BOYS BASKETBALL: Aptos Rocks and Rolls in Win Over Soquel

The Score: Aptos 81, Soquel 48

The Star: Aptos guard Nick Grieves led all scorers with 34 points, including 24 in the first two quarters to effectively put the game out of reach at the halfway mark.

The Turning Point: After going down 12-0 to start the game, Soquel went on a 5-0 run to cut the lead to seven points with 1:30 left in the first quarter. In those final 90 seconds, Aptos responded with a quick seven points to push the lead all the way to 14 points going into the second quarter.

The Quote: “I feel like the guys came out focused. They played hard. They played smart. They played together. It was a good win.” —Aptos High coach Joseph Smith on how his team played Tuesday night.

What's Next? Soquel goes on the road against Santa Cruz High on Friday. Aptos plays the same day, taking on Harbor High at home.

Bottom Line: Aptos’ quick hands and feet on defense flustered the Soquel offense in the first half and created turnovers, which led to easy scoring opportunities for the Mariners. Soquel also missed the open looks they did get in the first half while Aptos had no trouble hitting from long range or finding easy looks inside.

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The Soquel High and Aptos boys basketball teams both entered Tuesday night’s game coming off close contests—Soquel with a two-point loss to St. Francis-Watsonville, and Aptos with a tight three-point road win over Santa Cruz High.

After nail biters closed out last week for both teams, Tuesday night's affair turned into a good old-fashioned blowout.

Aptos dominated the action on Soquel’s home court in a 81-48 road win. Five games into Santa Cruz Coast Athletic league play, Soquel sits at 2-3 in league and faces a tough road game against Santa Cruz High next on the docket.

Aptos improved its league record to 5-0 and 16-1 overall this season.

“There’s a reason they’ve won 16 straight basketball games,” said Soquel coach Stu Walters. "They’re a good basketball team. They’ve got all the pieces."

After both teams committed turnovers to begin the game, Aptos began an all-around attack on the Soquel team.

The Aptos defensive pressure forced turnovers, disrupted the passing lanes and frazzled the Soquel team. The energetic play lead to a 12-0 run to start the game and 19-5 lead at the end of the first quarter.

“I thought the guys came out really focused and played together,” said Aptos High coach Joseph Smith. "Our defensive intensity set the tone. We shot the ball well."

Not surprisingly, one of those shooting the ball well for Aptos was senior guard Nick Grieves.

Grieves poured in shots from all over the floor, scoring 24 of his game-high 34 points in the first half.

Center Nash Howe also had a big night, coming off the bench to drop an efficient 18 points.

Aptos led 46-12 going after two quarters of play.

“That was one of the best halves we’ve had all season,” said Aptos coach Smith.

While it was one of Aptos’ best halves, Soquel began the game with considerably less intensity and focus, which contributed to the huge half time lead for Aptos.

“We didn’t play as well as we could’ve at the start of the game, on offense or defense,” Soquel center John Tobin said.

Holding the large lead to start the third quarter, Aptos put all five starters back on the floor but with less-effective results. Soquel came out much more composed, handled the Aptos press, and finally knocked down some open shots.

Tobin scored eight of his 10 points in the third quarter, and guard Iggy Lamacchia added six of his eight points to help the Knights outscore Aptos 18-15 for the quarter.

“We played better,” coach Walters said. “I wasn’t too concerned about them at that point. I wanted us to come out and play with some pride and play better in the second half. And, obviously, we did that.”

Late in the fourth quarter, senior Christian Bauerele checked into the game and sent the Soquel fans still there into a huge cheer when he drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key. The reaction made little sense, except to those who know that Bauerele suffered a stroke at the end of the 2008 junior varsity football jamboree, which almost took his life.

Soquel will look for a victory to climb back to .500 in SCCAL play this Friday against Santa Cruz.

Aptos will try to keep their winning streak going at home on Friday against Colin Gruber and the Harbor High Pirates.

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Scoring

 Aptos

 Grieves – 34

 Howe – 18

 Harrel – 9

 Soquel

 Tobin – 10

 Wiget – 10

 Lamacchia - 8