Glads Back In The Groove

By Camille LeDuc
Special to Chabot Athletics

Chabot point guard Zion Yeargin scooped up the ball before it went out of bounds midway through the first half. Despite his back being turned to the action, and his eyes pointed towards the court, Yeargin knew exactly where to throw the ball.

Way down on the opposite end was Nate Stroud. Without a single glance, Yeargin launched the ball down the length of the court to Stroud, who caught the pass in stride for a layup, giving Chabot a 17-10 lead in a 71-60 home win over Feather River on Saturday night, Jan. 3.

The Yeargin-Stroud connection showed the Gladiators still had their rhythm after two weeks away from game action.

The Gladiators (11-3) smothered Feather River all game, holding the Golden Eagles 18.9 points below their season average. It's just the third time this season Feather River failed to score more than 60 points.

The Chabot offense was led by the trio of sophomore guard Amani Johnson, freshman forward Oz Savage and Yeargin, who had 17 points each.

Stroud, a freshman wing, had 14 points. He made three of the Gladiators' six three-pointers. Chabot's four leading scorers totaled 65 points, outscoring Feather River by themselves.

Johnson also had 10 rebounds and four steals.

The Gladiators beat a quality opponent in the Golden Eagles (11-7), who were coming off an upset win at West Valley, ranked No. 9 in the state.

Chabot enters conference play having won four of its last five. Coast Conference-North play begins Jan. 7 with the Gladiators traveling to San Bruno to take on Skyline.

"I feel very good and content with the way we jelled together for this game," Yeargin said. "We endured a tough week of practice coming back from break and I think our resilience carried over to tonight's contest."

Chabot opened the game with a 17-4 run over the first six minutes, 21 seconds. Stroud made two three-pointers during the run and sophomore guard Malik Merchant also made a three. Savage scored eight points in the first half as the Gladiators led 33-24 at halftime.

"I was satisfied with the first half," Chabot interim head coach Marquis Glenn said. "I just wanted more communication and for us to work on good shots. I kinda felt like we were shooting rushed shots."

Feather River didn't lay down, however. They provided a challenge for Chabot. Golden Eagles sophomore guard Armon Baker (14 points) led an aggressive offense that pushed the Gladiators. The visiting team was physical and aggressive, enough to get as close as 51-47 with 7:59 left.

"I feel like their aggressiveness in the passing lanes was the biggest problem for us tonight," Yeargin said. "Along with their press when we didn't have one or two ball handlers in the game."

Chabot came in ranked No. 12 among the stingiest defenses in California, allowing just 67.5 points per game. The Gladiators forced 17.5 turnovers per game, which tied for the 10th-most in the state.

That defensive prowess showed up late when they allowed just eight points over the final 4:19.

"Amani was in the passing lanes," Glenn said. "Got around eight steals. So we definitely played our brand of basketball."

The Gladiators have totaled 10 or more wins in their nonconference schedule for three straight seasons. Last season, they also entered conference play 11-3. The season before that, they were 12-5.