By MARTY JAMES
It was a special night for Napa Valley College's Raekwon Bell and Ethan Williams.
The two were honored on "Sophomore Night" in a pregame ceremony Tuesday. Joined by their families, they were introduced by head coach Steve Ball and were presented with action photos of themselves.
Bell, a 6-foot-3 forward, scored 14 points, including 4-of-4 free-throw shooting.
Williams, a 6-5 forward, scored eight points, going 2-of-2 at the free-throw line.
Their contributions were key, as Napa Valley, playing its final home game of the regular season, beat College of Marin-Kentfield, 81-80, in a Bay Valley Conference men's basketball game.
"They're two great young men. They're going to do good things in life," said Ball. "I feel like both Ethan and (Raekwon) have been through some difficult times. Both of their seasons were two of the toughest seasons that I've had. Personally, from a basketball standpoint, two of the toughest years that I've had.
"They redefined resiliency to me. There's resiliency and there's toughness. They just kept coming back every day, wanting to be in the basketball gym. They stuck to it. And as tough as things were for everybody involved, they kept coming back. And because they're sophomores, I think they made sure that everybody else came back with that same mentality as well."
It was the third win of the season for Napa Valley (3-24 overall, 3-12 Bay Valley Conference), which trailed by four points at halftime, 43-39.
Chris Farrington had another super game, leading Napa Valley with 25 points, including 17 in the second half. It was Farrington – coming off a sensational 48-point game with six 3-pointers against Solano Community College on Feb. 16 – who scored the go-ahead basket on a layup, coast to coast style, with 10.8 seconds to go. It gave the Storm a one-point lead, 81-80.
"He got that rebound on his own and pushed the tempo. And he knew the situation, time and score," said Ball. "He just took it upon himself to go get the rebound himself and push it himself. So that was the goal."
Said Farrington: "I just went full-speed, like nobody was in front of me. And I just got to the basket. Whatever I could do to get my team a win.
"It was a big win. Last home game. We've had a lot of ups and downs this season. We want to protect our home court and finish strong. And that was a big thing tonight for me – just get my sophomores their last win at home and hopefully get some momentum when we go to Yuba."
Farrington, a 6-1 freshman guard, is doing it all for Napa Valley: scoring, rebounding, defending, getting his teammates involved with his passing and ball handling and playmaking abilities. He's averaging 14.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He is also shooting 37.9 percent from the field, 29.3 percent from 3-point range, and 65.7 percent from the free-throw line.
"In just the last couple of weeks, he's just made huge play after huge play. He just shoots such a high percentage lately," said Ball. "He's getting off those on-ball screens. He's making great reads for teammates. He's a catalyst and he's developed so much."
It's been a big year of basketball for Farrington, who has scored 20 or more points in eight games for the Storm. He has been in the program since 2021, but had not been able to play due to injuries.
"My confidence level is at an all-time high right now. Just excited right now. I'm happy to be back after two years of sitting on the sideline. I'm just happy to be out here playing," said Farrington.
"Honestly, I've just been playing basketball. I haven't been thinking about anything – just trying to win. I don't really care about points. I don't really care about personal stats. I just care about winning and whatever I can do to get my team to the finish line."
Jerard Jackson scored 15 points on five 3-pointers.
"He shoots the ball really well. He gets shot ready. He's just tunnel vision on it and he's shot ready," Ball said of Jackson. "He does his homework before he gets the ball. He preps his feet. He preps his mentality so that he's shot ready every single time it comes. It's such a threat to have someone who can shoot the ball opposite Farrington."
Jalen Moore scored seven points, Nate Broome had five points, Jamari Taylor had four points and Hassan Flemming had three points.
Napa Valley was down by 10 points, 52-42, early in the second half. The Storm got back in the game with runs of 7-0, 7-0, 5-0 and 7-0.
College of Marin (10-17 overall, 7-8 Bay Valley Conference) took a one-point lead, 80-79, late in the game.
Marin used an 11-0 run to take a 21-11 lead.
Napa Valley closed the gap to one point, 21-20, going on a 9-0 run.
Farrington is happy that he could step up and help the Storm get a win on "Sophomore Night," for Bell and Williams.
"This is for them tonight. When I went down last year, those are two guys that were there for me. They helped lift me up every day when I came to practice. I just appreciate those guys," said Farrington.
He added: "I'm just trying to be aggressive, trying to get to the basket. Shout out to (Broome), for setting those screens for me and giving me that lane. That's all I'm trying to do, is get to the basket and get downhill."
NVC did a very good job defending late in the game. College of Marin had the ball with 1.3 showing on the clock. The Mariners missed on their shot attempt.
Marin had three players score in double figures: Justin Aquino with 23 points, including five 3-pointers; Tre McPherson with 18 points, and Logan Coverson with 12 points.
Cobi Wilson had eight points. Jabez Worthington and Devin Mims each had seven points.
Napa Valley was 15-of-18 from the free-throw line. Marin was 18-of-22.
Napa Valley closes out the season when it goes to Yuba College-Marysville (25-2 overall, 15-0 Bay Valley Conference), the league's first-place team, on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
* Marty James is a freelance writer who makes his home in Napa. He retired on June 4, 2019 after spending 40 years as a sports writer, sports editor and executive sports editor for the Napa Valley Register, a daily newspaper in Napa County. He is a 1979 graduate of Sacramento State and a member of the California Golf Writers & Broadcasters Association. He was inducted into the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Hall of Fame in 2016, the Vintage High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019, and the Napa High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.