According to legendary basketball coach John Wooden, hard work and enthusiasm are the building blocks to success. The junior varsity Falcons Boys Basketball Club found success in an outstanding summer exhibition with a 15-3 record, running the tables in the Antioch Summer League and showing promise at the University of Santa Barbara team camp in July.

After a challenging freshman season in 2006-07, the young Falcons began working on improving their skills and teamwork this summer after winning only four games last year. With additions from a strong incoming freshman class, second year JV coach Kevin Bain began molding together a core group of basketball talent.

The Falcons finished play in the Antioch JV Summer League last Tuesday with an exciting 43-41 buzzer-beating victory over Heritage Delta Force Club to finish first in the league with a 9-1 record. Incoming freshman Jeff Matteri hit the dramatic, last-second shot to defeat Heritage.

The highlight of the summer for the young Falcons was a trip to Santa Barbara for the largest team camp in the Western United States. The UCSB team camp draws more than 80 teams in five divisions.

Playing in the JV division, the Falcons made the final round of three, going 5-1 in pool play. Victories over Moorpark, Cathedral (L.A.) and Piedmont prepared the Falcons for a showdown with San Diego powerhouse Rancho Bernardo and their 6-foot-10-inch sophomore center, and the Falcons dominated all aspects of the game, coming away with a 51-39 win.

"The camp team was made up of five freshmen and five sophomores and did better than anyone expected," said Bain.

Leading the way for the Falcons was 6-foot-2-inch, 260-pound freshman Darrell Flack, who averaged 11.1 points in the camp and drew the focus of many double and triple teams. Freshman forward Andrew Garner also enjoyed a successful tournament, averaging 14 points per game.

In addition to the outstanding performances of Flack, Garner and Matteri, point guard John Nichols proved to be a solid defender, and 6-foot-3-inch center Dalton Weger was a force inside off the bench.

Sophomore point guard AJ Montecello led the team in steals, while classmate Zach Vetterli led the team in field goal percentage and Brett Clemons averaged 10.6 points per game.

Also contributing to the Falcons' success were Briscoe Allen, Peter Dominguez, Eric Morales, Drew Renart, Josh Carl, Enrique Huerta and Anthony Mays.

- Contributed by Kevin Bain