 36 to 24 victory-with a double double leading the team with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, and 1 assist.

In the championship final we faced a 2 and 0 El Dorado Hills team which won their first two games by double digit margins. To negate the size of El Dorado we opened with a high pressure full court press. The full court pressure was too much for them to handle leading to 30 steals (Cole Cavarra 8, RJ Billena 7, and Harmon Kehell 4). The hustle and effort turned into a dominant performance and led to a 25 point lead early in the third quarter.  The 49 to 26 victory was a total team effort and  included 13 assists (Cole Cavarra 4).  The team was led by great individual performances from RJ Billena 17 points (3 of 4 from 3 point range), 7 steals, and 2 assists and once again Harmon Kehell’s 12 points (6 of 9 field), 7 rebounds and 4 steals.