Sanders comes off Lower Lake bench to score team-leading 23 points
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SONOMA >> The first two quarters couldn’t have been much different Monday night as the Lower Lake Trojans and Sonoma Valley Dragons squared off in a non-league varsity boys basketball game in Sonoma.
The Dragons outscored the Trojans 20-6 in the first quarter, only for Lower Lake to answer with a 20-5 second quarter. In the end, Sonoma emerged with a hard-fought 70-61 victory.
“Sonoma Valley came out and got a 20-point lead before we scored,” Lower Lake head coach Jay Jakubowski said. “Once we decided to play as a team, we started to chip away at their lead.”
Added Jakubowski, “Eventually we took the lead but couldn’t get the over hump as it took us so much energy just to catch back up. The kids played tough. We ended up getting out in space and making some clutch shots.”
Lower Lake carried a 52-47 lead into the fourth quarter.
Zackquez Sanders came off the bench to lead the Trojans with 23 points, including five 3-pointers, and Brody Shields added 14 points with four 3-pointers. Noah Hakala added seven points and nine rebounds, and Raijhier McKneely also had seven points.
“Zack was a huge energy boost off the bench,” Jakubowski said. “He came in and I think hit our 3s in a row. We just ended up making some bad decisions late against their pressure.”
Lower Lake resumes its North Central League I schedule home Tuesday against Cloverdale as part of a three-game set that begins with the junior varsity boys at 5 p.m. The varsity girls tip off at 6:30 p.m. and the varsity boys follow at 8 p.m. Cloverdale doesn’t have a JV girls team.
