Two out of three games for the varsity basketball Cougars went in the win column this past week, while the JV and freshmen also each got a pair of victories.

Tuesday, the teams opened at home against Summerville.

For the varsity, it was a 59-45 win in the Dec. 3 preseason contest.

The teams were knotted at 13-13 after one quarter but Escalon opened it up in the second, outscoring Summerville 19-10 to take a 32-23 lead at the half. A 16-6 run in the third made it 48-29 but Summerville did battle back in the final frame, outscoring Escalon 16-11. It wasn’t enough to make up the deficit, though, with the host Cougars notching the win.

“Our frontline players; Logan Huebner, Ryan Lewis, and Ryan Murphy, got us going offensively scoring all 13 of our first quarter points. We created some separation in the second quarter and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game,” said head coach Nate Bartelink. “The defense was solid overall, but we had 20 turnovers; that’s way too many turnovers against a team that doesn’t pressure the ball.”

Ryan Lewis had 16 points and 10 rebounds; Logan Huebner added 15 points, nine rebounds; Ryan Murphy chipped in with seven points, as did sophomore Conner Jones, scoring seven points.

The JV boys won by a 59-32 final score and the freshmen gutted out a tough, tight victory, 36-30.

Wednesday on the road at Tokay, the varsity took a loss in overtime, 59-56.

They trailed at the half, but got back in to the game with a strong run in the third to trim the Tokay lead, then got it knotted it up by the end of regulation before falling by just a handful of points in the OT.

“We weren’t ready to play in the first quarter. That was evident by our 12 first quarter turnovers. We’re having difficulty handling pressure without injured players Sam Jimenez and Ben Ferreira. Opponents aren’t going to feel sorry for us. We need guys to step up, handle the ball with poise, and get us into our offense,” Bartelink said. “The deficit reached 18 points early in the second quarter, but I’ll give our guys credit; they kept battling through difficult circumstances in an unfamiliar gym, in a game that was officiated strangely to say the least. We battled all the way back, with Logan Huebner, Ryan Lewis, Danny Gonzalez, Jake Ferreira, and Elijah Carr playing really well in the second half and overtime, even claiming a one-point lead before the game went into overtime.”

Ryan Lewis paced the effort with 17 points, six rebounds; Elijah Carr added 14 points, seven rebounds. Freshman Jake Ferreira had nine points, five rebounds and four steals; Daniel Gonzalez had nine points, four steals; and Logan Huebner rounded out the effort with five points, eight rebounds and five assists.

“Danny Gonzalez had a three attempt that hit the back rim as time expired that would have tied it and forced a second overtime, but it wasn’t meant to be,” explained the coach. “Ultimately, 11 combined turnovers (27 for the game) in the fourth quarter and overtime did us in. I’m proud of how we persevered, but we need to be better early in the game so we aren’t in a position where the officials can impact the game. We need to control what we can control.”

The JV lost by a final of 56-42 and the freshmen fell to Tokay, 60-47.

Completing the week with a road trip Friday to Bret Harte, it was an Escalon sweep over the Bullfrogs.

Taking a 58-54 win in overtime, the varsity improved to 3-1. Trailing 28-25 at the half, Escalon outscored Bret Harte 23-20 in the final two quarters to send the game to overtime.

“A couple more of these overtime games and you might have to start calling us the ‘Cardiac Cougars’; it made for a stressful week. This game was extremely physical as the officials weren’t calling much. It took us a bit to adjust to that, but once we realized a certain level of physicality wasn’t going to be called, we started to chip away at another double-digit deficit,” Bartelink said. “Again, Logan, Ryan Lewis, Danny, Jake Ferreira and Eli sparked us in the second half, and finished the game in overtime.”

The coach also pointed to the play of Jacob Augusto as making a big difference for the Cougars in the contest.

“He played his best game of the season; he had a really good first half when things weren’t going that well for the team. He kept us afloat,” Bartelink explained. “Eli and Logan did a good job making things difficult on Bret Harte’s best player late in the game. Again, I was proud of our grit and perseverance through difficult circumstances.”

Ryan Lewis again topped the leaderboard with 15 points, seven rebounds while teammate Logan Huebner had 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists. Daniel Gonzalez had nine points; Jacob Augusto, eight points; Jake Ferreira, six points.

“Playing in these close games should benefit us moving forward, but we need to be better in several areas to avoid these games being so close. We’re still trying to figure things out,” admitted Bartelink. “Our roster looks much better than the team that meshed well during the summer. It’s going to continue being a work in progress, but I think we have the pieces to continue to be competitive if we can play solid defense and limit our turnovers.”

For the JV boys, it was a 43-41 win at Bret Harte and the team is now 3-1. The freshmen, now 2-2, earned a 32-30 victory on Friday.

This week, the squads will be at home on Thursday, Dec. 12 to host East Union and play at Central Valley on Friday, Dec. 13.