Epic comeback lets Honkers take third

The three teams from the tri-county area sure got their fill of each other over the weekend, as Orland, Corning and Willows high schools took the top-three spots in the 11th annual Corning Shootout at Corning High.

And Saturday's final round was marked by an outstanding shooting performance by the Trojans and an epic comeback on the part of the Honkers.

Orland 56, Corning 40

The two Interstate-5 neighbors met on Jan. 3 with Corning pulling out the 50-44 win at home, but there was going to be none of that in the championship game.

Orland shot 55 percent from the field and were 8-of-14 from three-point range to hand the Cardinals their first loss of the year.

A 3-point buzzer beater by Oscar Venegas closed the first quarter with the Trojans owning a 14-10 lead, and it just served to fuel a torrid second quarter of shooting by the Trojans, who outscored the Cardinals 23-8 to take a commanding 37-18 lead at halftime.

Orland junior Jud Sailsbery connected for 11 of his game-high 26 points, including a three-pack of treys, and Orland began the period with a 9-0 run.

"Our emphasis was on defense," Sailsbery said. "In our first game, Ryan Holland worked us, so we wanted to keep ball pressure on the guards to stop them from doing what they needed to do."

The defensive worked paid off, as Chayce Maday was held to six points, Ryan Holland, five, and Cody Long, four.

The Cardinals' biggest offensive threat came in the form of sophomore forward Nick Hoag, who pounded his way into the paint for a team-high 21, 11 of which came in the third quarter.

Sailsbery was so zoned in that he did not miss a shot in the second half. Teammate Jesus Llamas tacked on 11 points, and Javone Bradford came down with 10 rebounds.

"Tuesday we weren't ready to play," admitted Orland coach Jason Bragg. "Tonight we ran our offense with more efficiency." The coach also laughed, "It also doesn't hurt that we hit almost everything."

Of his squad's defensive performance, Bragg said, "We wanted to keep them out of the paint as much as possible, their posts are so good."

While it was Corning's first loss of the season after winning their first 14, Corning coach Bill Mache calmly pointed out, "I thought (Orland) looked a little more energized. They looked real sharp. They played what had to be one of their best games of the season, and it was far from ours."

Looking ahead, Mache remarked, "It's one game in the preseason, and it's difficult to win them all. Now we'll just try to win the rest."

Corning (14-1) hosted Winters Tuesday.

Orland (12-6) is off until hosting Gridley on Jan. 17.

Willows 57, Central Valley 38

As comebacks go, this one could only be classified as monumental.

Playing for third place, the sum total of the Honkers' 15 first-half points came from 12 by Ryan Amaru, a bucket from Bryce Jones that opened the scoring, and a free-throw by J.B. Renfro.

Meanwhile, Central Valley passed better, rebounded better, and worked the Honkers to take a seemingly comfortable 34-15 lead at the intermission.

Apparently the Honkers had seen enough.

After Central Valley buckets by Christian Spaschak and Carlos Mansacola made it a 38-23 ballgame, the Honkers' offense opened it up. Nathan Boyd canned a 3-pointer, and scored on a fast break to end the quarter with Willows trailing only 38-36.

And then mathematical probablitlites be damned, the Honkers continued hitting shots and forcing CV turnovers, and ended the contest with a 34-0 run while surrendering just four points in the entire second half.

"We had some internal problems the first half, so at halftime I told them they needed to play as a team and not as individuals," said coach Darrell Schonauer, "when we did, we destroyed Central Valley. That's the way they can play."

Amaru topped the scoring column with 23 points, followed by Boyd (12) and Ryan Welsh (11). Welsh also had eight assists and a pair of steals.

Willows (9-6) hosts Trinity Jan. 14.

In Saturday's other two games, Yreka dumped Durham 49-47, and Trinity topped Anderson 61-51.

Friday's games

Orland 59, Willows 46

Balanced scoring was the key for the Trojans, as Sailsbery led the way with 16, Andrew Hutchens followed with 15 and Llamas added 14.

Welsh nailed down scoring honors with 20 for Willows, with Amaru scoring 13 and Alex Alves, 10.

Corning 49, Central Valley 32

Hoag paced the Cardinals with 13 points, Ryan Holland added 10 and Chayce Maday was good for seven.

The Corning defense held the Falcons' top scorer Spaschak to 10 points.

Trinity 62, Durham 58

Anderson 59, Yreka 25

All-Tournament Team

MVP: Jud Sailsbery, Orland

Jesus Llamas, Orland

Andrew Hutchens, Orland

Ryan Holland, Corning

Nick Hoag, Corning

Ryan Welsh, Willows

Carlos Mansacola, Central Valley

Cody Higgins, Trinity

Garrett Greenshaw, Anderson

Contact Craig Purcell at 824-1036 or cpurcell@tcnpress.com.