Hosting River Islands in the Foundation Game to start the season, Escalon’s varsity basketball boys earned the win. They then hosted Bret Harte but took a loss to go 1-1 in their first two contests on the court.

“Due to injuries and an outgoing transfer, our roster looks quite a bit different than I expected compared to what we saw during the summer,” noted head coach Nate Bartelink. “We’re trying to find our identity as a team, and figure out player roles early in the season.”

In the Foundation Game on Nov. 19, which doesn’t officially count on the team’s record as it is a fundraiser for the CIF, the varsity boys were 68-55 winners over the visiting Riptide.

They fell behind by a point, 13-12, in the first but outscored the visitors the rest of the way, holding on to a 32-30 lead at the half. They put the game away with a 15-6 run in the final frame.

“We shot the ball really well; made twelve 3-point shots on the game. The game was tight until the fourth quarter, when our defense took over and secured the win for us,” Bartelink said. “It was a strong start to the season.”

Sophomore Jake Ferreira had a career high 23 points, going 10-for-10 at the free throw line and hitting three 3-point shots. Issac Petalio turned in a varsity career high 16 points, including five treys, with Conner Jones recording a double-double; 11 points and 14 rebounds, as well as adding three blocks. Freshman Trevor Jones scored nine points; all on three-point buckets in the second quarter.

On Tuesday, Nov. 25, the boys were back on the home court hosting Bret Harte. Though they started strong with a 12-6 run in the first quarter, the Cougars never got back into double digit scoring over the next three, with Bret Harte taking the 49-35 victory from the home team.

“We really struggled offensively in this game. We should win most games if we can hold our opponents to under 50 points,” Bartelink said. “After shooting it so well in the Foundation Game, we shot three-for-22 from behind the arc in this game. We did not have our senior captains available, Logan Huebner, a four-year varsity starter, and Ben Ferreira, a three-year varsity starter, who are both out due to football injuries. They should return from their injuries soon, but in this game, we missed their presence on both sides of the court. With that said, I felt we had enough to get it done, we just failed to do so.”

Bret Harte would outscore Escalon 14-9 in the second quarter to trim the Cougar lead to 21-20 at the half. Third quarter scoring saw the Bullfrogs with a 13-6 edge and they closed it out on a 16-8 run in the fourth for the victory.

Jake Ferreira paced the effort with 11 points, Donovan Martinez added eight points and Issac Petalio had five points in the loss.

JV

Head coach Dave Anderson reported a 57-27 victory over Bret Harte in the junior varsity team’s opener.

“We played well, obviously very good defensively and our scoring was spread around,” Anderson said.

Leading the team in scoring was Rhodey Trimble with 14 points, while Ian Trejo and Benji Novetzke had 13 points apiece.

“Dom Rissetto also added scoring and did a good job rebounding and passing the ball for us,” added Anderson.