Weston Ranch spoils Central Catholic’s return to VOL basketball

Central Catholic’s exit from the Western Athletic Conference was greased by a 20-game conference win streak it earned through steady and relentless effort.

The Raiders’ entry into the Valley Oak League Tuesday night came with the lesson that steady, relentless effort might not be enough when it’s matched sweat-drop for sweat-drop by a team with superior depth.

Weston Ranch invaded Central Catholic’s tiny gym and used that depth to wear down the host team in an 82-72 victory in the VOL opener for both teams.

“That’s a very athletic team,” said Raiders’ coach Mike Wilson, who recently underwent knee surgery and was relegated to sitting on a chair - leg extended - in a corner of the gym. “It was a good learning experience for us, but in the first half I was looking out there and was thinking how we were hanging in there and keeping pace with them. I didn’t like that because I always like to set the tempo.”

Weston Ranch (8-5 overall) knows that feeling very well. The Cougars went 2-2 and finished sixth in the recent Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic, but their two losses were to teams (Immanuel and Inglewood) that were superior athletically - a problem they might not face in the VOL.

“In the MC Tournament, some of those teams were too talented and athletic for a couple of our guys,” said Weston Ranch coach Chris Teevan. “But now that we’re back in league, you’re seeing the talent of a few of the other guys.”

No matter the speed or depth difference, Central Catholic can ill afford to lose home games in league. The VOL appears to have four quality teams at the top, with Sierra and Manteca joining these two - and will receive only three automatic bids into the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs.

Teams finishing out of the top three will have a chance to reach the field with an at-large bid should it finish in the top 12 in its division in the Cal-Hi Sports final rankings. That might be the ticket for the Raiders (8-4) who as a Division IV program should be able to punch their own postseason ticket with a good record in the VOL, primarily a Division III conference.

But Wilson certainly doesn’t want his team banking on receiving an at-large berth.

“If we don’t finish in the top 3, maybe we don’t deserve a berth,” he said. “We have to step up in this league and do our jobs, and we certainly can’t let home games slip.”

After an exceptionally well-played first half, which ended with Weston Ranch holding a 41-37 lead behind Jazz Swanson’s four 3-pointers and 16 points, the Cougars’ press created steals and easy baskets in the third quarter.

A 14-2 press-fueled run to open the third quarter gave Weston Ranch a 55-39 lead less than five minutes into the half, and Central Catholic only briefly was able to pull as close as seven points the rest of the way.

Swanson finished with six 3-pointers and 26 points, while Josh Dilg added 13, and point guard Jaelen Ragsdale 11 on what for him was an off shooting performance. Sophomore guard Jared Rice had 11 of his 21 in the fourth quarter, while Peter Hamilton had 13 of his 17 in the opening half for the Raiders.

The VOL road doesn’t get any easier for Central, which host Lathrop on Thursday, then runs the Sierra-Manteca road gauntlet next week.

“It it tough, but the good thing is that we see these guys early, and maybe we can learn and make adjustments and the second time around make things rough on them,” Wilson said.

This story was originally published January 6, 2015 at 10:30 PM with the headline "Weston Ranch spoils Central Catholic’s return to VOL basketball."