The return of an injured player just in time for the start of the Trans-Valley League season provided some spark for the varsity Cougars on the basketball court this past week.
“Our team got a huge shot in the arm this week with a return of a key injured player. Everyone knows star players Sam Jimenez and Ben Ferreira have been out all season due to injuries they sustained during football,” noted varsity basketball head coach Nate Bartelink. “Anyone that follows us also knows how much we have missed having them on the court. Both of them have remained important parts of our team, attending all practices and games, providing great leadership, even still serving as team captains, along with Logan Huebner.”
This week, just as they opened up TVL action, Ferreira was able to get back on the court.
“Ben Ferreira’s rehab process moved along much faster than expected. We did not expect to have him all season, but he was fully cleared on Monday (Jan. 6). It’s a credit to his hard work through the rehab process,” Bartelink noted of the junior. “He brings a lot of the exact things we have been missing at the guard position; strong ball handling, leadership, experience, playmaking, shot making, and perimeter defense. We’ve had several guys do a good job expanding their roles and playing out of position a bit, but Ben brings a certain pace of play that cannot be matched on our roster. It’s great to have him back. I’m very happy for him and his family. He’s going to help us a ton.”
Wednesday, Jan. 8, TVL play tipped off for Escalon as they hosted league newcomer Sonora in the Cougar Dome.
“Sonora is a highly respected program in our area, coached really well, and always a playoff contender. We also added Orestimba to the TVL, while losing Riverbank and Livingston,” said Bartelink. “The changes occurred due to the recent CIF SJS league realignment.”
Hosting the Wildcats, Escalon had the lead through three quarters but couldn’t hold off the visitors in the final frame, ultimately falling by a close 54-50 final.
Up 10-9 after one quarter, the host Cougars led it 25-18 at the half. They continued to hold a slight edge, 36-32, entering the fourth quarter, but Sonora went on a 22-14 run over the final eight minutes to grab the game away from the host Cougars.
We knew we had a challenge in front of us coming in. They had some really good varsity returners from last season and brought in a JV team that only lost one game last season. We played them in a scrimmage very early in the season, before both teams had their football players. Our defensive gameplan was to shut down a couple of their key guards. Credit to our guys for following that gameplan perfectly. We held their best shooter to zero points. We also held their second leading scorer to four points, well below his average.”
The coach credited Danny Gonzalez and Ben Ferreira with some solid defensive work during the contest.
Unfortunately, we did not account for or adjust to another one of their players, who scored 30 points. Most of his shots were contested, tough shots, so we give him credit for making those shots. We again held a lead in the fourth quarter and weren’t able to hold on,” the coach explained. “Those are the types of games we’re going to have to learn how to close out if we are going to make any noise in the TVL or playoffs. Both our offense and defense let us down in the fourth quarter. It was disappointing to say the least.”
Leading the way for Escalon were Ryan Lewis, 16 points, eight rebounds; Ben Ferreira, 12 points, seven rebounds; Logan Huebner, eight points and eight rebounds.
Hitting the road for a Friday night game, the Cougars defeated the host Yellowjackets, 59-41.
They had a 20-11 lead after one, 35-15 at the half and held Hilmar at bay.
“It was a good bounce back performance. We played with a lot of energy and effort from the start and jumped on Hilmar pretty good. We maintained a 20-plus point lead for much of the game, even approaching 30 at one point in the second half,” Bartelink said of the Cougars shaking off the home loss and winning big on the road. “Hilmar made a surge late once the game was out of reach. Eleven of our 13 players in uniform scored, which was good to see.”
Lewis had 15 points and eight rebounds; Logan Huebner had a solid performance with 12 points, six rebounds, and four steals. Also in double figures was Gonzalez with 10 points. Ben Ferreira had two points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals. Conner Jones contributed with four points and eight rebounds.
The varsity capped off a busy week with a Saturday non-league game, hosting Bradshaw Christian and winning that contest by a 65-45 final. Running out to a 19-14 first quarter edge, the Cougars made it 40-27 at the half with a strong second quarter, and continued to keep the pressure on the visitors in the second half.
“This was our last non-league game of the season. We played at a high level offensively for three quarters. Our defense created a lot of offense for us, we shared the ball, got high quality shots, and made them at a high percentage,” Bartelink said. “Ryan Murphy played really well in the first half scoring 12 of his 14 points; he also contributed in other areas with his rebounding, passing and steals. The game was played with a lot of pace, increasing the number of possessions. I thought our overall team defense was strong; limiting Bradshaw to only 45 points, even though they undoubtedly had more possessions than a team typically would have in a game.”
Murphy had 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals; Lewis had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“Daniel Gonzalez had 11 points; he played great all week. His best three-game stretch of the season,” the coach noted. “Logan Huebner had 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals; he continues to fill the stat sheet.”
Ben Ferreira closed out his first week back with nine points and four assists in the Saturday win.
JV/FRESHMEN
Against Sonora on Jan. 8, it was a hard fought 47-45 home victory, the JV Cougars battling back against a determined Sonora team that made it close in the fourth quarter.
On the road Friday, Jan. 10 at Hilmar the JV boys put their second consecutive TVL win on the books with a nine-point margin of victory, 57-48.
Getting right back on the court Saturday, the JV boys lost to visiting Bradshaw Christian in non-league play by a 53-31 final.
The freshmen won three out of three for the week, first putting away Sonora by a 59-38 final. They were then on the home court for league action Thursday, Jan. 9 and took down Hilmar by a 46-37 final. Finally, they closed out the week with a non-league victory Saturday afternoon, Jan. 11 as they defeated visiting Bradshaw Christian 42-27.
Currently, the varsity is 11-7 overall and 1-1 in league play, ranked number 11 in the most recent CIF SJS Division 4 rankings. The JV boys sit at 2-0 in the TVL, 12-6 overall while the freshmen are now 9-9 overall, 2-0 in league.
“It’ll be nice just having one game due to a bye on Friday, Jan. 17. We’ve had at least three games per week for many weeks in a row. It’s been go, go, go,” Bartelink said. “It’ll be good to slow down a bit; work on some things at practice. We’ll break up the week with a road game at Hughson on Wednesday, Jan. 15.”
