Although COVID protocols have limited the Williams boys’ basketball team from practicing, and has also interrupted its regular season schedule, the Yellowjackets took the court last week and picked up wins over Mid-Valley League foes Portola and Hamilton City in back-to-back nights.
At full strength for the first time in quite a while, the ‘Jackets played through some rough spots last Tuesday night to down visiting Portola 74-56, behind a 38 point performance from the Northern Section’s leading scorer, junior Leo Trujillo.
Trujillo, who is averaging 24.5 points per game so far this season, also snagged 11 rebounds to record the double-double, and got plenty of help from teammate Brian Rosales, a fellow junior who knocked down 20 points on the night.
While the Tigers never got closer than nine points in the second half, the contest seemed much tighter than the score would indicate as Williams got complacent in the third period before coming alive again in the final quarter.
Hosting Hamilton City the following evening, the ‘Jackets avenged a loss they suffered to the Braves last month by posting a 70-62 win.
Leading the way for the Yellowjackets was again the dynamic duo of Rosales and Trujillo, who dropped 23 and 17 points, respectively, in the win.
Senior Jayr Ramirez also helped the cause with a 13-point performance.
Williams (13-4, 3-1) was scheduled to play in Quincy on Feb. 4, but COVID once more interfered, and the game was canceled.
This was supposed to be the final week of the regular season, with the ‘Jackets’ slated to play Quincy and Biggs at home on Monday and Tuesday before making the trek to Portola on Friday, but the status of those contests were unavailable at the time of press. ■