Legionnaires win league basketball opener

Bonsall High School's basketball team opened Sierra League play April 27 with a 54-30 home win over Chula Vista Learning Community Charter.

The Legionnaires followed that game with a May 1 non-league victory at Del Lago Academy, which gave Bonsall a four-game winning streak and a 6-3 season record.

"We're on a little bit of a roll," said Bonsall coach Chuck Colletti. "We're playing very good team defense and the boys are basically shooting the ball pretty well right now."

The winning streak followed three consecutive losses with the third of those being a 57-45 San Diego Jewish Academy home triumph April 20. "We didn't play the type of defense we've been playing most of the year, and we did not shoot the ball well," Colletti said.

Bonsall's leading scorer, senior Billy Rahman, provided 24 points. An additional seven points were scored by sophomore Isaac Alacantar.

The 2020-21 Sierra League for basketball consists of Bonsall, Bayfront Charter, Chula Vista Learning Community Charter, Coastal Academy, and High Tech High North County. Each team will play each other three times, and the first game is considered a non-league game.

The non-league game against Chula Vista Learning Community Charter was played April 23 in Chula Vista and ended as a 63-35 Bonsall victory. Rahman scored 20 points against the Cobras. Current junior Jason Suarez played for Fallbrook High School last year and thus had to sit out the Legionnaires' first five games due to CIF transfer regulations, but Suarez made his Bonsall High School basketball debut April 23 and had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

An April 24 match against Del Lago Academy was played in Escondido. Bonsall was on the preferred end of the 69-31 final score. "We played great," Colletti said.

What wasn't so great is that Rahman sprained his ankle during the second quarter and was lost for the remainder of the game. Suarez scored 26 points and added six rebounds; junior Emil Watkins had 20 points against the Firebirds and grabbed seven balls off the boards, and freshman Nathan Weinbrenner provided 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The April 27 league opener included Bonsall leads of 17-4 after the first quarter and 29-9 at halftime. "We played good total team defense," Colletti said.

The Cobras committed 22 turnovers. Suarez had 20 points, nine rebounds, and four assists. Watkins contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds. Six points were scored by junior Nate Valera.

Bonsall also had a 17-4 lead after the first quarter of the May 1 game against Del Lago. The final score was 57-33. Suarez had 16 points along with seven rebounds, Valera made five three-point shots for 15 total points; Watkins provided 13 points and four rebounds, and Rahman scored 11 points before spraining his other ankle. "Very balanced scoring," Colletti said.