Another Good Night for Bonita — Outscore Opponents 144-47
Coach Greg Eckler and his captains James Northup and Jordan Butler chat with refs before the start of Wednesday's contest.
After completing a powerful 22-2 third quarter, Bonita throttled Los Altos 74-32 on the victors’ home court on Wednesday night. Leading the charge for the Bearcats was senior guard James Northup who poured in 26 points before he was pulled late in the third quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bearcats pushed the lead to 18 points on several occasions before Los Altos cut the lead to 37-25 at the half. The lapse got Bonita Coach Greg Eckler off the bench a couple of times.
“I didn’t think we ended the second half well,” Eckler said. “I didn’t think the energy was good in the second quarter.”
Somewhere, the Bearcats refueled and reenergized and rediscovered their focus, particularly Northup, who was a force driving to the basket for lay-ups or popping threes from the perimeter.
Big Game James Northup had a game-high 26 points.
“Twenty-six points, and a handful of assists , and you don’t even notice it,” Eckler said. “When he shoots the ball that well from the outside, he’s going to get a ton of points.
Eckler sees two keys for the 20-3 Bearcats to focus on the remainder of the season. “Energy and intensity,” Eckler said. “It shouldn’t be me getting them fired up. They should be fired up on their own.
“They’re a very laid-back group of guys. I think that hurts us sometimes. They need to always come out fired-up.”
Bonita, fired up or not, faces the Walnut Mustangs at Walnut on Friday at 6:45 p.m.
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Although hard to imagine, the Bonita varsity girls were even more dominant than the boys, shellacking Los Altos 70-15 to extend their record to 19-2.
Madison Zylstra led all scorers with 16 points, followed by Nikki Wheatley with 12, Natalie Reyes with 9, Brianna Kennedy with 8, Taylor Anderson with 7, Sarah Jackson with 6, Reyna Sierra with 6, Stephanie Vana with 4 and Jaclyn Smith with 2.
Perhaps, most striking about the game was how well the second unit and entire bench continue to play. There appears to be very little drop-off in the quality level, giving Bonita coach Darren Baumunk a deep roster for the upcoming playoffs.
“All the girls push one another in practice, and we’re seeing the results in games,” Baumunk said.
Madison Zylstra had a game-high 16 points for the Bonita varsity girls.
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