Warrior basketball team enters league play after tough non-league schedule

The Fallbrook High boys basketball team opened Valley League play at Escondido Jan. 17 after a demanding non-league schedule left the Warriors with a 5-12 record. Despite the mark, first-year coach Ryan Smith said he felt good about his club entering league competition.

"We've had a tough non-league (schedule) and we competed at a high level with a young team without a lot of experience," said Smith. "I have a feeling we can compete in league and have a chance – if we can play hard, which we've been doing – to compete for a championship. It will be tough but I think we have a chance. I always believe if you play the right way and you play hard enough, you have a chance to do it."

The Warriors split their final four non-league games, posting wins over O'Farrell Charter (64-51) and Mission Vista (50-41) and losing to Vista (61-23) and Del Norte (45-30).

"We were up double digits most of the game," said Smith of the Warriors' game against Mission Vista Jan. 10. "They made a little run to cut it to three or four points at one point in the fourth quarter, but we hit some big shots. Our freshman, Yoni Villagram, hit four free throws at the end of the game to ice it. The boys told me that's their rivalry game right now, so it was nice to get that win. It was big for them."

Fallbrook lost its non-league finale to Del Norte by 15 points Jan. 12 but Smith said the game was far from a mismatch.

"[Del Norte] only shot 35 percent from the field and we got a lot of wide-open looks that we didn't hit," said Smith, adding that his team gave the Nighthawks too many second chances. "They got a bunch of offensive rebounds to score against us."

The Warriors could easily have two more wins on their record but they came up just a bit short in losses to Douglas (48-45) and Santa Ynez (62-61 in double overtime).

"It's just about finishing plays," said Smith. "On offense we execute the play correctly and get a wide-open shot and miss. On defensive we'll guard for 30 seconds and make them take a tough shot, and then sometimes we get tired or we get lazy for one second and don't box out and they get an offensive rebound and a layup. Those are the little things that have been kind of killers for us this year."

Smith emphasized he has seen improvement throughout the season in his young team, which is led by sophomore Joel Calhoun.

"He's the only returning varsity guy and he's done a great job of keeping us in games," said Smith of Calhoun, who as of Jan. 15 was averaging 21 points per game. "Every single team knows he's the guy, so they're putting a lot of pressure on him and he's doing a good job of handling it, especially for being a younger guy. He's done a great job so far for us."

The Warriors start three guards – Calhoun, Tommy Martin and Villagram. Malachi Gordon starts at forward along with either Jackson Kuran or Corey McAdams. Martin and Gordon were both averaging seven points per game as of Jan. 15. McAdams and Kuran were averaging six and five rebounds, respectively.

The Warriors starting lineup has frequently fluctuated due to injuries and illness.

"I give us a lot of credit for where we're at because we've had a lot of games where we've only had six or seven guys playing because of injuries or sickness," said Smith. "We've had a tough season with pulled muscles and stuff like that. Nothing serious, but bad enough to keep you out for a game or two."

Smith believes the harsh non-league schedule has helped prime his team for league competition and that his players realize they have played well despite the won-loss record.

"They (the players) know they're close to getting over the hump," said Smith. "It's never fun losing but they know that we're in games with teams that have a little more talent than us, that have been playing basketball longer than us, have been together as a group longer, and been coached by one coach for longer. They know all that and see that we're pretty close to getting there."

Smith said he has always been pleased with his team's effort and hustle, and that success is a just a few made baskets away.

"At the beginning of the season we were having trouble even executing plays and things like that, but we were still in games because we played hard," said Smith. "Now we're executing the plays and we're getting the shots. We just have to knock them down."

The Warriors will play their first league home game Friday (Jan. 19) when they host Valley Center. Tip off is 7 p.m. and the game will be the first of four straight home contests for Fallbrook, which will welcome Ramona Jan. 24, San Pasqual Jan. 31, and Escondido Feb. 2.