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Story and photos by Liz AlperDecember 17, 2021 (El Cajon) - Grossmont Union High School District may be on winter break, but high school sports keep right on chugging. Ready for some basketball, ECM Sports traveled to El Cajon to see a great East County matchup featuring a team we don’t get to cover very often. The Bulldogs traveled down the hill from Ramona to El Cajon to square off against the Eagles of Granite Hills. Both teams are off to a great start to the season; the Granite Hills guys are 8-1 so far and are undefeated (6-0) at home. The Ramona boys have just started their season, but are 2-1 so far.
Junior guard Carson Ward kicked off the scoring for Ramona with a smooth three to which Granite answered on their next possession. But from there, sophomore Chase Newman and senior Adam Moe tallied two points each quickly and the Dawgs embarked on a 10-2 run. The Eagles could only get one jumper in and after that, the Bulldogs raced away on a 7-0 run to go up 20-7 after one.
Ramona cooled off in the second quarter, allowing Granite Hills to slowly climb back into it by way of forced turnovers, free throws and easy layups. But the Bulldogs regained some of their momentum by the end of the half and increased their lead to 11, 30-19, at the end of 16 minutes.
Both teams were a little sluggish coming out of the half, but were soon trading fouls. The scoring that DID occur belonged to Granite Hills, who, thanks to a big three, a jumper and another huge three, found themselves equal with the Dawgs for the first time since the first quarter. We were tied at 34 after three quarters.The Eagles took advantage of Ramona’s sudden fall from grace and embarked on a 4-0 run to take the lead in the fourth. The run was broken only by two free throws by Newman that kept the Dawgs within two. A big three from senior Eli Vogelhuber and a layup from Newman gave the Dawgs the lead again, but Granite answered with a layup of their own to stay in front. Junior Azlan Enriquez joined the basket trade, regaining the lead for the Dawgs, but a Ramona foul sent the Eagles to the charity stripe, where they hit both free throws to take the lead once more. The Eagles pulled away for a little bit, but Newman tied the game on a fast break layup. The Eagles missed two critical free throws and with a minute left, Enriquez nailed the game-winning three, which was followed by a layup and another two by Enriquez, and the Eagles suffered their first home loss of the season in an exciting non-league matchup, 53-46. Ramona moves to 3-1, while the Eagles fall to 8-2.
UP NEXT
Both teams will face Christian schools next week. The Eagles host Victory Christian at 6 p.m. on Monday, while the Bulldogs travel to Vista to face Tri-City Christian at 6 p.m.
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