A road game at Hilmar on Tuesday went in the win column for Escalon’s JV basketball boys but it was a costly victory. They lost Austin Terra, who broke his ankle, and were also playing without Jacob Walden, who had sprained an ankle previously in practice.
The final score was 63-51 in favor of the JV Cougars, taking a 14-12 lead after one and 32-24 at the half.
“We had a great third quarter,” explained head coach Nate Bartelink, with his team going on a 17-8 run in that frame to lead it 49-32 going into the fourth quarter. “They made a little run in the fourth quarter but we felt pretty good, pretty in control, throughout the game.”
Stepping up in the absence of Terra and Walden was Damien Tom, who had six points and 12 rebounds on the night.
“He ate up a lot of minutes for us,” Bartelink said. “Brenden Holmes led us with 19 points and nine rebounds, Kaidence Trejo had 15 points and a lot of steals.”
On Friday night, the JV boys captured a Homecoming win, defeating Mountain House by a 54-36 final.
“I felt it was our most complete performance in league,” said Bartelink. “Our defense was really good.”
Running out to a 24-7 lead after eight minutes, the JV team took control early.
“That was the best start to a game we have had, we hit a lot of shots and again had a lot of steals,” Bartelink noted.
The teams traded points, 6-6, in the second so the JV Cougars had a 30-13 lead at the half. Mountain House had a 15-14 scoring edge in the third, Escalon had the 10-8 advantage in the fourth to take the win.
“We maintained a lead throughout,” Bartelink said. “Brenden had 16 points, he had seven in the first quarter and sparked us early, Kaidence had eight points in the first quarter and 17 for the game, when they play well the same night, we are tough to beat.”
Kaden Christensen had eight points and Walden, back in the line-up, had six points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
“We started out 0-3 in league and now have won three in a row to go 3-3 in the first round,” Bartelink said.
The JV boys will open up the second half on the road, playing at Riverbank on Friday, Jan. 26. They will be looking for a little revenge in the second round match-ups that they lost the first time around, setting their sights first on the Bruins. Tip off will be about 6 p.m.
FRESHMEN
Escalon’s freshmen beat Hilmar in a Tuesday night road game, 65-38. Three players were in double figures, paced by Logan Webster with 18. Ty Harris had 15 and Demetrius Teixeira added 12.
Friday night action for Homecoming saw the youngest Cougars take a hard fought loss to Mountain House, losing by a final of 60-54.
Ty Snow had a double double, hitting 10 points and 10 rebounds. He was one of four Cougars in double figures on the night, paced by Harris and Teixeira with 15 each, Webster with 12.
Escalon takes on Riverbank on the road Friday with a 4:30 p.m. tip off time for the Jan. 26 contest.
