Kimball’s chance to move up in the Valley Oak League boys basketball standings hit a snag Thursday, Jan. 10, with a 67-57 loss at home to the Sierra Timberwolves.

The loss leaves the Jaguars (10-7, 2-2 VOL) in third place in the league and puts Sierra (14-3, 4-0) in contention with Weston Ranch for first place.

Except for the first quarter, when Sierra took a 21-9 lead, the teams kept pace with each other through most of the game.

Senior guard DeVante Baisa said the Jaguars have to work on being consistent for the entire game.

“Shots weren’t falling, layups weren’t going in,” Baisa said. “The overall intensity picked up (in the second half). Defense was better and we got more offensive rebounds. That enabled us to get more shots.”

Kimball coach Joe Lawrence said Sierra took the early lead when the Timberwolves denied Kimball offensive rebounds.

“That’s a well-coached team, and they play hard on defense,” Lawrence said. “I was proud of my kids, the way they played tonight. They hung in there the second half and kept fighting the whole time.”

Kimball got back into the game in the second quarter with five 3-point shots, including two of Baisa’s three 3-pointers. Baisa led the Jaguars with 17 points.

The team totaled nine shots from behind the arc, including three from senior Alex Toledo.

Senior Evan Owens added 11 points and also had eight rebounds, senior Derek Van de Streek scored eight, including one 3-pointer, and junior J.D. Schmidt scored six on two outside shots.

• Contact Bob Brownne at 830-4227 or brownne@tracypress.com.