Pitman taking ‘Hard Hats’ to Folsom for game with top seed

Bring on the big Dogs.

That was the message delivered by Pitman High School boys basketball coach Harvey Marable in the locker room following the Pride’s thrilling overtime victory over Turlock in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I play-in game Friday.

Pitman raced to a 26-point halftime lead, but Turlock closed with a barrage of three-pointers to send the game into overtime.

In the extra period, the Pride connected on three of its first five shots, including back-to-back three-pointers, and sophomore Dom Von Waaden sealed the 72-69 win from the foul line.

Von Waaden sank 5 of 6 free throws in the final 30 seconds, shoring up a first-round meeting with top-seeded Folsom on Wednesday.

The postseason revs up with games across six divisions, including a few notable matchups close to home:

▪ Second-seeded Modesto Christian will host No. 15 West of Tracy in another Division I I game. The Crusaders, last season’s Division II champions, jump into a division dominated over the years by Folsom and Sheldon. Modesto Christian is seeking its fifth consecutive section title and record 18th overall.

▪ In Division II, No. 5 Beyer begins its hunt for the program’s first section banner by hosting No. 12 Grant of Sacramento. No. 13 Davis ventures to Rocklin to face fourth-seeded Whitney. The Spartans hope to extend longtime coach Dan Pacheco’s career. He’s retiring after the season.

▪ Manteca was knocked out in the semifinals of last season’s Division III tournament by Valley Oak League rival Weston Ranch, which has outsmarted the Buffaloes at every turn. The Cougars swept the season series to clinch the division’s top seed. As the No. 3 seed, Manteca would meet Weston Ranch only in the final. First things first: The Buffaloes host No. 14 El Capitan, the Western Athletic Conference champion, while the Cougars welcome Cordova.

▪ It didn’t take Brian de la Porte long to settle in at Delhi. The former Ceres and Patterson coach will take his third team to the postseason. Delhi is just 7-17 but qualified as the Southern League’s No. 3 seed with wins in three of its last four games, including trips to Gustine and Orestimba. That mentality could serve the Hawks well in the Division IV tournament. The Hawks travel to No. 1 Central Catholic and its bandbox gymnasium, which creates a hostile environment for the opposition.

For many of these teams, tournament basketball adheres to one rule only: Survive and advance.

“It’s the playoffs,” Marable said. “We won, and we keep going from here.”

Pitman (16-8) won’t be favored to go far against Folsom (24-3), ranked 14th in the state by Cal-Hi Sports and No. 9 by MaxPreps.

The defending D-I champion Bulldogs were awarded the No. 1 seed by virtue of victories over No. 2 Modesto Christian and No. 3 Sheldon and a Sierra Foothill League championship. The SFL is one of two leagues in the section to be awarded four automatic playoff berths.

The Bulldogs are led by two-time Sacramento Bee Player of the Year Jordan Ford (18.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists), fellow senior Tre Finch (11.5 points) and sophomore Mason Forbes (10.8 points, 5.6 rebounds).

Folsom topped Modesto Christian 53-51 in its season opener at the Prep2Prep Tip-off Classic at Newark Memorial on Thanksgiving weekend. Since then, Modesto Christian, ranked sixth in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, has won 26 consecutive games.

If Pitman is going to deliver an upset, it’s going to take more than a scorching quarter of play. The Pride outscored Turlock 26-4 in the second quarter.

Seven Pitman players scored in the period. The Pride made all eight of its free throws, forced four turnovers and sank four three-pointers. Isaiah Marable had two three-pointers, and Gurman Takhar and reserve Caleb Hanna had one apiece.

“They have this thing called the ‘Hard Hats,’ and the ‘Hard Hats’ might not get in all the time, but when they get in, they want to produce,” coach Marable said. “The ‘Hard Hats’ helped us out (Friday night).”

Pitman won with its best all-around player, senior point guard Jando Diaz, on the bench. He fouled out with more than a minute remaining. Diaz finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

He scored Pitman’s final five points in the fourth quarter but did his best work from the sideline with a teammate at the free-throw line. Diaz could be heard talking Von Waaden through his pressure-packed free throws.

“I had faith in them that they would knock them down, especially my teammate Dominic,” Diaz said.

Diaz looks forward to the challenge of playing arguably the best team in the D-I tournament.

“I’m more than excited,” Diaz said. “To be honest, the reason I wanted to beat Turlock wasn’t just the fact that it was Turlock. It was the fact I knew who we would play next.

“I love a challenge. Turlock was definitely a challenge, but I admire other people’s skill because I know that I can measure up to them. I know what I have to do, and I’m super excited about this next game.”

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 1:18 PM with the headline "Pitman taking ‘Hard Hats’ to Folsom for game with top seed."