It was a battle under the boards on Tuesday when Gilmore, light jerseys, clashed with Union Hill in Nevada County Athletic League 8th grade boys action. For a recap of Thursday's games, see story below.

Jan. 8, 2010

Warriors Take Pair From Magnolia

Over the years there’s been plenty of Nevada County Athletic League basketball squads that have found Magnolia’s pint-sized gym to be more like a “chamber of horrors”.

Small playing area. Rock-hard rims. Slick floor. Take your pick. It all can all add up to wreak havoc on visiting hoop teams.

But Thursday in a NCAL doubleheader at Magnolia, Weimar Hills’ two boys basketball squads ventured into the Rattlers’ den and didn’t flinch to the hosts’ home court advantage and along the way picked up a pair of impressive victories.

In boys 8th grade action, the visiting Warriors improved to 2-0 by breaking open a close game with a big second half on their way to a 52-26 romp over the Rattlers.

Meanwhile, in Thursday’s preliminary game, Weimar Hills’ 7th grade squad used a strong team defensive effort to help raise its record to 2-0 in NCAL action with a 32-23 win over the hosts.

Here’s a recap of Thursday’s reported action:

8th Grade

Weimar Hills 52 Magnolia 26 – The Warriors trailed 11-9 after one quarter of play but then proceeded to outpoint the Rattlers 43-15 over the final three quarters to win going away.

Another balanced team scoring effort sparked the Warriors has Jordan Balser’s 11 points showed the way but he had plenty of support from Jack Baldoni and Michael Wilson with 10 points each and Cole Joyce with eight more. Adam Guttierez supplied the winners with steady defense.

For Magnolia, Jared Skrowronski tallied 14 points and Braden Duncan added five.

Union Hill 44 Forest Lake Christian 30 -  In a game at Union Hill that was close through three quarters, a fourth stanza surge by the host Bearcats was the difference in the verdict over the Falcons.

Union Hill was clinging to a 27-25 lead after three periods of action but pulled away thanks to key offense from Mike Tapia, Jake Berger and Kyle McCombs.

Tapia’s 13 points, 12 from Berger and 11 by McCombs sparked the Bearcats. Berger’s efforts followed his 30-point spree in Tuesday’s opening NCAL win over Gilmore. McCombs, meanwhile, was a force on the boards with 15 rebounds.

Both Union Hill and Forest Lake will play in this weekend’s Warrior Classic tournament being hosted by Weimar Hills.

Pleasant Valley 40 Gilmore 34, at Lake Wildwood – Gilmore started the game with an impressive 13-0 run but the Vikings rallied behind a 17-2 second quarter surge of its own.

Pleasant Valley, which led at halftime 26-24, was paced by Jakob Freele and Brandon Fouse, both with 12 points each. John Jones added 11 more points for the winners. Brady Porter led Gilmore with seven markers.   

7th Grade

Weimar Hills 32 Magnolia 23 – After a low scoring first half in which Weimar held an 11-10 lead, the visiting Warriors pulled away from the hosts with a 9-3 third quarter point exchange keying the difference.

Weimar, leading 19-13 after three cantos, then outscored the Rattlers, 13-10, in the decisive fourth quarter.

Topping Weimar Hills’ scoring were Ray Henry with 13 points, Pat Beninga with eight, Jake Breeler with five, Mason Lewis with four and Carrick Hoffart with a pair. Logan Hurst and Chris Lange also supplied the winners with solid minutes on both ends of the court.

Spencer Wirth’s eight points, five from Tommy Hereder and four apiece from Travis Whitehead and John Vojek led Magnolia.

Forest Lake 19 Union Hil 15 – David O’Brien and Kyle Soria each sank six points to lead the defensive-minded Falcons (1-1) past the host Bearcats.

Leading scorers for Union Hill were Joe Matteoni with seven points, Chase Loper with three and Christian Straub abd Logan Kerly with two each.