The Anzar Hawks struggled in their season-opener Tuesday but
pulled away with a win nonetheless, upending Mountain View Academy
61-41 in San Juan Bautista.
Coach Ed Cecena said the win was
”
pretty rugged,
”
as his Hawks committed 19 turnovers on the night.
The Anzar Hawks struggled in their season-opener Tuesday but pulled away with a win nonetheless, upending Mountain View Academy 61-41 in San Juan Bautista.
Coach Ed Cecena said the win was “pretty rugged,” as his Hawks committed 19 turnovers on the night.
On the other side of the spectrum, though, Mountain View Academy committed 30 turnovers, and Anzar (1-0) still walked away with a victory in the early season.
“They were pretty weak, but we played down to their level,” Cecena said. “We should have won by a lot more … But getting a win in the first game was good. I just wish we played more consistently.”
Erik Olson led Anzar with 19 points (7 FG, 5-10 FT), Ryan Waller provided 12 points (6 FG), Steve Mockabee had 11 (4 FG, 3-4 FT) and Tavo Indarose scored in double-digits with 10 points Tuesday (3 FG, 4-6 FT).
“I’m happy with the win,” Cecena added, “but we’ll have to improve.”
With formidable opponents such as Alisal of the Tri-County Athletic League and Menlo-Atherton coming up on their preseason schedule, now is the time to improve before their Mission Trail Athletic League season-opener against Greenfield on Jan. 8.
“Those will be really interesting tests,” Cecena said of Alisal and Menlo-Atherton. “Those will be real interesting on how we progress.”
Aside from their 6-foot-5 center in Olson, Anzar will be playing small this year, looking to exploit opposing defenses along the way.
Using a 4-out, 1-in motion offense, Olson will post up down low, while perimeter players Mockabee, Waller, Indarose and Mark Rania will occupy the outside for the Hawks this season.
Similar to what Anzar ran last year, when they earned a 3-seed in Division V of the Central Coast Section playoffs, Cecena said the emphasis will be on smart basketball that exploits what opposing defense throw at them.
“If we match up against a bigger team, we’ll play more on the perimeter,” Cecena said. “If we match up well with teams, we’ll try to go inside.”
Indarose and Rania stand 6-foot, while Waller and Mockabee range 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-9, respectively.
Playing with bigger teams will likely give the Hawks more problems, though, as they’ll be forced to take more outside shots, while defensively, teams with multiple post players will be difficult to defend.
Cecena feels Olson will need to be a strong inside presence this season.
“He needs to have a solid season for us,” Cecena said. “We’re depending on him to be an inside force.”
Olson averaged just under 10 points per game last season for Anzar, who finished in third place in the MTAL with an 8-6 record, 17-11 overall.
The now-senior center was a first-team all-MTAL selection last season.
But even against bigger teams, such as Pacific Grove, for instance, Cecena may have some pieces to utilize.
He said that Mockabee is able to drive to the basket, Waller and Indarose can shoot the ball rather well and forward Rania is strong for his size.
After Tuesday’s win against Mountain View Academy, Anzar play next Tuesday against Anchor Point of the Coastal Athletic League at home at 6 p.m.
