Dhaliwal ignites Central Catholic’s victory over defending VOL champion

The self-proclaimed jokester hadn’t smiled like that in more than a week.

Central Catholic High School guard Amrit Dhaliwal came out of a shooting funk Tuesday evening, knocking down crucial 3-pointers at the beginning and end of a Valley Oak League-opening 62-42 win over Weston Ranch.

Josh Hamilton had 15 points and eight assists, Jared Rice scored 12 points and Malcolm Clayton had 10 points and five rebounds for the Raiders (11-2, 1-0 VOL), who have won three straight after dropping their first two games of the Holiday Hoop Classic.

The difference-maker, though, was Dhaliwal, whose points came in bunches of three. The senior captain canned four 3-pointers and converted a three-point play late in the first half to finish with 15.

After a poor shooting performance at the Holiday Hoop Classic, Dhaliwal made two adjustments before Tuesday’s league opener. One, he put in extra work with his shooting coach before the game. And two, he got out of his own way.

“It really started after we beat (Modesto)” at the Holiday Hoop Classic, Dhaliwal said. “I talked to my coaches. I was in a slump and couldn’t shoot really well. I was going 1 for 6 and 1 for 7 from 3s, but they told me to keep shooting. I got my confidence back, and when I was out here. I was just trying to have some fun.”

Dhaliwal made three 3s in the first quarter, taking advantage of the gaps in Weston Ranch’s defense.

Central Catholic ripped off a 20-0 run, held the Cougars scoreless for more than five minutes and led by 26 in the first half.

“He made the comment to me after one of their timeouts, ‘I’m not thinking about it. Finally, I’m not thinking about it.’ That’s the key to any shooter,” Central Catholic coach Mike Wilson said. “You just gotta do what you do. Catch it in flow and shoot, and he was. That was a big part in our fast start.”

The Cougars (7-6, 0-1) are the defending VOL and Sac-Joaquin Section Division III champions but have undergone a complete makeover. Coach Chris Teevan started four underclassmen, and freshman point guard Titus Haley and sophomore guard Mahki Turner made their varsity debut. Haley was called up before the game, while Turner had to sit out the first 30 days following his transfer.

Haley didn’t commit a turnover, and Turner scored a game-high 18 points, but the Cougars’ inexperience showed against the reigning Division IV champions.

Central Catholic returned four starters and its sharpshooting sixth man – Dhaliwal.

“You don’t get down 20 because of not being ready to play. You get down 20 because they’re also a really good team,” Teevan said. “They’re well-coached with really good players. … They could win league. You gotta give credit where credit is due.”

Dhaliwal knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers early in the first quarter, triggering a 24-4 push over the first eight minutes.

The Raiders would need all of that lead, too.

Weston Ranch chipped away through the second and third quarters and then closed within 50-38 on 3-pointers by Turner and Miloni Massey early in the fourth.

Dhaliwal ignited one last run, though, launching a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. The bucket highlighted a 12-4 push by the Raiders over the final three minutes.

Cooper Wilson scored five of his eight points on back-to-back possessions, including a 3-pointer, and Rice had two baskets in the lane. Rice also had six rebounds.

“We needed that,” Wilson said. “That sucked the wind out of them a little bit, because they were fighting hard to come back. For a while, we weren’t answering, but after that 3, we answered and pulled away again.”

Central Catholic never panicked. Dhaliwal said the veteran-laden bunch rarely feels pressure, even in tight games.

“We’re all composed. We don’t get rattled. We could be down by three with 10 seconds left and we’d still be smiling,” Dhaliwal said. “We just have fun, and when you have fun, it really pays off.

“We’re jokesters, all of us. Me, Josh, Jared, Conor (Fenton), we’re never serious. We never have a serious moment.”

Central Catholic travels to Lathrop (8-6, 0-1) on Thursday. The Spartans fell to Manteca 66-62 in their opener.

This story was originally published January 3, 2017 at 10:22 PM with the headline "Dhaliwal ignites Central Catholic’s victory over defending VOL champion."