Understrength Lower Lake squad falls 61-52 to St. Helena

Lower Lake head coach Tim Biasotti looks on during the final minutes of the Trojans' 61-52 loss to the St. Helena Saints on Wednesday night in Lower Lake. Seated next to him are Mahki Johnson and Izzac Carver, who had fouled out of the game. When Carver fouled out late in the fourth quarter, the Trojans had just four players remaining. (Photo by Bob Minenna) — Lower Lake head coach Tim Biasotti looks on during the final minutes of the Trojans’ 61-52 loss to the St. Helena Saints on Wednesday night in Lower Lake. Seated next to him are Mahki Johnson and Izzac Carver, who had fouled out of the game. When Carver fouled out late in the fourth quarter, the Trojans had just four players remaining. (Photo by Bob Minenna)

UPDATED: January 10, 2019 at 1:45 PM PST

LOWER LAKE — One night after losing four players to ejections in a 69-46 home loss to Clear Lake, the Lower Lake Trojans were right back on the floor against St. Helena in a North Central League I varsity boys basketball game Wednesday evening at Lower Lake.

With only six players available to him, Lower Lake head coach Tim Biasotti said the Trojans “did what they could” in a 61-52 loss to the Saints.
“It’s tough with six guys,” said Biasotti, who declined to move up players from a junior varsity team he would rather keep intact.

A bigger problem than suiting up just a half-dozen players was the amount of practice time the Trojans have had the last three weeks, which is not much because of the recent winter break, according to Biasotti.

Lower Lake's Vann Wilkins drives inside to score two of hims game-leading 23 points. (Photo by Bob Minenna)

“We got off to a great start, 9-4, and now we’re not clicking like we were before,” Biasotti said. “We have these good athletes and it’s hard to watch.”

One of the players responsible for Lower Lake’s 9-4 start, the school’s best in years, is also unavailable to the team as he has yet to return from winter break.

Lower Lake's Izzac Carver goes up for a shot against St. Helena. He finished with six points. (Photo by Bob Minenna)

“We could have used Donald (Vaughn),” Biasotti said.

Biasotti said he feels like the season is beginning to slip away and is hoping his players can pull it back together again, and soon. They face another tough opponent Friday when they travel to Cloverdale (2-1).

Vann Wilkins, a sophomore, scored a team-best 23 points against St. Helena, which gradually pulled away from Lower Lake (1-2 league, 9-6 overall). The Saints led 21-16 after one quarter, 34-25 at halftime and 46-36 through three quarters. Freshman Mahki Johnson added 10 points while Izzac Carver, MikeTaliaferro and Semaj Clark added six points apiece.