After back-to-back losses Tuesday and Thursday, the varsity Cougar basketball boys closed out the week with a victory on Friday.
They fell to Ripon Christian and Ripon but defeated Orestimba, to close out the first half of Trans-Valley League play at 3-3.
Hosting RC on Jan. 21, it was a 57-44 varsity loss.
The visitors held a 22-17 lead at the half; Escalon moved ahead with a 15-7 run in the third to go up 32-29 heading into the final quarter. But a 28-12 advantage for the Knights in the fourth saw them take the win.
“Ripon Christian entered this game coming off their first TVL loss of the season, vs. crosstown rival Ripon, so we knew they’d be motivated. Besides that, they’ve won the TVL title three seasons in a row, so they have that pedigree,” said head coach Nate Bartelink. “We played very poorly in the two most important quarters of the game; the first and the fourth. We were careless with the ball in those quarters, and gave RC too many extra possessions due to our excessive turnovers.”
Danny Gonzalez had 11 points and four steals for Escalon, with Ben Ferreira putting in nine points and notching four assists. Ryan Lewis had six points, nine rebounds; Logan Huebner and Ryan Murphy added six points apiece.
Thursday, the boys were on the road and lost at Ripon, 53-39.
“Ripon came into the game coming off their first loss of league to Sonora. They were extremely physical on defense. We missed several makeable shots at the rim throughout the first half and were only able to score 10 points,” Bartelink said. “Our defense did a great job holding them to 20 first half points.”
Escalon battled back in the third quarter and cut the deficit to four points, but couldn’t get any closer.
“We were expending so much energy coming back against Ripon’s physicality, it took a lot out of us, physically, mentally and emotionally, and we weren’t able to sustain a run,” the coach pointed out. “The effort was there, but I don’t think we had the correct mentality when the game started. We seemed a little tentative.”
Ben Ferreira and Huebner had 10 points each; Lewis added six and Murphy had five.
Coming back in a big way on Friday, the varsity victory over Orestimba, 65-38, capped a Cougar sweep of the visiting Warriors.
“Before the game, we stressed to the team to go out and have fun; they all chose to play basketball at some point in their life because they enjoyed it. We wanted them to play loose, without any pressure, and have a great time competing with their friends and teammates,” explained Bartelink. “I’m not sure if that emphasis made any difference or not, but we definitely came out firing on all cylinders. Orestimba scored the first basket of the game and then we proceeded to go on a 20-0 run and never looked back.”
Escalon was up 28-4 after one, 43-24 at the half and was never really threatened by Orestimba.
Ryan Lewis and Jacob Augusto both celebrated their birthdays with the win.
“I’m always ready to go, I stick together with my team, we’re always trying to play hard, always trying to bring the intensity and work together,” Augusto said, adding that their hectic schedule makes it important for everyone to contribute. “It’s difficult but we play through it, we’re always ready to go.”
For Ben Ferreira, he is settling in after missing all of preseason and the first several league games recuperating from an injury suffered during football.
“Our coaches said before the game, it’s not about them, it’s about us, just making us better,” Ferreira said of the mindset taking the court against Orestimba. “After a few losses we just had to get our momentum back, full swing, ready for the second half of league.”
He also said it feels good to have found his scoring touch once again.
“Now that we’ve been going for a bit I feel like I’m back,” he said, adding that it’s also fun to play at the varsity level with his younger brother Jake, a freshman. “Not a lot of people get to do that, it’s pretty cool having him up and getting to play with him.”
Ferreira paced the team with 14 points; including four threes while Ryan Lewis had 11 points and six rebounds on his birthday. Danny Gonzalez had seven points, four steals and three assists. Jake Ferreira had eight points and three steals, Huebner had seven points, three assist and three steals; Donovan Martinez chipped in with six points and Augusto had five points and four rebounds on his birthday.
“Our defense fueled our offense, we got in transition, and we were shooting it well from deep. In the huddle, after our great first quarter, I told them it was great to see them with smiles on their faces and having fun,” Bartelink said. “We were able to get everyone a good amount of playing time; 10 of our 12 players in uniform scored.”
Friday was also Youth Basketball Night, with kids wearing their Escalon rec or youth hoop team T-shirts admitted for free.
“It was great to see so many future Cougars in the gym for our annual Youth Basketball Night,” Bartelink noted. “The game was pretty entertaining for the fans. I hope that sparked some more interest in basketball amongst the youth in our community.”
JV/FRESHMEN
For the JV boys, they kept their winning streak going, as they defeated Ripon Christian 61-52 to open up the week. They traveled to Ripon on Thursday and got the win, 53-40, and closed out the week with a hard fought 56-50 win over Orestimba on the home court.
The freshmen suffered their first TVL loss at home against Ripon Christian on Jan. 21, falling 40-33 But they bounced back to win the next two, defeating Ripon in a 40-39 thriller on the road Jan. 23 and then got the 62-49 win over visiting Orestimba on Friday night.
The freshmen are at 5-1, second place in the TVL while the JV is at 6-0, first place. The varsity squad went 3-3 in the first round of TVL action.
“We start the second half of TVL play at first place Sonora on Wednesday (Jan. 29). Besides a scrimmage several years ago, I can’t remember our program having a game in their gym,” said Bartelink. “It’s going to be a big game against a tough opponent. We lost a close one against them three weeks ago; one we felt like we let get away. We close the week against Hilmar for Winter Homecoming on Friday.”
The JV boys will play at 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31 followed by the varsity girls at 5:30 p.m., and the varsity boys at 7 p.m.
The freshmen travel to Hilmar on Thursday for a 6:30 p.m. contest.
