The play-call was to Austin Patterson. He swished a 3-pointer as Sonora won D4 title.
Sonora junior Austin Patterson has been doing catch-and-shoot drills with his dad, Scott, for a long time.
So when Wildcats coach Lloyd Longeway called a timeout with 36 seconds left in a tie game Friday in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV Championship against Liberty Ranch at Golden 1 Center, Patterson was ready.
Out of the timeout, the Wildcats went straight to Patterson, who stood in the right corner of the court behind the 3-point line and hit nothing but net with 33 second left.
Liberty Ranch got to within one, but Sonora’s Alvin Calindas nailed two free throws with 15 seconds left to help seal the 73-70 victory.
“You have to have a lot of guts to take that shot,” Longeway said of Patterson’s huge bucket. “That’s the kind of season he has been having and I am super proud of him. It’s nice to see him step up to that moment.”
Behind Patterson’s game-high 28 points, none bigger than that 3-pointer, the Wildcats won the school’s first title since 1992.
“It feels amazing,” Patterson said. “I have dreamed of this ever since I could remember.”
Calindas, a senior, also came through big, swishing both free throws for his only points of the night — and the final points of the game.
“I was lucky enough to coach him for four years and I have seen him make free throws a lot of times in big moments so I was really happy when they fouled him and he stepped to the line,” Longeway said. “I have a lot of confidence in him.”
Sonora (27-4) got lost in the pageantry of playing in an NBA arena early on as the Hawks (29-3) led 11-2 just 2 1/2 minutes into the game. However, they would respond behind Patterson and lead 29-26 after the first quarter.
“They (Liberty Ranch) came out with a fast start and we responded,” Longeway said. “I knew when we made our run, it was going to be game on for the rest of the night.”
Patterson wiggled his way through defenders in the second quarter with layups and had 19 in the first half as Sonora maintained a six point lead.
“I was getting hyped during warm-ups,” Patterson said. “I love being in a big arena and playing on a big stage.”
Sonora went on a 6-0 run midway through the fourth quarter but the Hawks responded with a 5-0 run of their own to tie the game at 68 with 1:09 left.
Hawks junior Jalen Patterson led Liberty Ranch with 19 points while Padilla added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Austin Patterson finished 11 of 23 from the field and added eight rebounds, three steals and a block. It was a line reminiscent of versatile Boston Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, Patterson’s favorite player and the reason he wears No. 20.
“It was just super fun tonight and I wanted to come out on top and that’s what we did,” Patterson said.
