Weston Ranch outlasts Modesto’s Central Catholic in VOL boys basketball opener

Judging solely by the coaches’ comments following Tuesday night’s Valley Oak League boys basketball opener, it would be tough to tell if Weston Ranch or Central Catholic emerged victorious.

Raiders coach Mike Wilson heaped praise on his team for the way it battled for 32 minutes. Cougars coach Chris Teevan, meanwhile, lamented his team’s inability to dominate on the boards, despite a considerable height advantage.

Nevertheless, Weston Ranch managed to pull out a 62-58 victory over CC, setting the stage for what’s sure to be a bruising VOL campaign, with the likes of Manteca and defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division III champion Sierra sure to make noise.

“We have to rebound better,” said Teevan, a 2006 graduate of Beyer High who went on to play at Modesto Junior College and Cal State Stanislaus. “We can’t continue to give away 15 to 20 extra shots per game.”

With 6-foot-10 Anthony Booker, 6-5 Jordan Strane and 6-3 D’Angelo Finley on the court, it seemed the Cougars (10-3) had more than enough to counter CC’s 6-7 big man Peter Hamilton.

But time and time again, the Raiders were able to get second-shot opportunities despite giving up inches inside.

“That’s why I love this team,” said Wilson, whose team dipped to 11-2. “They do that every game. They don’t quit.”

With the score knotted at 47 heading into the final quarter, the Raiders quickly built a five-point cushion.

After Amrit Dhaliwal hit a pair of free throws with 7:42 remaining, Jared Rice got a hand on a Weston Ranch entry pass and, deflecting the ball to himself, raced the length of the court for a layup. He was fouled on the play and sank the free throw to make it 52-47 with 6:46 remaining.

After a Cougars basket cut it to three, Rice extended the margin to five once more with a running floater in the lane.

The Cougars scored the next five points before Rice hit a pair of free throws with 4:10 remaining to reclaim the lead for the Raiders.

But a three-pointer by Darren Igarta put Weston Ranch in front 59-56, and Central Catholic was never able to recapture the lead.

Rice, now a full-time hoops player after completing his run with the school’s state championship football team, led the Raiders with 18 points, while Dhaliwal added 15. Hamilton chipped in with seven points.

“I thought we had an excellent chance to win this game,” said Hamilton, who played alongside older brother Joe on the 2013-14 team that reached the NorCal championship game. “We were up five but let them back in it and lost momentum. Then we lost some 50-50 balls late, but we were right there with them all game.”

Finley led all scorers with 25 points while Fred Lavender contributed 14 for Weston Ranch.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 12:02 AM with the headline "Weston Ranch outlasts Modesto’s Central Catholic in VOL boys basketball opener."