Basketball Roundup: El Capitan claims first league title with basketball win
Applying unrelenting pressure in their full-court press and 2-3 zone, El Capitan raced to an 18-0 lead after the first quarter and never looked back in a 67-41 Western Athletic Conference boys basketball victory Wednesday night that delivered a share of the school’s first league title.
The Gauchos can win it outright with a victory at Los Banos on Monday.
El Cap scored the first 22 points and didn’t yield a basket until a Travis Willmott jumper fell with 6:42 to play in the half. Even with rotating his bench freely, Chris Tufts’ squad didn’t allow the Panthers back within 20 points the rest of the way.
Six Gauchos found their way into the scorebook in the opening quarter as El Capitan (19-6, 10-1 WAC) turned numerous Pacheco turnovers into easy transition buckets. Jarod Latona scored six points and Isaiah Knott had four of his team-high 13 in the first quarter.
VOL
Central Catholic 89, East Union 45, in Manteca – Jared Rice and Cooper Wilson both scored 21 points to lead the Raiders. With the victory, Central Catholic improves to 21-4 overall and 10-3 in the Valley Oak League. They can wrap up the VOL’s No. 2 playoff seed with a win over Manteca in the regular-season finale Wednesday at the CCHS gymnasium. Tip-off is slated for 7:15 p.m.
Manteca 62, Oakdale 12, in Oakdale – Frankie Lopez scored 21 points to lead the Buffaloes, who held the Mustangs scoreless in the second and fourth quarters. Adam Olsen scored six points to pace Oakdale.
CCC boys
Atwater 66, Buhach Colony 63, at Buhach Colony H.S. – The Falcons were up 13 with about a minute and a half to go, when Buhach staged a wild rally. The Thunder pulled within two in the final seconds, but Atwater’s Kyle Anaya hit a free-throw to make it a three-point game and BC’s length-of-the-court heave as time expired fell well short. Only four players scored for Atwater in the victory, but they did it in bunches. Juan Walle had a game-high 20 points, Anaya chipped in 18 and Chewy Garcia and Reggie Ricks each added 14. Jaswinder Bidwal paced the Thunder (11-16, 5-5 CCC) with 16 points.
MMC
Gregori 61, Davis 56, at Davis H.S. – Alex Badillo and Brandon Waterford scored 18 and 16 points, respectively, to lead the Jaguars to an upset of the Spartans. Drew McCellen added 10 for Gregori. Talolo Limu-Jones paced Davis with 19 points, while Wilber Villanueva had 12 and Trevon Bryant added 10. Davis will host Enochs on Friday night as the Spartans pay tribute to longtime coach Dan Pacheco, who is stepping down after this season.
Beyer 61, Johansen 46, at Johansen H.S. – Dylan Weltmer scored 15 points, Brian Perry added 11 and sophomore Ben Polack chipped in with 10 to lead the Patriots (20-5, 11-5 MMC), who play league leader Modesto Christian on Wednesday at Beyer High. Brian Evans led the Vikings with 12 points, while Eli Topete (10) joined him in double figures. Maurice Woods, who averages more than 20 points per game in league play, was held to nine.
Modesto 77, Enochs 71, at Enochs H.S. – Orlando Cardenas and Ryan Sylva scored 19 and 18, respectively, to lead the Panthers to a win over the Eagles, who have dropped four in a row. Dylon Jackson contributed 10 points to the Panthers’ cause. Charles Jones led the Eagles with 18 while Austin Haverdink chipped in with 12. Angelo Quiambao and Andrew Sarkis each scored 11 for Enochs, which is now just one game ahead of Modesto, Johansen and Downey for last place in the MMC.
This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Basketball Roundup: El Capitan claims first league title with basketball win."