DHS men’s varsity basketball wins on the free throw line in triple overtime

The first arced shot finds its way within the hoop. The ball is retrieved and passed back to the shooter. Dribble, dribble. He looks up then down then up again. The crowd shoves their arms into the air, fingers waving with good luck wishes. He takes the second shot, the curve in the arm and hand a sign of perfect form. The ball spears straight through the hoop. The happy screams have a life of their own.

Junior Hayden Russell made the two free throws, and the two last points, of the Davis v. Elk Grove game on Jan. 27, propelling the Devils ahead by two in the last minutes of the third overtime. The Devils won 86-84.

This win gave the Devils new opportunities in the Delta Valley Conference where they are now 2-3. It also brought up their total record to 11-10.

“This is the kind of game that will give [the team] confidence,” men’s Varsity basketball coach Daniel Gonzalez said.

The men’s Varsity Elk Grove Basketball team made more shots, and more free throws, than DHS, but the Devil’s concentration on three pointers put them in the lead for most of the game and neck and neck near the end.

Russell, senior Elvis Bikoba, junior Kevin Sorensen , senior Tyler Sousa and sophomore Brandon Strong all scored in double digits, together totaling 73 points.

The first points set the stage for the Devil’s play. It was a Devil’s ball, but the ball was set loose and only luckily re-captured. The Devils funneled the ball to Russell, who took the three-point shot and canned it. With this first shot and his last free throws, Russell opened up the game and then tied the final knot.

“Some shots were really nice,” Gonzalez said. “And some just didn’t make it.” That first shot, and those last two free throws, were only some of the nice one’s.

In a triple-overtime game, not even the halftime was uneventful, with Davis Joint Unified School District Superintendent Winfred Roberson accepting a $100,000 check from local news site Davis Patch. The check was a prize won through www.patch.com’s “Deck the House” holiday decorating contest.

“Students, this is for you,” Roberson said to the crowd after accepting the check. School board member Sheila Allen and the Powell family, whose home won the competition, were also present.

Looking forward future games, Gonzales says the team hopes to improve their play in the key. However, the overall strategy will stay the same, which, if this game is any example, means many more three-pointers to come.