Falcons dismantle Greenwood in opener
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford Falcons boys basketball team started out their 2024-25 season with a blowout victory, cruising past the Greenwood Indians 75-28 in their season opener.
There is plenty of experience returning for the Falcons varsity squad, with all four of their top scorers from last season still on the roster. Seniors Grayson Totzke and AJ Brodhagen both earned all-conference honorable mention awards last season, leading Abbotsford in scoring by putting up 9.2 and 7.2 points per game respectively. Totzke also led the team in threepoint shots made with 36, and rebounds per game with 5.6. Brodhagen was named to the All-Defensive team, registering the second most blocks and rebounds for the Falcons last year.
Junior Irvin Aguilera was also a starter last season and will once again slot in as a guard for the Falcons. He was tied for third for Abbotsford in scoring last season, putting up 6.6 points per game and he also led the team with 33 steals. Senior Payton Schreiber will be back as well, also recording 6.6 points per game. His .388 shooting percentage on 49 shots from beyond the arc during the 2023-24 season was the Falcons’ best.
Senior Miguel Bautista and juniors Koren Decker and Jack Sheahan will also return after getting varsity minutes last season. Newcomers who did not play last year but could also see time on the court include juniors Christian Fuentes, Irvin Davila and Chase Boller, as well as underclassmen Carter Cihlar, Rodrigo Perez and Alex Garcia.
The Falcons will be looking to continue to build upon their 4-21 campaign. The four wins last year were double the victories from the 2022-23 season and there were a number of close games that Abbotsford came up short in. Second-year head coach Garrett Rau hopes that having more varsity experience under many of the starters' belts will help them pull out more wins in those types of games.
“We lost a number of games by one basket last year,” Rau said. “We were really close to turning that corner, and that’s been something we’ve talked about as a group a lot. Doing the little things correctly, so that we can turn that corner and we can get back to a place where we have been successful in the past. The flashes were there a lot last year, we just didn’t sustain it for long enough periods of time to win games. And so I’m excited to continue to build with those guys that are coming back and come out on the better side of the tight matchups we are going to have.”
Having already played a season in the system and not having to face an opening schedule as grueling as the one last year will also help the returning leaders.
While they have that experience to lean on, Rau also noted that bringing the new faces into the fold quickly will be a key to success for Abbotsford.
“We have a handful of guys where, the faster we can bring them up to speed, get them acclimated to everything, the better off we will be, the deeper we will be,” he added. “We want to play with pace again, apply pressure defensively in the full court. All those things kind of require depth, so we are going to have to develop that a little bit.”
Keeping up the tempo and using the team’s athleticism will still be the focus for this season’s Falcons. Creating turnovers and finding points in transition helped shift momentum in some of Abbotsford’s wins last season and utilizing the speed and athletic ability of this year’s team will be one of the squad’s strengths.
“The guys we have coming back are athletic kids,” Rau said. “The kids that didn’t play last year have been really big contributors in football and track and other sports. Our base skill level is also a bit higher. I think we will be better shooting the ball than we were last year, which kind of hurt us at times, while also, with our length and athleticism, being able to be good defensively and get after people a little bit.”
All of that was certainly on display in the Falcons first game of the season. Abbotsford put on the pressure early and did not let up, dominating the first half with their full court press and transition basketball.
The hosting Falcons forced 53 turnovers from the opposing Greenwood squad, getting 31 steals and producing 46 points off of possessions following an Indian giveaway. Much of that damage was done in the first half as the Abbotsford press created chaos for Greenwood’s offense. While the Indians shot well when they had the opportunity, making 40 percent of their shots from the field, they were only able to attempt 25 field goals the entire game. Meanwhile, the Falcons shot 37.3 percent on 83 shots, over three times as many as Greenwood attempted.
Totzke started the scoring off with a bang, turning a steal into a transition twohanded slam to get Abbotsford on the board. The first six Indians possessions ended in turnovers and Abbotsford was able to extend their lead out to 9-0. Greenwood found their first field goal three minutes into the contest, but Aguilera answered back with a three-point shot on the Falcons next time down the court.
The Indians managed to pull back within eight a few possessions later, but once again, Abbotsford had an immediate
See ABBY BB PREVIEW/ Page 16
2024-25 ABBOTSFORD BOYS BASKETBALL TEAM - This year’s 2024-25 Abbotsford boys basketball team is, in the back row, left to right, AJ Brodhagen, Jose Rodriguez, Guillermo Garcia, Payton Schreiber, Gustavo Diaz, Marco Garcia, Christian Martinez, Jimmy Reyes, Long Nguyen and Grayson Totzke. In the middle row, from left to right, are Ivan Lopez, Kevin Gutierrez, Manny Lopez, Irvin Davila, Dylan Moreno, Irvin Aguilera, Christian Fuentes, Jack Sheahan, Rodrigo Perez, Caleb Kulesa, Troung Nguyen and Max Severson. In the front row, left to right, are Parker Schreiber, Carlos Beltran, Tyler Yeske, Chase Boller, Alex Garcia, Carter Cihlar, Koren Decker, Miguel Bautista, Andy Tran, Khang Nguyen and Khoi Nguyen. Not pictured are Eliut Ortiz, Max Torres, Christian Garcia. The Falcons are coached by Garrett Rau.
FROM DOWNTOWN - Koren Decker launches up a three against Greenwood. He had four three-point shots and 16 points against the Indians.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD Abby BB preview
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comeback. Decker sank a quick three for the Falcons a few seconds after Greenwood’s basket and kicked off a run that would turn the game into a blowout.
Over the next eight and a half minutes, the Falcons scored 22 straight points. They forced Greenwood into 21 turnovers over that stretch, 12 of which came via steals. Totzke led the way in scoring for the Falcons, scoring 12 points and hitting a corner three that put Abbotsford up 37-4.
While the Indians picked up seven points over the final five minutes of the period, Abbotsford’s advantage only grew and they took a 52-11 lead into halftime.
Turnovers continued to pile up for the visitors in the opening minutes of the second period. Their first seven possessions ended without a shot, six of them concluding in a steal by the Falcons. While they lacked some of the same efficiency on offense they had in the first half, two threes courtesy of Decker allowed Abbotsford to take a 62-14 lead.
A basket from Perez extended the home team’s advantage past the 50 point mark with 11 minutes left in the contest and the game slowed from there, both teams scoring a combined 16 points over the final stretch.
Totzke recorded a double-double in the win, putting up 26 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the field and pulling down 10 rebounds. He also had eight steals, five assists and one block to lead the Falcons across the board.
Decker finished the game with four makes from beyond the arc and 16 points. Brodhagen had eight points, Aguilera added seven points, five steals and three assists and Garcia had six points. Fuentes scored five points, Schreiber, Perez and Bautista all ended the game with two points and Sheahan had one point.
TWO HAND SLAM - Grayson Totzke goes up for the dunk on a transition basket for the Falcons in their win over Greenwood.
STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD
