Published on 2/20/2020.
BYLINE: Andrew Butler
What a difference a year makes.
Thomas Nelson scored 31 points, the Corsairs blew by the century mark on offense with time to spare and the College of the Redwoods men's basketball team claimed the program's first outright Golden Valley Conference title since the 2006-07 season with a 109-86 victory over visiting Shasta College, Wednesday amid a raucous environment at the home of the 'Woods.
Wednesday's conference-clinching win cements the 2019-20 Corsairs (21-5, 8-2) as one of — if not the — most improbable turnaround stories in California Community College basketball history. 0-26 a season ago, Redwoods' first-year head coach Ryan Bisio brought with him a former Arcata High star, a quartet of Fortuna High shooters and a new outlook for the program.
What a difference a year makes.
"This is as big of a high as you could possibly feel," Bisio said after Wednesday's win. "To do it with the people I love in this program is incredible. I couldn't imagine feeling any better than I do right now.
"This story that we are writing — there's still a lot more ink in the pen," the coach said.
Next stop for Redwoods — the state playoffs.
Nelson got to the rim early and often Wednesday night, scoring 10 points in the first 10 minutes to help give the Corsairs a 22-17 advantage at the midpoint of the first half.
And then the twins took over.
Bradley and Donald Willis combined to score 10 points of an 11-0 run — each doing so exclusively in the paint, often turning offensive rebounds into second-chance points. The run spanned just under two minutes and by the end of it saw Redwoods out to a 33-17 lead.
"Our message to the guys before the game was to be the aggressor in everything you do, and they did that," Bisio said.
Shasta's (15-13, 6-4) Simmer Singh hit a 3-pointer to end the 'Woods' run.
And then Redwoods reminded the visitors who the second-ranked 3-point shooting team in the state is.
The Corsairs' sharpshooters knocked down four 3-pointers in five possessions following Singh's 3-ball to jump out to a 45-28 lead with just under five minutes to play in the opening half.
Donald Willis, Drew Gillette, Zac Claus and Blake Rossman were the Corsairs who converted the 3-pointers. Gillette, who didn't make a field goal until the 5:51 mark of the first half, closed out the half with 10 points as Redwoods went into the break with a 54-32 lead.
Gillette and Claus each buried 3-pointers to start the second half while Nelson — who scored 20 points in the final 20 minutes — dropped in a couple fade-aways from the top of the key as the Corsairs began the second half on an 11-0 run and never looked back.
With 3:50 to play Gillette knocked down his fourth and final 3-pointer of the night to give Redwoods its 100th point, a triple-digit mark the Corsairs had come close many times this season but never reached before Wednesday night.
Redwoods, currently ranked No. 13 in the state, is a lock for the state playoffs and should likely earn a home game for its dominant 2019-20 run.
Scoring recap
Redwoods: Nelson 31pts, Donald Willis 20 pts, Gillette 16pts, Bradley Willis 13pts.
Shasta: Tanner Bidwell 18pts, Singh 11pts.
WOMEN'S GAME
HEADLNE: Redwoods rolls Shasta, secures share of GVC crown
BYLINE: Skye Kimya
Make room for a banner.
Breesia Northern scored 22 points and the College of the Redwoods women's basketball team defeated visiting Shasta College 83-61 to secure a share of a Golden Valley Conference title, Wednesday night at CR.
Redwoods splits the 2020 GVC crown with Butte College, which beat Lassen Wednesday to finish 8-2 in conference along with Redwoods.
Redwoods (20-5, 8-2) assumed control of Wednesday's game early in the second half and never looked back en route to the conference-clinching win. Redwoods opened up the second half with a 12-0 run. Ashley Quigley nailed three 3-pointers during the 'Woods' tear and Northern followed with two as they led their team to a 29-point lead heading into the final frame.
“[At halftime] I somehow got across to them the importance of this game and what it meant,” Redwoods head coach Jain Tuey said. “They understood what kind of energy we needed and it just became a reality."
Shasta struggled to bounce back as Redwoods’ continued to execute until the end. With 15 seconds left to play Redwoods’ Darienne Kartes finished things off with the 11th 3-pointer made by the Corsairs in the win.
A back and forth start to the ball game kept the intensity high on the court and in the gym. Redwoods’ Mikaela Arnold scored the first points of the game with a 3-pointer. Brianna Green scored eight points in the first frame for Redwoods as the home team led 22-15 heading into the second quarter. Breesia Northern scored eight points in the second frame and Dennise Horton, seven to keep Redwoods even with Shasta as both teams scored 19 points in the second. At half Redwoods led 41-34.
“They definitely responded and did what a great team does,” Tuey said. “They can respond to scenarios that aren’t so great and still take care of business.
“It takes a special group to do something like this,” Tuey said. “It really is them day in, day out putting the work in and I’m just extremely proud of them.”
Looking ahead
Redwoods, a top-20 ranked team in the state, will prepare for the state playoffs.
Scoring recap
Redwoods: Northern 22pts, four 3-pointers. Quigley 20pts, four 3-pointers.