The Deer Valley boys basketball team isn’t perfect, but for a quarter and a half of its 75-12 victory over Antioch last Friday, it came pretty close. The Wolverines (15-4, 3-0 in the Bay Valley Athletic League) held Antioch (0-14, 0-3) scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the game, building a 44-0 lead before Antioch’s Artrell Banks put the Panthers on the board with 5:50 left in the second quarter. “We have a good group of kids; we’re getting there,” said Deer Valley assistant coach Pat Saindon. Deer Valley’s two senior stars, center Marcus Lee (six points) and guard Kendall Smith (five points), recorded their lowest point totals of the season, but it didn’t matter. Both took an early seat on the bench after Deer Valley opened up a 21-0 lead four minutes into the game. Deer Valley senior Wahied Emran scored 12 points, and junior guards Mario Goins and Nsimba Webster each notched 11 to preserve the big win. The Wolverines led 40-0 after a quarter, 56-3 at halftime and 66-9 after three quarters. “I let kids play that haven’t played all year,” Saindon said “We get to rest some kids, and teach them to win with class. We’re not here only to win, but to teach basketball etiquette.” Deer Valley followed up the impressive victory with a 97-92 loss to Sheldon last Saturday and a 55-54 win against Newark Memorial Monday. The Wolverines return to the court at home against Liberty, and Antioch hosts Pittsburg, on Jan. 25 at 5:30 p.m.

Deer Valley 72, Antioch 22

The Deer Valley girls team (10-7, 2-1) rode the wave of dominance set in motion by the boys team in a 72-22 victory over Antioch (4-15, 0-3) the same night. Much like their male counterparts, the lady Wolverines opened up a big lead, engineering a 14-0 run in the first four minutes to set the tone. The win represented a big rebound from a loss to league foe Heritage three nights earlier. Down 25-2 at the end of the first quarter, freshman guard Taynay Burton capped a 5-0 run to cut Antioch’s deficit to 29-10 with 5:23 to go in the second quarter, but it was too little too late. Burton led the Panthers with eight points. “My girls competed the whole game,” said Antioch head coach Nick Wisely. “All I ask is for them to give me their all the whole game. We’re going to make mistakes because we’re a young team.” The Wolverines put the game away with a big run to end the first half. Junior Alejandra Cephas canned a three with less than a minute to go in the second quarter to send the Wolverines into the locker room with a 42-11 lead. Deer Valley freshman guard Jordan Morales finished with 22 points, and senior center Shelby Eastom finished with 11. Deer Valley parlayed the big W into an 84-65 win over Pleasant Grove last Saturday. The Wolverines return to the court Friday at home against Liberty at 7 p.m. Antioch hosts Pittsburg at the same time.