In what was arguably the toughest week on their schedule, the Escalon basketball boys played three games in four nights, including two on the road.
The varsity boys lost at Ripon Christian on Jan. 20, but came back with wins on Thursday, Jan. 22 at home against Ripon and then traveled to Newman on Friday, Jan. 23 and defeated Orestimba.
They fell to the host Knights by a 70-51 final on Jan. 20.
“Ripon Christian is the four-time defending TVL champion and came into this game undefeated in league and tied for first place with Sonora. Considering the challenges that Ripon Christian poses, we were playing okay for almost two full quarters,” explained head coach Nate Bartelink. “We were down six points with 40 seconds left in the half and we proceeded to turn it over and give up a three pointer. We then immediately turned it over again and gave up another three pointer. Our almost six-point halftime deficit turned into 12, which was pretty deflating walking into the locker room. That turned out to be the turning point of the game. As much as we tried to stay positive, being down double digits during the second half in a tough gym to play in, we couldn’t put together a run to threaten making the game any closer.”
Logan Huebner had 13 points and six rebounds; Jake Ferreira and Issac Petalio each scored 10; Conner Jones added nine points.
“Credit to RC for outplaying us. They are very well coached and always well prepared,” Bartelink said.
Coming home to host Ripon on Jan. 22, the Cougars walked off with a satisfying 57-45 win.
“Throw records out of the window. Escalon vs. Ripon is always a big game. Ripon is down a bit this year, but they were up for this game, as were our boys. Simply put, Logan Huebner (senior) put us on his shoulders in an epic performance. He led us in every offensive category,” said Bartelink. “Ripon tried multiple defenders to try and slow him down, with no success. Logan was amazing. Ben Ferreira (senior) did a good job defensively on Ripon’s best player, who returned from a multi-week injury in this game.”
Huebner poured in 28 points, added 12 rebounds, six assists and four steals.
“We’ve just always had a thing with Ripon,” Huebner said, echoing the sentiments of his coach and adding that not much had to be said in the pre-game talk. “We were all pretty amped to get into this game, especially after the loss to RC, we just wanted to get back and this was the perfect team to do it against.”
Ben Ferreira had eight points.
“We stayed focused on the task at hand, in a game like this, there are a lot of emotions and you have to either set them aside or use them positively,” added Ferreira.
Fellow senior Donovan Martinez was glad to see his first shot of the night fall in and added six points to the team total.
“I’m just glad I’m able to contribute on this team,” he said. “It’s a special team; I think we have a chance to make a good run in playoffs and it’s a great feeling.”
Sophomore Ryan Huebner had six points and six rebounds.
Friday at Orestimba, it was a big 83-42 win, even amidst adversity.
“The Orestimba road trip is not one we enjoy making. The long drive and playing in their very loud gym is not ideal. Our squad put those things aside and controlled the game from the tip,” said Bartelink. “We had good offensive balance with four players in double figures and another two players with eight points. Also, all nine players scored which is always fun. It was great to get everyone some playing time and close out the first half of the league schedule on a good note.”
Jake Ferreira had 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists; Ben Ferreira 16 points; Conner Jones 10 points, eight rebounds; Donovan Martinez, 10 points. Also, Issac Petalio had eight points and Ryan Huebner added eight points and seven rebounds.
JV/FRESHMEN
Escalon’s JV boys lost to Ripon Christian but came back with a solid 72-55 win over Ripon. Rhodey Trimble had 23 points, Trevor Jansen added 19 and Benji Novetzke had 12.
“Dom Rissetto played great with double digit assists and rebounds,” head coach Dave Anderson said.
The JV also defeated Orestimba, 62-31, with 20 points from Ian Trejo, along with plenty of steals, and Novetzke added 17 points in the win.
The freshmen had a pair of tough losses to Ripon Christan and Ripon in their first two games of the week, but came back with a 44-32 win on the road at Orestimba.
“Vince Reis led our victory with an amazing defensive effort along with some good contributions on the offensive side,” said head coach Brenden Holmes. “Vince filled up the stat sheet, finishing the game with 10 points, six assists and seven steals.”
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Against Ripon on Jan. 19, the varsity Lady Cougars led by 20 at halftime and put the road game into the books as a victory. There was a running clock in the fourth quarter, as Escalon had a 59-19 lead entering the final fame.
“Everyone got a lot of playing time and it was nice to rest the starters a lot,” said head coach Joseph Dalpogetti.
Ari Velasco had 26 points and Madi Babasa had 16 in the 59-29 win.
Tuesday, against Ripon Christan, Escalon had a 13-0 lead early but then went into a bit of a drought and led it just 20-10 at the half.
“In the third we opened it up a little bit and led 37-13 heading into the fourth,” Dalpogetti said.
Final score was 53-22 in favor of Escalon, with 15 points from Babasa, 12 from Velasco and 11 from Carli Jones.
SOCCER BOYS
On their home pitch Jan. 21, the varsity boys won by a 5-3 final over Ripon.
“We were up 4-1 at half with two early goals from Damian Morales and Co Northcutt,” said head coach Paul Silva. “Ripon then got one back and it stayed that way until late in the first half when Damian got his second goal and Lizandro Torres scored his goal just before half.”
Ripon fought back with two late tallies in the game, cutting the lead to 4-3.
“On the ensuing kickoff, Issac Patino noticed the Ripon goalie was off his line and drilled the ball from center circle for a 50-yard goal and our fifth goal of the game,” Silva said. “Great awareness by Isaac and a skill that very few players have to be able to score from that distance.”
Friday, the boys were at Orestimba and won by a 3-0 final.
“Co Northcutt scored our first goal early in the second half and our second goal came from Isaac Patino on a free kick that once again he noticed the goalkeeper was out of position and quickly shot the ball into the net,” explained Silva.
The third goal game from Damian Morales to seal the victory.
For the JV boys, they hosted Ripon and won 3-1 Wednesday with two goals from Fidel Segura and one from Moises Cortes. Assists came from Adrian Tristan, Marcus Gonzalez and Christian DeNava.
“Friday we were away at Orestimba and lost 2-0, first loss in league,” said head coach Polo Rodriguez. “The game was a frustrating one; we had the first chance of scoring but just couldn’t finish. It was a hard loss.”
SOCCER GIRLS
Though their Wednesday, Jan. 21 game went down as a 6-0 loss at Ripon, varsity assistant coach Jim Ball said it was a good effort from the team.
“The girls just didn’t quit even though they were behind,” Ball said. “Ripon is a really good team and as coaches, we were proud of the team’s effort. We were only able to get eight shots off, four by Jasmine Barron and four by Adriana Romero.”
Keeper Payton Abbott was under fire all night and did make 12 saves.
Home on Friday, the girls hosted Orestimba and earned a 4-3 victory.
“We came out on fire, getting four goals in the first half,” Ball said. “The scoring started only four minutes into the game when Reagan Baker was able to find Rebecca Wampler in front of the net and she put it in.”
At the 18-minute mark, Georgia Northcutt sent the ball up the left side to Barron, who crossed it in to Romero for the second goal. Then, midway through the first, Romero played a corner kick to the middle of the box, with Kenadie Baker able to make the play and score the third goal.
“With 11 minutes left in the first half, Reagan Baker played the ball to the middle of the box, and Emma Strong put it in to make the game 4-0,” Ball said.
Orestimba did convert with some breakaway goals to get to within 4-2 by halftime.
“The second half was quiet, we continued to have opportunities and put pressure on their defense but were unable to find the net,” noted Ball. “Orestimba did get their third goal with about two minutes left in the game.”
But the varsity girls held on to the victory, splitting their games for the week.
Times Editor Marg Jackson contributed to this report.
