On Feb. 2, the Aragon boys varsity basketball team (12-11 overall, 6-2 Peninsula Athletic League) faced off against the Woodside Wildcats (16-5 overall, 7-1 PAL) for the second time this season, winning 42-39 in a thriller. As they begin the second half of their season after a successful start to league play, the Dons maintain some of the same goals that they had at the beginning of the season.
“We have one collective goal,” said senior point guard Jacob Ruttenberg. “We’re trying to be first in the league, and that’s what we’ve been aiming for all season.”
Currently, the Dons are in second place in the Peninsula Ocean League, behind only the Wildcats. The first time that the Dons faced Woodside on Jan. 17, they were defeated in a back and forth game by just two points. With this game being their second against the Wildcats, the Dons see the game as a chance for redemption. After winning in this matchup, the Dons continue to challenge the Wildcats for league domination.
A win in this game however, is met with more difficulty than most, as the team is battling with several injuries, something that can often be quite demoralizing for a team. However,the Dons are facing these challenges head on.
“I’ve got some tough kids,” said head coach Hosea Patton. “They’re actually playing through [these injuries], and so I really admire that about them.
With the team on such a rigorous practice schedule, practicing six times per week, the injuries across the team are not surprising. However, the team believes the demanding schedule is more than worth it, as the time spent together contributes to more than just everyone’s physical play.
“Seeing each other every day builds a lot of chemistry,” Ruttenberg said. “It contributes a lot to our success because we’re super comfortable with each other and can be friends outside of basketball.”
This chemistry was highly evident in the Don’s victory against Woodside. That being said, the Dons did not have a strong start to the game. Woodside scored on their opening drive with a corner three, then again on their next drive with a layup, giving them the first two scores of the game, and a 5-0 lead right off of the bat.
The Dons were able to come back within one after back-and-forth play, but ultimately ended the quarter down by three, 13-10.
The second quarter was much of the same type of play, with the Dons trailing the whole quarter. Despite two three-pointers and a layup from Ruttenberg, the Dons ended the quarter 21-19, unable to gain a lead at any point during the first half.
Aragon finally won a lead in the third quarter with two free throws from senior Branden Antiporta, but went almost immediately back to playing catch-up after back-to-back Woodside 3-pointers. The Wildcats went into the fourth quarter with a 33-30 lead.
This was when the tone changed for the Dons.
“They were playing not to lose, we were playing to win,” Ruttenberg said. “That was the difference in the fourth quarter… We all wanted to win.”
The Dons came out in the fourth with a critical three-pointer from Ruttenberg, tying the game at 33-all. Aragon then went on to complete a 9-1 run, with layups from Ruttenberg and Shadai Batsuuri and a three-pointer from Jasper Caffo. Their defense held strong for the rest of the game, securing the 42-39 win for the Dons.
Ruttenberg had a stand-out performance, with a game-high 14 points, showing strong leadership and firing up his team in the final minutes of the game.
The team looks to finish their season strong by advancing to the playoffs.
