Bonita’s Version of ‘Guys and Dolls’ a Runaway Hit Against Charter Oak

Taylor Anderson

Opening Miramonte League play, the Bonita varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball teams posted convincing road victories, 60-22 and 61-43 respectively, against the Charter Oaks Chargers on Wednesday night.

The girls tipped off first, and after trailing 3-2, Bonita never looked back, with Taylor Anderson pouring in a game-high 13 points and Madison Zylstra finishing up with a dozen.

Six players scored for Bonita in the first period, spurring an 11-0 run and a 15-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. Anderson scored six straight baskets to start the second quarter, expanding Bonita’s lead to 21-5. Brianna Kennedy also had a pair of inside hoops to help push Bonita’s lead to 36-9 at the half.

Zylstra, after turning an ankle in the first period, responded with seven points in the third quarter that helped key another 8-0 run. At the end of three quarters, Bonita was cruising 53-17.

Of the dozen players on Bonita’s team, 10 found their names in the scoring column, giving Bonita a total team victory.

“We came out aggressively and played defense really well,” said Bonita coach Darren Baumunk. “It all starts on defense for us.”

Baumunk liked Anderson’s leadership on the court. “She’s our quarterback; it all goes through her,” he said.

Added Anderson: “I felt kinda good distributing the ball to Maddie and Lauren so they could get their shots off. We came out strong and played a complete game.”

As for Kennedy, she showed another dimension according to Baumunk. “She made a couple of nice moves we haven’t seen all year.”

The boys didn’t win by as large a margin as the girls, but their win was no less impressive.

Behind C.J. Miller’s 8 first-quarter points, Bonita led 17-6 at the end of the first quarter. Tim Fassas, working his way back from an early season injury, also stroked a three to boost Bonita. Jordan Butler also sank a deuce as time wound down.

In the second quarter, James Northup started heating up, and Bonita closed the half leading, 29-13.

In the third quarter, it was Northup again, only this time he was putting on a free throw clinic. Three times the junior guard was fouled behind the three point line, and he made the Chargers pay, sinking eight of nine attempts. Bonita led 46-30 at the end of three periods, 46-30.

James Northup is dressed and ready to board the bus for the ride back home along with C.J. Miller and Caelum Tiongson after downing the Chargers, 61-43.

The Chargers closed the gap to 48-36, forcing Bonita coach Greg Eckler to call a time out. Off the time out, Caelan Tiongson sank a three at the top of the key to cut short the Chargers’ rally.

“That was a huge shot, as they were coming back on us, it was a real big three,” Eckler said.

Eckler went to more player combinations in the league opener, which he attributed to match-up problems the Chargers presented.

“They play a different style of defense – they’re in a switch and man – so we have to really be smart about what we do on offense. We have to pick and choose what we want to do and execute really well. That’s why you saw a lot of different sets and different players.”

Northup’s repeated trips to the charity stripe was indicative of the physical nature of the game. “It got real physical, and the ref called a lot of fouls, which means that guys have to make free throws. That’s not something we’ve done well in the past. Today, we did.

In fact, Bonita at times in the Wednesday opener couldn’t miss on offense.

“We shot the ball well today,” Eckler allowed. “When you catch us on a day when we’re shooting well, we look like were shooters. You catch us on a day, like the San Dimas game, then we don’t.”

Probably, the only blemish on Bonita’s game was the number of five-second calls whistled against the Bearcats.

“That’s something we’re going to talk about tomorrow.”

The coaches have to find something to complain about in what was an otherwise sterling night for the two Bonita varsity basketball teams.

For Bonita, Northup had a game-high 23 points. C.J. Miller had 13, and Jordan Butler had 9.