Patriots’ focus going into first-ever section final: ‘It’s about Beyer’

Brian Perry’s words rose above the din of the locker room, refocusing the Beyer High School boys basketball team after a historic victory in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II semifinal.

“Hey, great last three games but this is the one that matters,” said Perry, who finished with a game-high 29 points in a 63-56 double overtime triumph over Burbank.

“You can’t hang your hat on a semifinal win. You hang your hat on a section championship. Let’s go.”

And where Perry goes, these barnstorming Patriots are sure to follow.

No. 6 Beyer (22-8) looks to become the first Modesto City Schools boys basketball team in 33 years to raise a section championship on Friday, when it battles top-seeded Whitney of Rocklin (26-4) in the final.

The game will tip at 8 p.m. at Pacific.

The Wildcats advanced to the final with a 60-52 win over Del Oro in the other semifinal.

These two are no strangers.

In fact, Beyer coach Kyle McKim says there are more similarities between the programs than differences. Both are balanced and deep, and neither should stray far from their principles Friday evening.

“This is a game that we’re excited about. I think we’re similar in a lot of ways. They execute well and run some of the same stuff we do,” said McKim, now in his third season at his alma mater. “They’re very well coached.”

The Wildcats are led by coach Nick French and were awarded the No. 1 seed after navigating their way to the top of the Capital Valley Conference.

French is 85-35 in four seasons at Whitney, and led Hoover High of Fresno to a Central Section title in a previous stint.

On the floor, Whitney follows the lead of senior Jashon Lewis and junior Matt Willis.

Lewis is 6-foot-2 point guard who leads the team in scoring (15.8 points), assists (3.3) and steals (3.0), and ranks second to Tyler Austin in rebounding (6.2). Lewis is big and athletic, and strong enough to bump bodies in the post.

Willis is averaging 12.8 points and can fill it up from the perimeter. He is shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc and leads the team with 67 3-pointers.

Those two, McKim said, define Whitney’s versatility on the offensive end. Beyer will have to defend against the drive and the kick.

“There are a lot of guys that can do stuff, but those two guys stood out each time I’ve watched them,” McKim said.

Beyer and Whitney have never met in the regular or postseason under McKim and Hoover, but frequent the same summer tournaments.

“They’re deep and play a lot of guys, just like us, so they can hurt in a lot of ways,” McKim said.

If Beyer is to become the first Modesto City Schools team to win a section title since Modesto High went back-to-back in 1983 and ’84, the Patriots will need to summon another upset. Their path to the final has included victories over No. 3 Rio Linda and No. 2 Burbank.

In each of those games, Beyer has had to dig itself out of a double-digit hole. On Wednesday, the Patriots trailed by 11 in the first half. Reserves Dominic Dancer and Brandon Gray helped turn the tables early in the fourth quarter. A 9-0 spurt to start the second overtime sealed the win.

McKim said his team won’t flinch if they fall behind early again Friday.

“We want to play well, but if it happens, if we get down a little bit, the experience in coming back is a good thing to have in our back pocket,” he said. “But our goal is to definitely play at a high level, offensively and defensively, from the start.”

Perry tied Ryan Carter’s school mark for points in a season (613) with a free throw in the second quarter, and then passed Carter with a layup later in the quarter. He has 637 points.

Carter played all four years at the varsity level, finishing with more than 1,700 points in his career. He was The Bee’s Basketball Player of the Year in 1996-97 and went on to play baseball at UCLA.

A three-year player, Perry also holds the record for 3-pointers in a season.

“It’s a huge accomplishment to pass Ryan Carter. Ryan is a legend at Beyer,” McKim said. “To pass him up for a record is huge. That puts him with some of the best that have played here.”

McKim knew early on Perry had the potential to be great.

The senior guard isn’t the tallest, quickest or most athletic player ever to don a Patriots uniform, but he might be one of its most competitive.

“You could tell from early on he was going to be special. He’s just a hard worker,” McKim said. “Anybody that has a high level of talent with some work ethic behind it, you know they’re going to do great things.”

His greatest accomplishment could come Friday, when Beyer plays in the first section final in program history.

McKim is aware of Modesto City Schools’ futility in the playoffs, especially when juxtaposed with private-school powers Modesto Christian and Central Catholic.

He insists there’s no battle for respect. They’re simply playing for a banner and the Beyer faithful who have cheered them throughout.

“To be honest, we do this for ourselves. We want to win for ourselves,” McKim said. “The guys in locker room, those are the guys we want to win for. We’re more concerned about ourselves and the people who support us – the fans, the parents, the administration. It’s about Beyer. The eyes on the outside don’t matter too much.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 10:44 AM with the headline "Patriots’ focus going into first-ever section final: ‘It’s about Beyer’."