With Mid-Valley League wins over Biggs and Los Molinos last week, the Yellowjackets put themselves in sole possession of first place with just four games remaining in the regular season.
And while Williams has shown the ability to score points in bunches, it’s the defense that has created the opportunity and propelled the team to victory.
Such was the case on Jan. 25 at home as the ‘Jackets proved to be ungracious hosts forcing visiting Biggs into 20 turnovers en route a 67-57 win.
Leo Trujillo turned in a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds to pace Williams, who also got a 17 point effort from Brian Rosales and a 12 point, eight rebound game from Daniel Brunner.
Still, it was the 85-46 victory over Los Molinos at home last Friday night that was the real statement by the Yellowjackets as they avenged the 51-54 setback they suffered at the hands of the Bulldogs on Jan. 11 in their MVL opener.
However, this time around it was a different story as Williams jumped out to a 29-7 first quarter lead as its pressure defense rendered the Bulldogs offense nearly helpless.
For his part, Rosales put on a clinic in the period scoring 19 of his 27 points.
But as the game progressed, the night truly belonged to Trujillo, who recorded his second double-double of the week, scoring 32 points, which included going 8 for 8 from the charity stripe, in addition to 10 boards and seven steals.
It was Trujillo’s point output that allowed him to reach the 1,000 point threshold for his four-year career, in spite of having played just four games in 2020-21 due to COVID protocols.
A third ‘Jacket finishing in double digits in the contest was Alexis Velazquez, who came off the bench to score 12 points.
This week was a tough one for the Yellowjackets (15-6, 5-1) as they made the short trip to Maxwell to square off against the Panthers on Tuesday. They host Hamilton City on Friday in games that should decide the MVL championship. ■
