Free throws were a big part of a Friday night win for Escalon’s varsity basketball boys, with the host Cougars edging out Riverbank by a 66-65 final in overtime of the Jan. 26 contest.
“We’ve been looking forward to this game since the last time we played and lost to Riverbank. They didn’t see our best version in the first match-up,” varsity head coach Nate Bartelink said of that first round game in Trans-Valley League play.
Friday night, with a loud crowd on hand, the Cougars were energized and ran out to a big lead.
“We came out playing at a really high level on both ends of the floor. We had six first quarter steals, which fueled our transition offense. We shared the ball early with eight assists on nine made first quarter shots, resulting in quality shot attempts,” Bartelink said.
Escalon had a 20-7 lead after one quarter and was still in control, 32-19 at the half, maintaining a double-digit lead.
But the second half played out differently.
“Riverbank’s defense picked up as the game moved forward, as it usually does. Their defensive scheme makes things really difficult from an offensive standpoint,” admitted Bartelink. “They also got hot from three-point range in the third quarter; making five of them.”
The visiting Bruins outscored the home team 26-11 in the third quarter to go up 45-43 after three periods.
“They took a four-point lead in the fourth quarter and seemed to have all of the momentum. But our boys dug in and found a way late in the fourth quarter to tie the game,” said Bartelink.
Escalon put 14 points on the board to Riverbank’s 12 in the final quarter of regulation, sending the game into overtime knotted at 57 apiece.
“Several of our players made winning plays in crunch time; Sam Jimenez was big on the glass, took a huge charge, made some tough shots under duress; great defense from Logan Huebner and Ben Fletcher; Ryan Lewis got on the floor to get an important loose ball and a big offensive rebound; and Ethan Garza was in attack mode all night,” Bartelink explained.
It was Jimenez who made the tough shot to get the game tied and into the four-minute OT period.
In overtime, it was Garza who hit a massive three-point shot to tie the game. Lewis then got a big offensive rebound on Escalon’s final possession with 13 seconds left in the game.
“In the timeout discussion, we pivoted and went with a play that we had never run before. Assistant Coach Marvin Lawrence suggested we run a play to counter Riverbank’s aggressive defensive style. Marvin is my right-hand man; I trust him,” noted Bartelink. “On the play Sam Jimenez made a great move, Logan Huebner made a really good pass, and Sam made a tough catch, got the shot off and was fouled. Sam was clutch; made both free throws to take a one-point lead with just over 10 seconds left. Big time players like Sam step up in critical moments.”
When Riverbank took the ball out after the successful free throws by Jimenez, Bartelink said they fouled the Bruins on purpose because they weren’t yet in the bonus.
The next Bruin possession, however, gave them a chance to win – or at least tie – the contest yet again.
“They took the ball out of bounds again, found one of their players near the basket, and unfortunately we were called for a foul,” Bartelink said. “The Riverbank player ended up missing both free throws, and got the offensive rebound for a last second put back, but missed, giving us the thrilling victory.”
The home crowd erupted in cheers, some spilling on to the floor, as the players celebrated the hard-fought win before lining up to shake hands with the Bruins.
“Credit to all the young kids on the baseline doing everything in their power to cause the free throw misses,” added Bartelink of the home team support system. “Key in that fourth quarter was our free throw shooting; Ben Fletcher was four-for-four and Sammy was two-for two. Riverbank was three-for-six, including the two misses that gave us the victory. The importance of late game free throw shooting was evident in this game.”
The coach said it was also a game that showcased the ‘no quit’ attitude that has become a familiar theme for the varsity squad.
“I was extremely proud of how hard we played. We didn’t necessarily play our best game for four quarters, but we made the plays when they counted, and had a little bit of luck from the basketball gods on our side,” Bartelink said. “Just another chapter in the book of the 2023-24 season.”
For team captain Sam Jimenez, getting the win against Riverbank in the second round of TVL play was crucial and he felt no nerves when going to the line to take what turned out to be the game-winning free throws.
“There was no pressure, there’s never pressure,” the team captain said, adding there was no panic when Riverbank took the lead late in the game. “We’ve been in that same position so many times this year and that’s all this team is, resilient, we come back no matter what. On our home court, down most of the second half, we just never stopped fighting; someone makes that play, there’s always someone to make a big play and that’s what every good basketball team has.”
Leading scorer Garza said the team knew they had to take care of business.
“We had to play defense, that’s really it,” he said of what made the difference. “We weren’t really hitting (shots) as best as we could but defense wins games so that’s what we focused on probably the last 16 minutes of the game.”
He also was appreciative of how loud the home crowd was to support the Cougars.
“It was pretty loud, we’ve been getting a lot of fans here and it feels really good,” the senior said.
Garza had 29 points and five rebounds to lead the squad.
“Given the gravity of the game, this was the best game of his career. He was finishing at the rim at an elite level and making huge shots all game long,” Bartelink said of Garza. “This was the first time Ethan has been healthy vs. Riverbank in two years. I couldn’t be happier for him and being able to have this type of game when we needed him most.”
Jimenez had 13 points, 13 rebounds, and four assists.
“Along with Ethan, he willed us to victory once again. He refuses to lose games,” said Bartelink.
Ben Fletcher had six points and five rebounds while Ryan Lewis put in six points and pulled down six rebounds on the night. Logan Huebner had four points, six rebounds and four steals.
“The energy in the gym was great! It was awesome to see so many local kids in the gym for Youth Basketball Night,” added Bartelink. “I appreciate all of the families that came out to the game. We heard them and the opponent definitely felt them. I hope the community continues to come and support the boys on this team. We have a special group and we need the Cougar Dome filled for our remaining home games through the playoffs.”
With the win, Escalon improved to 5-2 in TVL play, standing in second place. They were at 19-4 heading in to this week’s competition.
“How we perform this week will go a long way in determining how we finish up in the TVL standings,” Bartelink said.
The team was to play at Ripon Christian on Tuesday, Jan. 30 after The Times went to press, then will host Ripon on Thursday, Feb. 1. They travel to Livingston for their third game of the week on Friday Feb. 2.
“With the Trans-Valley League changing next season, Riverbank will no longer be part of our league. We have developed a good basketball rivalry over the years; one that I’ll miss,” Bartelink admitted. “I have a lot of respect for their program; their past and present coaches. I have a lot of fond memories of our Escalon-Riverbank battles.”
JV/FRESHMEN
Escalon’s JV boys had a strong game against Riverbank on Friday, taking a 30-point win off the court. The final was 58-28.
Head coach Dave Anderson pointed to the efforts of Isaac Petalio and Lizandro Torres as being key in the win. Petalio had 20 points while Torres was tasked with shutting down Riverbank’s best player and did a good job with that assignment.
Mikie Lourenco added 14 points in the win.
“Anybody can beat anybody,” Anderson added of the parity at the JV level this season. “The top four are very competitive. We went 3-3 in the first round but we’ve been in every game.”
The game with Riverbank started the second half of league play for the squad.
For the freshmen, they had a tough week, taking two losses.
“Monday night (Jan. 22) we sleepwalked in the first quarter at Hilmar and dug ourselves a hole that we couldn’t get out of,” admitted head coach Steve Largent. “Despite only being down eight going into the fourth quarter, we couldn’t pull it out and lost 49-30.”
Ezra Romeno paced the effort with 17 points on the night.
Friday, they were defeated by the frosh Bruins, 51-42, in a much more competitive game.
“Friday we played a really solid 24 minutes but ran out of gas in the fourth quarter,” Largent explained. “Brian Novetzke and Curtis Thomas both chipped in seven points.”
The coach said the team was looking forward to this week’s challenge of a three-game schedule and were “ready to put forth our best efforts.”
The JV boys are currently 4-3 in league, 10-13 overall while the freshmen are 2-5 in TVL play and 11-12 overall.
