By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
ANTIOCH, Calif. – Antioch boys basketball coach John Woolery is no screamer. But when his team trailed 38-25 at halftime and was inexplicably getting beat badly on the boards by much-shorter cross-town rival Deer Valley, Woolery was forced to pay tribute to Bobby Knight.
After all, Deer Valley had shocked Antioch earlier in the year 50-40.
On Tuesday the visiting Wolverines were also picking apart – literally – Antioch with fairly simple pick-and-roll plays, getting superb passes from D’Angelo Williams, Quincy Smith and Tyree Murray.
“There was a lot of yelling going on,” said Antioch 6-foot-3 senior guard Calvin Douglas, who scored 20 of his game-high 30 points the second half. “We needed it. We couldn’t lose to these guys twice. We’d never hear the end of it.”
Said Antioch 6-8 center and St. Mary’s-bound Tim Williams, who finished with 23 points: “We couldn’t come to school if we lost to them again.”
Fortunately for Panthers fans, the home team didn’t, pulling out a 73-62 Bay Valley Athletic League contest.
Not only did they get to see Antioch outscore Deer Valley 48-24 the second half, they actually got two games for the price of one.
In a battle of first-year head coaches, the Panthers fought back from a 15-point third-quarter deficit relying on a pair of old reliable seniors, Douglas and Williams.
They also received a rather unexpected fourth-quarter display by 6-2 sophomore Jordan Hoyle, who scored all eight of his points in the final stanza when Antioch (16-7 overall, 10-3 BVAL) exploded for 29 points to just 12 for Deer Valley (12-10, 6-6).
The Wolverines, who shocked Antioch 50-40 on Jan. 11, looked very much like they had the Panthers number again, killing their rivals on the boards and running their offense to perfect en route to a 44-29 lead with 6:23 left in the third quarter.
But Deer Valley couldn’t maintain their momentum despite 18 points apiece from senior guards Williams and Murray.
“We came ready to play but in the end we couldn’t contain their two big guns,” Deer Valley coach Richard Morton said. “The refs let (Williams) have his way down low and we were pretty much cooked.”
Following a fastbreak layup by Will Gooden after a nice feed from Murray, who then scored on a driving layup, Deer Valley led by 15 early in the third. Something then clicked for the Panthers.
“We started finally feeding (Williams),” Woolery said. “That changed everything. That opened everything up.”
Douglas started a 23-6 run with a pair of jumpers and Williams followed home his own miss. When Williams powered in the last deuce of the quarter, Antioch trailed just 50-44 heading into the fourth.
“We could feel it going their way but instead of being confident in ourselves, we lost our swagger,” Murray said.
A baseline jumper by Douglas, two free throws from Hoyle and a putback by Williams, tied the game 50-50 with 5:55 remaining. Following a Deer Valley turnover, Douglas fed Hoyle, who drove baseline and banked in an acrobatic reverse layup, giving Antioch its first lead, 52-50 with 5:33 remaining.
“That was the play of the game,” Douglas said. “Hoyle was huge.”
Following a putback by Gooden to tie it, Antioch took the lead for good on a baseline jumper from Douglas. From there, the Panthers slowly began to extend their lead thanks in part to making 13 of 16 free throws in the final quarter.
A 6-0 run on another driving layup from Douglas, two free throws each from junior point guard Ramsey Nijem and Hoyle made it 70-60 to pretty much seal it.
“You have to give (Antioch) some credit,” said Murray, whose best friend is Douglas. “They played tough and smart down the stretch. And Calvin and Tim are a tough one-two combo.”
Said Douglas: “Those guys (Deer Valley) had our number last game and for much of this one. But eventually we showed our heart. We played aggressively and made the plays. That was just a big fun game for Antioch pride.”
BVAL BOYS BASKETBALL
Antioch 73, Deer Valley 62
Deer Valley 21 17 12 12 – 62
Antioch 16 9 19 29 – 73
DEER VALLEY (12-10, 6-6): Williams 7 2-4 18, Murray 7 2-3 18, Gooden 3 0-0 6, Smith 0 1-2 1, Holmes 2 0-0 4, Driver 2 1-1 5, Martin 1 0-0 2, Briggs 4 0-1 8. Totals 26 6-11 62.
ANTIOCH (16-7, 10-3): Busby 1 0-0 2, Nijem 1 2-5 4, Douglas 11 5-6 30, Williams 8 7-10 23, Lancaster 2 0-4 4, Bradford 1 0-0 2, Hoyle 2 4-4 8. 26 18-29 73.
3-point goals: Williams 2, Murray 2, Douglas 3.