COLONY — Travis Hermreck asked his Crest High squad before its game Tuesday the number of players who expected the Lancers to win.
“Not a hand went up,” Hermreck said.
After the young Lancer squad opened the season with three straight losses, Crest rebounded to win Friday.
They added to the win column Tuesday, rolling to a 76-59 win over Pleasanton.
“What a difference a week makes,” Hermreck said.
Now comes three weeks of practice before play resumes Jan. 7. “Lots of practice,” Hermreck said of the upcoming vacation.
An old standby led the way for the victors.
Brock Ellis, still working his way back into form following a devastating knee injury in March, led the way with 27 points and 14 rebounds.
“He finally looked like himself again,” Hermreck said. “He was fighting it a bit in the first half, but he relaxed and got into the flow after halftime.”
Crest led 21-12 in the first quarter and 39-25 at the break.
The hot shooting of Pleasanton’s Cale Campbell made things interesting in the second half.
“The next thing you know, our 15-point lead was down to eight or nine,” Hermreck said. “Things got a little tense, but I’m happy with how we responded.”
Hunter Frazell poured in 16 for the Lancers. Austin Green added 13 points and five assists.
Campbell wound up with 26 points, including six 3-pointers.
“I was really happy with how hard we played,” Hermreck said. “We weren’t perfect defensively, but we were disruptive. We did a good job of controlling the tempo.”
Pleasanton (12-13-17-17—59)
Crest (1-18-15-22—76)
Pleasanton (FG/3pt-FT-F-TP): Johnson 0/1-0-3-3, Bauer 4/1-4-3-15, Laver 1-0-2-2, Baker 0/2-0-3-6, Cole Campbell 2-1-5-5, Cale Campbell 2-4-4-26, Lowe 1-0-0-2. TOTALS: 10/10-9-20-59.
