Coast Union boys gets seasoning in preseason basketball starts

Head coach Tim May’s basketball players have been getting some good experience against teams outside the Coast Valley League this preseason, which the coach believes will be invaluable when the CVL begins this week against Shandon.

The Broncos bested private school Thatcher 50-47 on Dec. 10, but lost 44-32 to Laguna Blanca the next day. In that loss to Laguna Blanca, Auggie Johnson scored nine points, while Jez Lawson and Sam MacKinnon each chipped in with seven for the Broncos.

On Dec. 12, Coast Union dominated Orcutt Academy 46-15, giving the Broncos third place at the Thatcher Tournament. Sam MacKinnon scored 10 points, Riley Kennedy added eight points, and the long-distance sharpshooter for the Broncos, Johnson, nailed three 3-pointers.

Asked in an interview about those three-pointers he has been sinking with a degree of consistency, Johnson, who has been playing basketball since he was 5 years old, said the skill “came naturally. I have always liked the outside shots.

“Coach tells us to either take threes, or if we’re inside the line go ahead and make a layup.”

Johnson says he has work to do on his defense. “I have lazy feet,” he explained.

As to the bigger schools that challenge Coast Union during the preseason tournaments, Johnson said May just tells them, “ ‘We are working on our offense’ — so we do not concentrate on winning the games. It’s fun; we enjoy it.

“We have only seven players, but by Coast Valley League we’ll be fine. We’ll be able to win most of those games even with seven guys.”

Regarding May’s return after a year off from coaching, Johnson said, “He seems more relaxed. I think he really believes in us and all of us believe in what he is doing. I really like the way it’s going, and as a team, we really are progressing – slowly but surely.

“We have good chemistry.”

Girls basketball

The Coast Union varsity girls opened up Coast Valley League basketball play with a dominating 34-16 win over Shandon — their first victory of the young season.

Reagan Kniffen led the Lady Broncos with 13 points, five steals and two blocked shots. Olivia Hargear added six points and four rebounds.

“The girls played well,” said coach Bobby Youngs said. “We still need to work on our fundamentals, but overall I am happy with our performance.”

Coast lost a nonleague tilt to Woodlake 43-29 on Dec. 10; Youngs said his team was just a point behind at half time but “a lot of turnovers … made for easy baskets” for Woodlake. The team travels to Maricopa Friday, Dec. 18, for game two in the CVL.

Girls soccer

Martha Gomez scored both goals for Coast Union’s soccer team Tuesday night to top Dunn School 2-0 at home. Paulina Torres assisted on one of Gomez’s goals. Cynthia Cadena had four saves in goal for Coast. This weekend, the team travels to Bakersfield for the Garces Tournament.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Coast Union boys gets seasoning in preseason basketball starts."