The Valencia boys basketball team didn’t complain as one of their starters, Eli Brill, was out against Oaks Christian in the Chaminade Tournament at Chaminade on Tuesday.
Instead, head coach Bill Bedgood inserted Ryan Hoffman into the lineup, who finished with nine points as the team pulled out an 80-63 win to advance to the tournament semifinals.
“Eli Brill, Grant Kim and Ryan Hoffman are three guys that were all kind of bench guys and have started in the first two games and have played like starters,” Bedgood said. “They have been very confident to begin the year.”
The Vikings (2-0 overall) jumped out to an early lead and led by double-digits, but two of Valencia’s starters ran into some foul trouble, which allowed the Lions to climb back into the game.
The Vikings battled through, going deep into their bench. The Vikings offense picked up speed in the third quarter, scoring 24 points.
In the final quarter of play, the Vikings’ conditioning proved to be the winning piece to the puzzle as the Vikings pulled away for the double-digit win.
Jake Hlywiak finished with seven 3’s for 33 points, while junior guard Noah Veluzat almost had a triple-double finishing with 16 points, 11 assists and six assists.
Kevin Konrad was huge on both ends of the court and finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds
“I think Kevin Konrad’s presence in the paint has made a huge difference because we played without him the entire summer,” Bedgood said. “We are noticing that we are getting a lot more easy baskets in the post also we are seeing that other guys are stepping up.”
The Vikings get a bye tomorrow and will play the winner between Agoura and Crespi on Friday.
