Weston Ranch boys one step closer to VOL title after topping Manteca

The inside track to the Valley Oak League championship travels through south Stockton along French Camp Road.

The Weston Ranch High School boys basketball team distanced itself in the standings by completing a season sweep of Manteca with a 67-62 victory on Wednesday.

D’Angelo Finley scored a game-high 28 points and Fred Lavender had 15 for Weston Ranch (17-4, 8-0), now one step closer to a VOL title.

Not that the Cougars are counting games. Weston Ranch is keeping a head-down, businesslike approach.

“You just keep going. We have to keep it moving,” said Cougars coach Chris Teevan, a Beyer graduate. “This season, this sport, this program, it’s not romantic. There are no story lines. You win, you lose, you go home. There’s nothing else to it. No fluff. No peripheral. You execute, and the team that executes the best will win. It’s who wants the game.

“In terms of the VOL, section playoffs or seedings, it’s not a story line,” he added. “It’s basketball. You have to keep it moving.”

Manteca is moving, albeit in the wrong direction. The Buffaloes (17-4, 6-2) have lost three consecutive games to the Cougars, including the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinal a year ago.

Though Manteca has fallen off the pace in the hunt for the VOL title, coach Brett Lewis hopes the two will cross paths in the Division III tournament.

“That’s the message we had right now,” Lewis said after emerging from the locker room. “We want to put ourselves in a position where we can play them again. It’s for a lot more than a VOL championship at that point, but that’s what we have to look forward to now.

“We’ve got to let this one hurt – let it soak in a little bit and become the fire to play them again.”

With a standing-room-only crowd hanging on every shot, defensive stand and whistle, the Valley Oak League’s top two teams delivered another seesaw affair.

In their first meeting on Jan. 15, Weston Ranch point guard Jaelen Ragsdale stole the show in a 72-68 victory. The Stanislaus State-bound senior scored 21 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter, including the final 10 points for the Cougars.

On Wednesday, Finley settled into the spotlight.

The 6-foot-3 guard tallied 11 points in the fourth quarter, scoring over and under Nevada-commit Kenny Wooten, a 6-9 defensive dynamo with a 7-foot wingspan.

Finley knocked down two corner three-pointers, silencing a student section that threatened to swallow him whole, but he saved his biggest shot for the final minute.

After the Buffaloes pulled within 62-60 on two free throws by Dwight Young, Finley collected the ball near the center circle, drawing Wooten out of the lane. Finley dribbled right, picking up a step on Wooten as the two dove toward the rim. At the last second, Finley switched the ball to his left hand and kissed the layup off the glass.

Wooten (13 points, six rebounds, three blocks) was whistled for a foul.

“The lane was open, and I went to finish it,” said Finley, who completed the and-one to make it 65-60 with 40 seconds left.

“Today, Kenny was playing the shot, and (Finley) attacked the basket and finished well,” Ragsdale said. “Those are shots he works on all the time before practice; I see him during practice shooting those shots. He’s made a thousand of them.”

The Cougars sealed the win on the defensive end. Reserve forward Jordan Strane swatted a shot by Young, who also missed a desperation three.

Weston Ranch won the turnover battle 16-4 and played much taller than a team with three Division I recruits, each 6-foot-8 or taller.

“Fearlessness is confidence, and confidence comes from preparation,” Teevan said. “Like I told the kids last night and like I told them before the game, I’ve been there with them when we lost in the section finals. I’ve been there with them when we lost here. But I’ve also been there with them in June and August when no one’s in the gym. They worked their butts off. If you’re confidently prepared, just play the game.”

The Cougars did just that. Weston Ranch took the lead with a 10-2 spurt in the second quarter.

Ragsdale knocked down a jumper from the free-throw line, Anthony Booker scored down low, and Finley converted a three-point play. The big basket during that flurry was a layup by Strane, who kept a possession alive by diving for a loose ball. Moments later, he was rewarded with a layup.

Weston Ranch led at halftime 35-29.

The Buffaloes missed a golden opportunity to seize momentum in the third quarter, when in an instant, Weston Ranch lost its floor general and its cool.

Ragsdale was forced to the bench with his fourth foul with 3:16 left in the third. He was whistled for a charge.

Cougars fans erupted in disdain, and as Teevan sought an explanation from the official, his bench was hit with a technical foul.

Young, No. 2 in the state in free-throw-shooting percentage, stepped to the free-throw line.

The junior had missed just four free throws all season (68 of 72, 94.4 percent) but was 7 of 10 against the Cougars. He missed the front end of the technical.

Finley made sure Weston Ranch didn’t completely unravel. He banked a runner off the glass, answering a dunk by Wooten.

“He lit us up tonight,” Lewis said. “He hit a couple runners that he banked in over Kenny that not many kids could shoot.”

Lavender also scored inside over Wooten, and Josh Dilg closed the quarter with a three as the Cougars built on their halftime lead with Ragsdale on the bench.

“I got brothers, you see they can play, and they’ll step up and make big-time plays in the game,” said Ragsdale, who finished with 13 points. “It shows we all have trust in each other, we play through each other and feed off momentum.”

Anand Hundal had 22 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks in the loss. Young scored eight of his 17 points in the fourth quarter.

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 11:11 PM with the headline "Weston Ranch boys one step closer to VOL title after topping Manteca."