San Jon teams get slow start

SAN JON - The San Jon boys and girls teams were the first high-school programs in Quay County to open the basketball season last week despite a COVID-19 quarantine that delayed their games the week before.

Because the quarantine also prompted the cancellation of San Jon practices except for one leading up to the Nov. 30 opener, the girls team was slow to get going during a 43-28 loss to Dora that wasn't decided until the visiting team pulled away in the fourth quarter.

In the boys game, a young and inexperienced San Jon squad found itself quickly overmatched during a 53-12 loss where Dora's starters were benched after just one quarter and the running-clock mercy rule was enacted during the second half.

San Jon's girls struggled to get their offense going in the first half against Dora's defense. Dora led 12-6 after one quarter and 23-11 at intermission.

Dora coach Clay Ferguson said his team's defensive style reflects a deep bench.

"We have 14 girls on our roster ... and hopefully by district play we'll play five, then run in five and keep us fresh," he said.

Faith Jasso led Dora with 14 points.

"We lost a lot of points on rebounds and bad passes," San Jon coach Jaree Elliott said, noting her team's erratic play on the boards also got several players in foul trouble - a troubling prospect for a team with only eight varsity players.

Elliott said her team's play also reflected a lack of practice due to the quarantine.

"Considering we had only one day of practice, we weren't horrible. We did a lot of things good, and we retained a lot from last year, so that's nice," she said. "Those are easy things to work on with more time in the gym and repetition. Overall, I wasn't disappointed at all with how they played."

San Jon rallied in the third quarter with 3-point shots from Addie Lafferty, Karlee Elliott and Bailey McEwen, who tied for the team lead with power forward Chantzee Elliott with nine points. Several times, San Jon closed the gap to six points.

Ferguson acknowledged his defensive approach on San Jon's outside shooters nearly backfired.

"We told them, 'Let's protect the paint. If they shoot threes and beat us that way, fine,' but I was kind of regretting saying that," he said, laughing. "There was a stretch where they couldn't miss.

"I told our top girls we need to get to the outside faster. We were a bit lackadaisical to get out there - we were getting a little tired - and we had to get more aggressive. We battled back, did the right things and played hard."

Elliott said she reminded her players to not forget their outside shooters.

"At halftime, I told them we're not only looking inside," she said. "We didn't change anything up with our plays, but we did look at our outside shooters more."

Dora scored eight unanswered points to close the fourth quarter and seal the victory. San Jon also lost a crucial rebounder and inside scorer when Chantzee Elliott fouled out with 2:41 left.

In the boys game, Dora scored the first 26 points and led 44-4 at intermission. San Jon didn't score until nearly two minutes expired in the second quarter, despite Dora coach Kris King benching his starters after just one period.

"We got a lot of minutes for a lot of kids," King said. "My starting five wanted to play more, but I didn't want to get them hurt. We have a tournament this weekend, and we actually have a decent team."

San Jon has no seniors, three juniors, one sophomore, one freshmen and four eighth-graders on its varsity squad. Coach John Wootton said the lack of workouts during the quarantine exacerbated his team's problems against Dora.

"We've got to get in shape," Wootton said. "We hadn't practiced in two weeks. I know (Dora) is a lot better than us, but we're a work in progress, and we have to practice and practice and practice."

Tristan Reed and Matthew Martinez each scored six points to led San Jon.

Cole Kircher scored 15 points to lead Dora, which saw nine players score during the game. Steve Masini scored 11 points - all in the first quarter.