Central Catholic, Manteca go down to the wire with VOL title on the line
League titles are up for grabs this week and the Central Catholic boys basketball team took full advantage of its opportunity to become undefeated Valley Oak League champion Wednesday.
In the Raiders’ first matchup against Manteca, TP Wentworth drilled a buzzer beater to secure a 47-45 win. In their second meeting, Central Catholic pulled away at the end to secure a win.
Central Catholic won its second league title in a row. Last season, it tied with Manteca for the league’s best record but won the tie-breaker, earning the No. 1 spot and a higher seed in the Division III Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.
“We’re proud to be in the VOL because the league’s always solid,” said Raiders coach Mike Wilson. “It’s still a gauntlet, so it feels really good because, again, we’re proud to be in the league and it feels really good when you do come out on top. It shows hard work pays off.”
It was a balanced scoring effort, with four Raiders reaching double figures and multiple players coming up with big shots in the second half. Central Catholic went on an 8-0 run in the third quarter, but Manteca kept it close. The Buffaloes went on their own 8-0 run in the fourth, but the Raiders maintained a narrow lead. They sealed the victory, and a VOL title, with free throws.
“The thing that I love about them ... they don’t want to lose and they ain’t gonna quit,” Wilson said. “Losing happens, but the thing is, they’re not going to let you have it. They fight for it.”
The Raiders were not the only team to finish off a perfect league campaign as Modesto Christian wrapped up Tri-City Athletic League play with a win over West of Tracy. The Crusaders are now 24-0 against TCAL opponents over the past two seasons. Friday, they host Weston Ranch, which features a trio of Richard Banks, Darrion Lilly and Cornell-bound sharpshooter Mateen Rafiq, who knocked down 14 threes Wednesday and has scored 2,000 career points.
Trans Valley League games featuring Escalon and Ripon Christian helped determine who will fight for playoff spots in the tough small-school league. Most TVL teams play their final league games Friday night.
In the CCAL, Pitman, Downey and Turlock all looked to cement their spot in the playoffs in their final league contests.
Boys basketball
Escalon 70, Hughson 46: Escalon maintained its third-place seed in the Trans Valley League with a dominant showing against visiting Hughson on senior night. Hughson looked to play spoiler, going ahead 15-12 after the first quarter, but a 23-10 second frame in favor of the home team helped Escalon take a 10-point lead into halftime. The Cougars coasted to their 21st overall win on the season and their seventh TVL win. Sam Jimenez led the charge with 17 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Hughson ends its season 10-15 and 3-9 in the TVL. Escalon takes on Hilmar on Friday.
Livingston 74, Hilmar 66: Sophomore Xavier Silveira put up a career high 20 points and Seth Russel added 11, but Hilmar couldn’t secure a league win over the TVL’s fifth-place team. Friday is the Yellowjackets’ final shot at earning a league win this season.
Orestimba 78, Le Grand 63: Orestimba led from the jump and didn’t look back as it put up 18 and 25 points in the first and second quarters, respectively. The Warriors moved to an impressive 24-2 overall and remained perfect at 11-0 against Southern League opponents this season. Orestimba has won 23 straight SL games and has its second straight season of 22 or more wins.
Ripon Christian 53, Riverbank 42: The Knights started fast, jumping out to a 12-0 lead and led 23-8 after the first quarter. By the end of the third, Riverbank cut Ripon Christian’s lead to just 40-31. Despite being outscored by five points in the second half, Ripon Christian held on to their 10th league win, setting up a league championship matchup Friday against rival Ripon.
Mountain House 87, Ceres 58: A total of 14 players scored for Mountain House, led by double-figure scorers Jordan Assefa (16 points) and Coldin Parker (10). Despite the loss, Ceres maintains its second-place spot in the Western Athletic Conference after tallying 10 league wins.
Golden Valley 59, Central Valley 34: Central Valley’s penultimate game Wednesday was a loss to the Central Valley Conference’s No. 2 team. The team honored its four seniors, Sahibjot Deol, Gabriel Abracosa, Robbie Singh and Damian Flores. The Hawks end their season Friday at El Capitan.
Patterson 73, Buhach Colony 50: The Tigers kept their playoff hopes alive on senior night. They jumped out to a 33-27 halftime lead and outscored the Thunder 29-10 in the third quarter to break the game open. Patterson is tied with Golden Valley with an 8-3 CCC record, setting up a battle Friday night for playoff positioning. Golden Valley currently holds the tiebreaker and is the No. 2 team, which could change if Patterson wins Friday night.
Pitman 55, Gregori 31: The Pride didn’t need overtime to best Gregori the second time through Central California Athletic League play. Pitman outscored the Jaguars 20-10 in the first quarter, 16-6 in the third and 13-7 in the fourth en route to a 24-point win in their regular season finale. Pitman finishes the season 10-1 in CCAL play, good for first place, while the young Gregori squad finished just outside the playoff picture at 5-5.
Central Catholic 57, Manteca 51: Jordan Magana (14 points), Wesley Payne (11), TP Wentworth (11) and James McGee (10) all scored in double figures for the Raiders as they put the finishing touches on an undefeated VOL championship. The Raiders have a 15-game winning streak entering the Division III postseason, where they are looking to make another deep postseason run. They made the section title game two seasons ago and advanced to the semifinals last year.
Kimball 71, Oakdale 56: The VOL’s No. 4 and 5 teams battled Wednesday night. Oakdale’s loss gives it a 3-7 league record. The Mustangs end the season on a three-game losing streak but graduates only one senior from this year’s team.
Downey 60, Enochs 53: The Knights completed the season sweep against Enochs on Wednesday night with a narrow win. Downey secures the CCAL’s third and final playoff spot with a 6-4 league record. It has won three of its last four heading into the postseason with wins over Pitman, Modesto and Enochs and a loss to Turlock.
Turlock 59, Modesto 34: The CCAL’s second-place team, Turlock, secured its seventh league win with a dominant showing over Modesto. Like Downey, Turlock finishes league play winners of three of its last four contests entering the playoffs.
Modesto Christian 59, West 36: The Crusaders finished TCAL play 12-0 for the second consecutive season with their 23-point win. Modesto Christian averaged 74 points a game during league play while giving up just 48. It enters the Division I playoffs as the back-to-back section champion and has a 23-4 record this season. MC is expected to be the top seed when brackets are announced Saturday.
This story was originally published February 8, 2024 at 12:07 PM.
