Former St. Bernard’s Crusader Owen Shanahan stepped up on Friday night to lead College of the Redwoods men’s basketball team to a tournament-opening win at Napa Valley.
In his first season with the team, Shanahan was forced into a bigger role against the host Storm when teammates Maxx Swanson and Josh Neal got in foul trouble.
And he delivered at both ends of the court to lead the local college program to an 81-63 win, as Redwoods improved to 1-1 on the early season.
“The story of the night for us was Owen Shanahan,” CR head coach Justin Claus said. “With Maxx Swanson and Josh Neal both getting in foul trouble early in the second half, Owen stepped up in a big way on both ends of the floor. We really centered our defense around his rim protection.”
Shanahan’s impact was felt immediately and over the next 10 minutes Napa was unable to get any points in the paint.
And during that time, CR extended its lead from six points to 22 to take control of the game.
But it wasn’t just his defense that stood out.
“Owen was also impressive offensively, playing with tremendous poise and confidence, making great passes, and finding some really impressive finishes around the basket,” Claus added.
Swanson also had a good night despite getting in foul trouble and finished with a team-high 14 points in the win, while Ty Dahlin continued his impressive start to the new season and added 13 points.
Mark Williams chipped in 11 points.
Claus described it as a “great team win.”
“As a team we also found some real offensive rhythm in the second half,” the CR coach added. “We moved the ball, made plays for each otter, and connected in ways we struggled to in our home opener last week.
“It was great to feel like we were playing Redwoods basketball again.”
The Redwoods men will continue tournament play against Mendocino on Saturday.
“Overall I’m really pleased with the way our guys responded and played together tonight,” Claus said. “We’re looking forward to building that momentum against Mendocino.”
