THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

The Whitney High boys basketball team used its speed and tenacious defense to counter Granite Bay’s size and strength for a 65-59 victory in Rocklin Wednesday night. The Grizzlies’ Darren Nelson was the epitome of the visitor’s mascot in the first half. The 6-foot-6-inch, 250-pound center scored 19 of his team’s 31 points in the first two quarters and gave Granite Bay a seven-point lead at the end of the first period. The Grizzlies held that lead for much of the second quarter, but a strong rally led by Josh Ohara’s three 3-pointers put the ‘Cats up 35-31 at the break. “It was a contrast in styles and whoever controlled the style was going to be successful,” Granite Bay head coach Jason Sitterud said. “Whitney’s a very good team and they do a good job of coaching them up. That we had a chance at the end we’re pretty excited about.” Monday, Granite Bay beat Franklin 72-65; a team Sitterud said had a playing style very similar to Whitney’s. Although Whitney did not have a specific answer for Nelson, they isolated him and shut down the rest of the Grizzlies. Nelson finished the game with 32 points; his teammates had 27. “We knew we had to be us,” said Whitney head coach Nick French. “We just pushed tempo and that’s what we do a really good job of. That’s all we could probably do was try to wear them down.” The wearing down also showed in Granite Bay frustrations. In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats were 9-of-14 from the charity stripe; the Grizzlies went 2-for-4. Nelson was also hit with a technical foul in the final frame and eventually fouled out of the contest. The ‘Cats also beat Granite Bay rebounding 20-11 in the last 16 minutes, especially on the offensive boards. “(Nelson) killed us first quarter, first half,” French said. “We just hoped to try and get him tired and get him frustrated a little bit, and it kind of worked out. That’s a good team. They have a good team; they’re big and strong.” But Whitney came away as the giant killers and will now take a break for Christmas before heading for Southern California. The Wildcats will compete in the Surf & Slam Tournament in San Diego before returning home to open Capital Valley Conference play at Bella Vista Jan. 9.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

WILDCATS WEAR DOWN GRIZZLIES FOR 65-59 VICTOR

JIM LINSDAU

Placer Herald | 12/22/2016

PHOTO CREDIT: Whitney High School Athletics