Summit Shasta strikes back

It’s the second straight game Summit Shasta has played at South City. The last one — the championship game of the Drew Petiti Warrior Classic — saw South City run-and-gun to a 71-62 victory. This time around, the Black Bears unveiled a stingy zone defense to cut the Warriors’ point total in half, and them some.

“Don’t give away our secrets,” Summit Shasta head coach Jorge Chevez said when asked about his team’s rare zone defense.

The low-scoring non-league matchup was a battle nonetheless, seeing eight lead changes in the first half. The Black Bears broke a 24-24 tie late in the third quarter with two free throws from junior JT Jacinto, sparking a 10-3 run. They never trailed again. But it was a battle into the fourth quarter, until junior Allan Rayo drove to score with a finger roll, and senior AJ Solanoy followed with a 12-foot pull-up jumper to give Summit Shasta some breathing room.

“I feel like the difference was the momentum we took into the game,” Rayo said. “We had a different perspective on what we were going to do today ... and I feel like that’s what got us the win.”

Rayo finished with six points to go with a game-high 11 rebounds, as Summit Shasta dominated the boards 40-27. This was critical as South City scuffled, shooting 18.6% from the field, while not converting a free throw in the fourth quarter.

Solanoy was a versatile force, as the 5-9 guard scored a game-high 16 points to go with seven rebounds. His biggest moment came early in the second half with the Black Bears clinging to a 22-20 lead, powering for a monster rebound through two South City post players. Solanoy ripped the ball down, dribbled back a step to reload, then shouldered to the hoop to draw contact and get to the line, where he hit both free throws.

“I just went for it,” Solanoy said. “I just felt like I could jump just as high as them, so I went up and got it. I took my time and I seen an opening, so I just took it.”

South City (8-2) answered back with a mini-run, capped by a three-point play from forward Isaac Stamper, who drove the baseline to get clobbered while hitting a floater. Stamper scored a team-high nine points, but his free throw to tie the game 24-all was the last scoring he’d do after sitting most of the fourth quarter due to foul trouble.

“It hurts, because Stamper spaces the floor for us,” South City head coach Isaiah Igafo said. “He’s more of our scoring option.”

Solanoy sat much of the second half as well after tweaking his calf late in the third quarter. He checked back in several times, including with 6:21 left in regulation. The closest the Warriors got from there was 34-29 on two free throws from senior Darren Miller, but Summit Shasta closed out the game on a 6-0 run.

Rayo hit the night-night shot, using his final rebound of the night on the offensive glass to score a power put-back to make it 38-29.

“I had to go up through some contact,” Rayo said. “I missed the layup, came back, put it back up.”

Solanoy then mopped up, subbing out on the heals of a pair of free throws with less than two minutes to play.

“It was personal because we shouldn’t have lost the first one,” Solanoy said of the win. “Our strategy was just to stay composed and don’t let them get in your head.”

The Black Bears also didn’t let South City get into the paint.

The Warriors opened the night with the same hyper-paced play they enjoyed in Warrior Classic championship game. Luke Burton and Stamper each hit early 3s, and Stamper converted another one midway through a back-and-forth second quarter to give South City a 17-15 advantage.

However, it was the last lead the Warriors held, as their offense slowed to a snail’s pace in the face of Summit Shasta’s 2-3 zone defense.

“We work on that a lot,” Chevez said. “I know it’s a changeup. You have to always work on these types of things because we’re a smaller team, but we’re quick, and if we can close up gaps and just stay in front of the ball, I think we’re tough to beat.”

The game was the Warriors’ first time on the court since Dec. 27, a 72-55 win at James Lick-SF. They entered play Saturday averaging 61.8 points per game on the year.

Igafo blamed himself, and his time away from the team for the winter break, for the lapse of offense as the Warriors saw an eight-game winning streak snapped.

“We did a lot of skill work with our assistant coaches,” Igafo said. “But I think we weren’t really prepped enough for it. We felt they were going to go into a zone because of how the man-to-man went the first game. ... So, we prepped for it yesterday. But it was our first practice back together.”

Saturday’s matchup marks the seventh time the two teams have met over the last six seasons. Summit Shasta — with Chevez an alumnus of South City — is 6-1 in those games.

“It’s a healthy rivalry, I would say,” Igafo said. “I’m good friends with those guys. They’re good coaches.”