A win on Thursday was sandwiched in between a pair of losses for Escalon’s varsity basketball boys.
They played in the Oakdale Rotary Tournament from Wednesday, Dec. 28 through Friday, Dec. 30 and fell to Sonora and Beyer while defeating Bret Harte.
Facing off with Sonora in the opening round on Dec. 28, it was a 45-31 loss for the Cougars.
They opened up on a 10-6 run in the first quarter but scored no points in the second, trailing 17-10 at the half. The teams traded points, 14-14, in the third but Sonora doubled up the Cougars, 14-7, over the final eight minutes to get the victory.
“We struggled to find a way to generate offense. It was by far our season low in points. Sonora is physical, well coached, and will be a playoff team in our division,” said head coach Nate Bartelink. “We struggled against their zone. Our defense did a good job keeping us in the game, but our offense never showed up.”
Scoring leader Jack Anderson did all he could in the second half, Bartelink added.
“He was aggressive, scoring all 14 of his points during those 16 minutes. We only had four guys score on the night; Sammy Jimenez contributed 12 points,” Bartelink said. “We need more consistent offensive contributions from more guys against quality teams.”
Thursday, it was another fairly low scoring game but, this time, the Cougars came out on top with a 46-42 win over Bret Harte. Trailing 18-14 after the first quarter, Escalon went on a 13-4 run in the second to take a 27-22 lead at the half. They were outscored by the Bullfrogs 20-19 over the last two quarters but held on for the win.
“We had already played Bret Harte our first game of the season, so we had a good idea on what to expect. I feel like we played down to our opponent. We didn’t perform like I had hoped after a disappointing offensive performance the night before,” the coach admitted. “We started the game out playing uninspired defense. On a positive note, our guards did a good job attacking the rim and seeking out higher percentage shots. We also did a good job executing the sets we were running throughout the game. We were up 12 points with a minute and a half left in the game, but they hit three straight shots to make it interesting. A win is a win, but we didn’t feel good about it.”
Jack Anderson paced the team with 17 points and Sammy Jimenez added 13; Logan Huebner chipped in with five points.
Friday, Dec. 30, the Cougars closed out the calendar year against a tough Beyer team, losing by a 63-42 decision. Even with the Patriots in the first quarter at 12-12, Escalon went cold in the second and trailed 24-17 halfway through. Beyer kept the pressure on in the third and outscored Escalon 22-10 in that frame to take a 46-27 lead and were a couple of points better than the Cougars in the fourth to seal the win.
“We had also played Beyer earlier in the season and knew they were one of the toughest opponents on our schedule. They fly around on defense and have some shot makers. The third quarter was the difference in the game, but throughout the game, we gave them too many additional possessions by not defensive rebounding well, and by not taking care of the ball,” explained Bartelink. “You simply cannot let good teams get extra possessions. We struggled against their zone, which has been a theme recently, unfortunately.”
Leading the team once again was senior Jack Anderson, who had a dozen points.
“He showed a lot of toughness playing through a sprained ankle that he sustained late in the first quarter. He continued playing without even considering sitting out. He’s a gamer,” Bartelink said.
Also notching a dozen points was Ben Fletcher.
“Played his best game since coming back from an injury a couple weeks ago. We need him to consistently play at a similar level if we are going to do anything significant in league play,” the coach said of Fletcher.
Huebner had six points in the final game.
The Cougars stood at 9-6 following the tournament and were to have one final tune-up game on Monday, Jan. 2. Then, they open up Trans-Valley League play on the road, Wednesday, Jan. 4 at Riverbank and Friday, Jan. 6 at Ripon Christian. The Knights come in as the favorite for the TVL title at the varsity level.
“Every season is a journey, with highs and lows. You’re not always going to play your best basketball. We need to continue to do the little things throughout the game, even when our shots are not falling,” Bartelink summarized. “We just need to stay the course and I think our offense will come around. We have some talented guys that can put the ball in the basket; we’re just lacking consistency right now, and need to be more aggressive.”
