Huskies Edge Trojans 37-35

<p>The Homedale Trojans (3A) hosted the Marsing Huskies (2A) on December 28th. The two teams are located within 10 miles of each other, so I'm sure the stakes were high in this one. Marsing jumped out to a commanding lead, but Homedale stayed resilient and tied the game up at the end. It came down to a last possession shot for the Huskies when <strong>Rogelio Valadez, </strong>a 5'8 sophomore drove down the lane and sunk a floater with a second left for the win. Both teams played a slow tempo offense and great defense which is why it was such a low scoring game. Here were some of the standout players from each team.</p> <p><strong>Marsing</strong></p> <p>The player who stood out to me the most for Marsing was 6'0 senior <strong>Merrick Hall</strong>. He finished the game with 9 points on a pair of free throws, a couple of mid-range jumpers, and a 3 pointer. <strong>Merrick </strong>has a nice high arching shot from three and a smooth follow-through. He is also a lanky and springy player which allows him to drive to the hoop and finish well even through contact. Another player that played well for the Huskies was <strong>Noel Quebrado</strong>. He scored 9 points as well on three 3 pointers. Of his 3 pointers, they were all nothing but net and two of them were made in a row, giving their team momentum. He is also a quick player and an excellent ball-handler. <strong>Jacob Ankeny, </strong>a 6'8 senior center, made an impact for his team's success as well by getting boards, blocks, a couple of post shots, an elbow jumper, and caused defenders to suck inside to him more. He has the potential to make a huge impact on his team, especially if he gets more aggressive. </p> <p><strong>Homedale </strong></p> <p>Homedale started the game off well on the defensive end, getting several steals and causing Marsing to turn the ball over. <strong>Ricardo Hernandez </strong>played hard from the start, getting some steals off passes, dribbles, and batting the ball out of player's hands. <strong>Nelson Lomeli, </strong>a 5'10 senior guard, came off the bench and scored 7 points on a lot of drives, free throws, and a nice bank shot while fading off the right block. He is a quick player, handles the ball well, and plays with a lot of passion. The high scorer for Homedale was 5'10 freshman guard <strong>Jaxon Dines </strong>who scored 18 points. <strong>Dines </strong>shot lights out from three-point land, hitting 5 three-pointers and some free throws. Throughout the game, Jaxon had some great plays where he stole the ball, ran it down the court, then dished it off to someone else for the bucket. He had quite a few nice passes, including a no-look pass underneath to a cutting player. For only being a freshman he has great court vision and can shoot the ball very well. I hope to see him continue to improve and work on his game since he already has a head start. </p>