Healdsburg boys clamp down on defense to beat Roseland University Prep in NCS basketball playoffs

The Healdsburg High School boys basketball team put on another strong defensive performance to win its first-round North Coast Section playoff game, defeating Roseland University Prep 57-36 Wednesday night at home.

The Greyhounds (21-6 overall, 8-2 North Bay League-Redwood Division) entered the NCS Division 4 tournament as the No. 5 seed after narrowly losing 55-51 to Maria Carrillo High School last Friday.

Roseland University Prep (17-6 overall, 7-1 North Central League II), the No. 12 seed, came into Wednesday’s game looking for some redemption in a rematch after losing to Healdsburg at the start of the season in late November.

In their first matchup, the ’Hounds also used their impressive defense - which has only allowed opponents an average 42.8 points per game - to defeat the Knights 63-34.

Healdsburg entered Wednesday’s contest looking to repeat that performance.

“We just watched the film and saw what they were doing offensively and tried to prepare for it in practice,” Healdsburg coach Yasha Mokaram said.

To start the game, the ’Hounds passed the ball well and found some good looks on the offensive end but had trouble converting.

The Knights, on the other hand, tested a few different offensive strategies to open the game. First, they played at a fast tempo and tried to score early in the shot clock. When that didn’t work, they tried to run some set plays and work the clock, but Healdsburg’s defense shut that down as well.

Thanks to some good defense of their own, and some clutch 3-pointers on offense, the Knights went into the second quarter only down 7-6.

The ’Hounds offense settled in in the second quarter and started to feed senior Trey Chapman, who found good looks from all over the post.

“He’s the hardest guy to guard in the county, I think. If you guard him one on one, you’re in trouble, so for us it’s just a matter of trying to get him in a one-on-one spot and when the double teams come, guys got to step up and play,” Mosharam said. “But if we go to him enough usually, he’s able to get some one-on-one looks, so he’s pretty much unguardable in that sense.”

On the other end, Healdsburg’s defense only grew stronger as the ’Hounds created turnovers and forced the Knights to take difficult shots.

Healdsburg went on a 19-6 run and led 26-12 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Healdsburg’s defense wasn’t quite as strong and allowed a little more scoring from Roseland.

But the ’Hounds made up for it on offense, as they continued to find success feeding their big man Chapman - everything he touched seemed to go in.

Chapman, along with Healdsburg junior guard Xzavier Vasquez (who found his touch in the second half), became almost impossible to stop on offense late in the game and the ’Hounds went into the final quarter leading 42-26.

The Knights increased their defensive intensity in the fourth quarter, but that only resulted in putting the Healdsburg players at the free-throw line.

Turning back late comeback attempts by Roseland, the ’Hounds were able to cruise to the 57-36 victory, even with Chapman - who led the scoring with 25 points -riding the bench the entire fourth quarter.

Healdsburg moves on to the second round, where it will face fourth-seeded Piedmont High School.