South Fork Boys Lose in NCS First Round to End Season

South Fork Boys on defense at St. Elizabeth last Wednesday. Left to right: Jayden Paine, Roberto Navarrete, Cooper Scott, Scott Coffelt, CJ Van Meter [Photo by Janice Coffelt]

South Fork High’s 9th seeded varsity boys basketball team fell 64-50 to #8 seed St. Elizabeth in Oakland last Wednesday, bringing their successful 2016-2017 season to a close.

Unable to get any kind of scouting report on St. Elizabeth, head coach Todd Vandenack prepared for everything he could, but was surprised by the pace set by the home side. “They sped us up even more than Hoopa and ran a man-to-man press that caused a lot of turnovers,” said Vandenack. “We just couldn’t get any good looks or get the ball inside because they were pressuring us so much on the outside.”

Down by just a point at halftime the Cubs faltered in the 3rd quarter, giving up 21 points. Vandenack added, “They had a couple good players and made some 3’s, but it was their defense that made the difference in the game.”

Junior Roberto Navarrete led Cubs scorers with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. He was followed by junior Scott Coffelt who preferred to come off the bench and “did a great job for us,” scoring 13 points. Junior CJ Van Meter had ten points. The team’s only senior, Justin Michael, had 8 points and sophomore Cooper Scott had five.

South Fork           9    17     14    10           50

St. Elizabeth      18     9      21    14           64

St. Elizabeth went on to lose in the next round to top seeded Rio Lindo 66-42.

Justin Michael puts up a jumper in his last game in a Cub uniform [Photo by Janice Coffelt]

With only Michael graduating in June, the Cubs will return seven varsity players to the squad next season, including Jayden Paine, who was a jv standout and a helpful contributor to the varsity team down the stretch. Vandenack plans to keep the boys playing in summer leagues to build on the strong chemistry they developed this year as well as to keep up their skills and fitness.

Looking back on a successful season, Vandenack is most proud of defeating Ferndale twice and beating four Division 6 teams in a row at the early-season Calistoga tournament. The Cubs finished 12-16 overall, 10-7 against fellow Division 6 schools, and 2-4 in Humboldt Del Norte Little Four Conference play.

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Guest
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Guest
7 years ago

Good job on making it to the tournament. You’ll get em next year boys.

thebigdeal
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thebigdeal
7 years ago

This group of players is really exiting with most of the players having different skill sets. It is however interesting to notice the large crowds who attend the the visiting teams sections. Next year South Fork will have a new gym, a group of boys who will have a lot of experience together, and a exiting product. Our community should be disappointed if the attendance doesn’t improve. Also, the girls Varsity team is going to be fun to watch as well.

Andrew Morris
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Andrew Morris
6 years ago

Good work, Coach Vandenack!