Pirates hold on for first Big 8 win; women snap losing streak

Blake Terry walked to the free-throw line with 10.8 seconds left as he and the Modesto Junior College men’s basketball team ventured deep out of its comfort zone.

The Pirates led Sacramento City 64-61, they had not won at home this season and, heck, they haven’t even held a lead that often. Which doubled the pressure on Terry, arguably the most improved player in the Big 8 Conference.

“My heart was starting to beat a lot,” Terry said. “I just took two deep breaths and shot the shots I’ve taken a million times.”

Terry, not letting his jangled nerve-endings show Friday night at MJC Gym, knocked down both ends of the crucial one-and-one. That finished a 66-61 victory over Sacramento, an important win for a team badly in need of one.

The Pirates (4-10, 1-1) did not score from the floor in the final 6:42, subsisting on free throws by Terry and Jake Danhoff. Fortunately for them, they dominated Sac (6-9, 0-2) for the first 33 minutes.

“I’m sure the guys were tight. We had not led in a while,” MJC coach Paul Brogan admitted.

Modesto somehow turned away Sac’s comeback, keyed by 6-foot-4 236-pound Brandon Rowden (12 points), but he fouled out with 3:28 left. Clinching a game that clearly belonged to them proved elusive for MJC.

The Pirates survived. Barely. And they don’t mind.

Perhaps the women fed off the Modesto men in the later game. They snapped a 19-game Big 8 losing streak, stretching back to February 2013, with a come-from-behind 45-42 victory.

The women capped a rare MJC doubleheader sweep in recent years. The men had not won since Dec. 5 vs. Reedley at the Columbia College tournament.

“We played a full game tonight, I think for the first time,” said Terry, who finished with 15 points. “When we get our scoring from the inside, we can hit the shots outside.”

The change-agent turned out to be freshman Joe Hamilton, who scorched Sac for 21 points. Not bad for someone averaging 5.2 points per game.

The 6-6 Hamilton, a former Central Catholic star, had teased the MJC coaches with his good form over the summer and in practice. He nailed five triples to spark MJC’s season-high 12 three-pointers.

“He (Brogan) asked me (Thursday) night, ‘What’s going on? We know what you’re capable of,’” Hamilton said. “I stepped into the shots better tonight. The adjustment to the college speed just took a while.”

Modesto, beaten by reigning state champion Santa Rosa in the Big 8 opener earlier this week, came out sharp and determined. Terry and Hamilton netted their first shots.

Hamilton illustrated his increasing confidence with two determined finishes in the paint as Modesto built a lead. The Pirates’ 37-27 halftime edge was significant in that they already trailed their season average by only 13 points.

Terry’s four-point play, via a triple and free throw, sustained MJC’s momentum. Hamilton’s trey from the baseline gave Modesto its biggest lead, 48-33 with 13:15 left.

But an inside hoop by Marko Lepovic at the 6:42 mark was the Pirates’ last from the field. Sac, stinging from a one-point loss in the final seconds against American River on Tuesday night, countered.

In the end, Modesto’s early investment, cashed mostly by Terry and Hamilton, paid off.

“We always knew that Joe Hamilton we saw tonight was in there somewhere. It was just a matter of when it would show up,” Brogan said. “When your guys make the shots, everything is better.”

MJC women 45, Sacramento 42 – Modesto, 0-14 in the Big 8 last season, had not won a league game since February 2013 at Sacramento. Stepping up to past-tense that streak was freshman guard Diana Carmona with 16 points, 14 in the second half.

MJC (2-11, 1-1) trailed 22-9 early and 32-22 in the second half when Carmona connected on medium-length shots. Her soft 12-footer with 2:50 left, part of an 11-5 closing run, put the Pirates ahead to stay 40-39.

An important steal and layup by Carmona with 58 seconds left increased the lead. Tight defense by MJC denied Sac (3-11, 0-2) a shot in its last two possessions.

“I was thinking, ‘I was open. Don’t second-guess yourself,’” said Carmona, who averages 6.6 points. “The win was big for us. It gives us something to be confident about.”

Modesto nailed its scoring average on the number despite zero triples and only 11 of 26 from the line. There’s room for improvement, but the Pirates go forward with a win hanging from their belts.

“We’ll press a lot with our quicker lineup. That’s our identity. We learned that from our tournaments in December,” coach Mike Girardi said. “I don’t focus on that (the streak). Each year is different. It was tough last year. But no matter what happened the game before, this team bounces back. They showed a lot of heart tonight.”

This story was originally published January 9, 2015 at 10:43 PM with the headline "Pirates hold on for first Big 8 win; women snap losing streak."