Patriot League challenges Legionnaires hoopsters

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Bonsall High School’s basketball team was undefeated in Sierra League competition during the 2020-21 season. The Frontier Conference moved the Legionnaires to the Patriot League for 2021-22, and Bonsall placed fourth in this year’s league standings.

The Legionnaires were 3-5 in Patriot League play and had an overall record of 8-12. The performance wasn’t sufficient to provide Bonsall with a CIF playoff berth.

“We had a young team. We had a lot of freshmen and sophomores,” said Bonsall coach Chuck Colletti.

Southern California Yeshiva won the league championship with an 8-0 Patriot League record. Bayfront Charter was 5-3 in league play. The Cambridge School had a 4-4 record in league matchups.

The Legionnaires’ Jan. 25 home game was a 39-34 loss to The Cambridge School. “We gave it to them in the fourth quarter. About the last 2 1/2 minutes we turned the ball over three times and they hit all their shots,” Colletti said.

Bonsall defeated Bayfront Charter by a 59-58 score Jan. 27 in Bonsall. “It was a back and forth game,” Colletti said.

The Sharks held a 44-41 lead after three periods. Bonsall trailed by seven with 30 seconds left but sank a three-point shot. The Sharks obtained possession while the Legionnaires pressed. “They threw the ball away,” Colletti said.

The turnover gave Bonsall another three-point opportunity which was converted with 11 seconds remaining. Another Bayfront turnover gave the Legionnaires the ball, and a two-point shot gave Bonsall a one-point lead with four seconds left. Bonsall opted to foul the Sharks player with the ball, giving Bayfront Charter a one-and-one free throw situation. The first shot was good, but a lane violation nullified that shot and gave Bonsall the ball.

Last year, Bayfront Charter was also in the Sierra League and had three overall losses including two to Bonsall. “We battle every game,” Colletti said. “Last year we beat them twice to win the league.”

Nathan Winebrenner had 26 points and 11 rebounds Jan. 27. “He had a great game,” Colletti said.

Emil Watkins added 20 points and 11 rebounds.

A Feb. 2 non-league home game against Children’s Creative and Performing Arts Academy was a 62-15 Bonsall triumph. “It was nice for the guys, but it wasn’t really a game,” Colletti said.

Bonsall had leads of 25-4 after the first period, 45-10 at halftime, and 54-12 after three quarters. The Legionnaires were able to provide floor action for all 11 players. “We played everybody. Everybody got minutes,” Colletti said.

Watkins had 22 points and 11 rebounds; Angel Ortega contributed 12 points and three rebounds, and Nate Valera provided eight points, three rebounds, and five assists.

Southern California Yeshiva traveled to Bonsall for a Feb. 3 game, and the Hawks returned home with a 74-49 victory. “They beat us pretty good,” Colletti said.

“We played well,” Colletti said. “We played with them for a while.”

The Hawks had a 19-9 scoring advantage in the third period. “The third quarter killed us,” Colletti said.

Bonsall outscored the Hawks by a 16-10 margin in the final quarter. Watkins ended the game with 23 points and nine rebounds, Winebrenner had 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Valera contributed 12 points and five assists.

The final three Bonsall games of the season were on the road. The Feb. 8 league game at Health Sciences was a 57-19 Legionnaires win. Bonsall scored all 18 points in the first period and had a 35-7 halftime lead. Watkins had 17 points and six rebounds against the Surgeons; Valera provided 12 points and seven assists, and Hady Rahman gave the Legionnaires 14 points and six rebounds.

The Feb. 9 game against Bayfront Charter was played at the Chula Vista Community Center. “That game was another barnburner as well,” Colletti said.

This time the Sharks won by a one-point margin. Bayfront Charter had leads of 23-12 after one period and 35-19 at halftime. A 14-5 Bonsall scoring advantage in the third quarter narrowed the deficit to seven. Bonsall began closing the margin. “We were going back and forth basket to basket,” Colletti said.

The Legionnaires trailed by seven with 20 seconds left, hit a three-point shot, pressed and obtained the turnover, and sank another three-point bucket with nine seconds left.

Bonsall had stayed out of foul trouble, so the Legionnaires needed to foul the Sharks three times to trigger the one-and-one bonus situation. With three seconds left the Sharks missed their first shot. Colletti called timeout with two seconds left, bringing the ball to halfcourt, but the 35-foot shot hit the rim and then bounced out to finalize the 50-49 score in Bayfront Charter’s favor.

“It was a good game,” Colletti said.

The Feb. 10 game at The Cambridge School concluded Bonsall’s season. The Griffins won the 54-43 contest. “We did not play good at all,” Colletti said.

Feb. 10 was the third consecutive day the Legionnaires had a game. “I had a feeling the boys were going to be tired, and they were,” Colletti said.

Watkins and Valera played for the Legionnaires all four of their high school years. “They showed good leadership,” Colletti said.

Ortega and Luke Estrada are also seniors.

“I think the boys had a lot of fun. We played hard. We gave some games away,” Colletti said.

Some of that may be due to inexperience which will likely be mitigated in future years. “Some freshmen got some good experience,” Colletti said.

The 8-12 record gave Colletti his first losing season with the Legionnaires. The team was 12-9 in 2018-19, 12-11 for 2019-20, and 16-6 during 2020-21.

Colletti accepts this season’s win-loss record but does not fault the players. “I’m proud of them. They played hard every night,” he said.