Central Catholic’s upset of Weston Ranch foiled by Stanislaus-bound Lavender

After sitting for a long stretch in the first half with foul trouble, Fred Lavender said he returned to the floor with focus and purpose.

Central Catholic would have preferred the Weston Ranch senior guard stay on the sideline.

Lavender scored 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Cougars survived a scare from the Raiders 69-66 in a rare Monday game in the Valley Oak League.

The Stanislaus State commit finished with 20 points and six rebounds, overcoming a forgettable first half to keep Weston Ranch alone atop the VOL for at least one more night.

The Cougars (16-4, 7-0 VOL) travel to Manteca (17-3, 6-1) on Wednesday.

“This is big. We lose this, we could lose everything,” Lavender said. “We want to go undefeated. We want to win sections. We want to go to state. We want all of it. So this was like a trap game. Teams are after us.”

Lavender was assessed a technical after picking up his third foul on a charge with 4:12 left in the first half. The Raiders (15-4, 4-3) used that mini-meltdown to build a 24-17 advantage.

“He didn’t have a good first half,” Weston Ranch coach Chris Teevan said. “It wasn’t so much how he was playing. He didn’t have his emotions under control, and he’s worked hard on that.”

The Cougars trailed by nine in the third quarter but came roaring back on the hustle and drive of Lavender.

With the Raiders sitting in a zone defense, daring anyone other than all-VOL point guard Jaelen Ragsdale (21 points) to beat them, Lavender seized the moment late. He buried two three-pointers in the fourth quarter, including the eventual winner with 33.1 seconds left to make it 67-66.

“Jaelen told me to shoot it with confidence,” Lavender said.

The shot came after an offensive rebound by Josh Dilg and a timeout by Teevan. On the restart, Ragsdale drove and kicked to Lavender in the corner. His three was pure.

“We wanted Jaelen in a high pick and roll and him to make the read,” Teevan said. “The bottom guy stepped up and Fred was wide open. It’s a shot he needs to take.”

Teevan said that shot, with the game hanging in the balance, illustrates Lavender’s development from his junior to senior season. He had four three-pointers Monday.

“There’s no freaking way that guy is hitting threes like that last year. No way,” said Teevan, a Beyer High grad. “That’s six and seven months of development by him.”

The Raiders played with energy two nights after coach Mike Wilson was critical of their performance in a 68-55 loss to Manteca.

Central Catholic’s fleet of guards swarmed the paint, beating Weston Ranch to loose balls and wrestling away offensive rebounds.

Peter Hamilton beat his defender with a ball fake in the lane and then connected from the elbow, springing a 10-1 run in the third quarter. Jared Rice’s put-back with 2:10 left made it 46-37.

“Their guards are tough, and if our guards don’t rebound, then their guards will get fouls and second-chance opportunities, and that’s what happened,” Teevan said. “We don’t see a team whose guards rebound like that often.”

The Raiders’ aggressiveness burned them in the final seconds, though.

Trailing 68-66, Joshua Hamilton slipped into the lane and flipped a pass to a cutting Rice, who launched himself toward the rim. Rice was whistled for a charge, much to the dismay of Wilson and the bench. Lavender was fouled on the ensuing possession and made 1 of 2 free throws to make it 69-66.

Joshua Hamilton’s desperation three crashed off the backboard, sealing the Cougars’ season sweep of Central Catholic.

Peter Hamilton scored 21 points, including two three-pointers in the fourth quarter, Rice had 17 and Joshua Hamilton had 13 for the Raiders, who travel to Kimball on Wednesday looking to snap a two-game skid.

“It would be much more heartbreaking if it wasn’t against the No. 1 teams in the section, as far as their divisions go,” Wilson said. “To be able to compete at that level with those teams … Weston Ranch, we matched up well with them.”

The Cougars answered Central Catholic’s 10-3 run in the third quarter with a 9-0 spurt of their own. Darren Igarta buried two catch-and-shoot three-pointers, and Ragsdale went coast to coast for a layup. He was fouled on the play and converted the free throw, breathing new life into the Cougars.

Lavender closed the quarter with a corner three-pointer, knotting the score at 49-49.

After a back-and-forth start to the fourth, Weston Ranch took the lead for good after Lavender dived for a loose ball at the top of the key, securing the offensive rebound between two Raiders. He flipped a pass to Ragsdale for a wide-open layup and a 59-58 lead with 3:42 left.

“It’s all or nothing right now,” Lavender said. “Got to get on the floor. Got to get dirty. Got to get every loose ball.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 12:23 AM with the headline "Central Catholic’s upset of Weston Ranch foiled by Stanislaus-bound Lavender."