Sometimes you remember a game more so because of the energy of the home crowd than you do the performance of the host team on the court. The Calistoga High (CA) boys basketball team’s 71-61 win over the Rincon Valley Christian (Santa Rosa) Eagles would qualify as such.
While the Wildcats put on a strong display, the energy that the home crowd brought that night was a sight to behold. Every moment big and small was cheered, from a made Calistoga 3-point bucket to winning hustle plays.
Setting the stage: Calistoga High athletics once epitomized the small-town where the community bled Green & White en masse. For whatever reason, and it’s hard to pinpoint when or how -- goodness knows everyone has their theories, things gradually changed as more local families sent their kids to schools outside the community, including but not limited to Cardinal Newman, Rincon Valley Christian, Healdsburg, Maria Carrillo and Upvalley neighbor St. Helena. Throughout the recent past, Wildcat athletics has seen a level of apathy. Translation, fans with passing interest turn out for a winner but not for mediocrity.
On January 31, 2006, Calistoga faced Rincon Valley Christian, which was an annual thorn in the Wildcats’ rearend, in boys basketball. The rivalry is one-sided. I do not know the exact numbers but RVC has had the upper hand far more often than not, at least in the recent past, but also because some aforementioned Calistoga families have sent their kids to RVC. All of that is another discussion for another time with a lot of conjecture.
As far as on the court, it was generally assumed that before the 2005-2006 campaign was underway, Calistoga and RVC would be on a collision course to fight it out for the North Central League II South title like two dogs going after one bone. The Wildcats were seeking their first league title in boys basketball since the 1992-1993 campaign.
Thumbnail sketch of the game: Calistoga took its first significant step toward winning its first league championship in 13 years with a deceptively close 71-61 win over RVC behind a near capacity crowd that brought a lot of emotion.
The Wildcats raced to an early lead and fended off the Eagles by hitting crucial free throws and keeping their poise. Donnie McMahon led Calistoga with 25 points and seven rebounds. Jasper Eisenberg added 15 points while Elliot Ticen chipped in 13 points and six boards. Alex Nunez compiled six of the team’s 13 steals.
Andrew Davis led the Eagles with 27 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out of the contest. Lucas Hlebaros added 11 points and 12 boards.
The Wildcats led 32-14 late in the second quarter but allowed RVC to chip the lead to 43-38 at the end of three periods.
As the old saying goes in boxing, “styles make fights.” While the ‘05-’06 Wildcats were more disciplined in the halfcourt offense than years past, they still thrived mostly on getting easy buckets in transition with a pressing defense being the vehicle. The Eagles ran when they had numbers but prefered to dissect you with a disciplined offense with ball movement being the key.
If anything, Calistoga took too many shots early in the shot clock with its big lead when milking the clock would have been more prudent. The Wildcats, however, kept their poise for the most part.
Ticen started the fourth period with a putback bucket and Donnie McMahon hit crucial shots to keep the Eagles at bay in the fourth quarter.
Calistoga’s free-throw shooting was also a key note to victory as the Wildcats hit 17-of-25 for the game but it was enough to keep RVC from making a serious dent in the lead.
What it meant: RVC would win the next two matchups, 64-49 and 61-52 on its gym. The former came in the Castleberry Tournament in which the top four teams in the NCL II South qualify. The format is similar in principle to a college basketball conference tournament.
Because the two teams split the regular season meetings, both clubs were 9-1 in NCL II South, meaning each won a share of the league title. Calistoga needed a narrow 65-64 win at lowly Geyserville in order to preserve its share of the title.
Neither club made a serious dent in the CIF North Coast Section Div. V playoffs. Calistoga earned the No. 10 seed, falling 70-63 at No. 7 Berean Christian (Walnut Creek). RVC earned the No. 6 seed, beating No. 11 University (San Francisco) 69-57 before falling to No. 3 seeded Cloverdale 67-55.
McMahon and Davis wound up as co-MVP of the NCL II South. McMahon averaged 20 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and seven assists per game. Donnie McMahon, whose father Jack is the Wildcats' head coach, scored over 1,250 points in his three-year varsity career. Donnie McMahon's numbers could have been even gaudier but he frequently sat out the fourth quarter and part of the third of the Wildcats' blowout wins.
As for the aforementioned Jan. 31 game, the Eagles would finish the season stronger than Calistoga but without that performance coupled with an assist of the home crowd, winning a share of the league title doesn’t happen.
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