Two Trans-Valley League losses went on the books for Escalon’s varsity basketball boys this past week, while the varsity girls won three games.
For the boys, they were home on Wednesday and on the road Friday.
In action Wednesday, Jan. 28, the boys hosted Sonora and fell by 10 points, 62-52.
“Sonora came in in second place in the TVL with only one league loss. They have size and are very physical, making it tough to play against them. We have struggled with physical teams this season and this game was no different. Beyond that, we failed to consistently do the necessary little things that add up over the course of the game,” said head coach Nate Bartelink.
Escalon was outscored in every quarter, as the Wildcats took a 32-25 lead at the half.
“A lot of the little things aren’t obvious to the casual fan, but they are things our coaching staff has asked of our players all season. If you’re going to be able to beat the best teams on your schedule, you have to be at your best when your best is needed. We simply were not on this night,” noted Bartelink.
Jake Ferreira had 12 points and Ben Ferreira added 11. Conner Jones had nine points and 11 rebounds; Logan Huebner had eight points and five rebounds.
Friday, Jan. 30 at Hilmar, it was a three-point loss for Escalon, falling by a 66-63 final. The Cougars had a 20-11 lead after one quarter but trailed 36-31 at the half. Escalon went on a 21-11 run in the third to take the lead, 52-47, entering the final frame. But the host Yellowjackets turned the tables with a 19-11 fourth quarter, sealing the victory.
“We knew Hilmar would put together a better performance than what we saw from them last time. Their playoff lives were on life-support and I knew they would play desperately,” Bartelink explained. “We played well in spots; during the first and third quarters specifically. But Hilmar’s desperation came to life in the fourth quarter and we didn’t handle adversity well at all.”
The coach noted that the Cougars “had several opportunities to close out a 10-point lead with about four minutes left” but just couldn’t get the job done.
“Costly turnovers, missed shots, missed free throws, defensive breakdowns, and not handling our frustrations well; it was an extremely disappointing way to end a challenging week,” said Bartelink.
Jake Ferreira once again paced the team with 20 points and added five rebounds; Conner Jones had 15 points and seven rebounds; Ben Ferreira, 14 points; Logan Huebner, eight points.
Escalon ended the week at 13-11 overall and was at an even 4-4 in the TVL, but needing to string together some wins.
“The next two weeks will be a test of our competitive character. We’re going to try to find ourselves again and put ourselves in the best possible position for our playoff seeding,” Bartelink said.
The varsity will be on the home court Friday, Feb. 6 to welcome in the four-time defending champion Ripon Christian Knights.
JV/FRESHMEN
For the junior varsity team, the boys took a 62-38 victory off the home court against Sonora. They also won on the road, 65-44, in their Friday night game at Hilmar.
The youngest Cougars earned a 41-38 win over Sonora on Jan. 28.
“Clutch shooting at the end of the game from Jaxon Degruy and Archer Sanders helped us secure the home win,” said freshman coach Brenden Holmes.
Against Hilmar this past week, the frosh boys fell by a 44-34 decision.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
A fast-paced week for the Lady Cougars saw the varsity girls play Monday, Tuesday and Friday, picking up wins in each contest.
First, they hosted Orestimba on Monday, Jan. 26 and took the win by a 48-28 decision.
“We led 13-4 after one and then 37-15 at halftime,” said head coach Joseph Dalpogetti. “Ari Velasco had 20 in the first half and 16 in the second quarter with four three’s.”
Due to the flow of the game, the coach said, Velasco finished with 22 points, scoring just two in the second half. Avery Bartelink had 14 points and Carli Jones added 10.
Tuesday, Jan. 27, it was a road game for the varsity girls, heading up the hill to face off with second place Sonora. Escalon came home with a 51-20 victory.
“It was a big match up. A win would mean a three-game lead in first place with five games left and a loss would be a one-game lead,” Dalpogetti said. “For the third time this year, we jumped all over them in the first quarter and led 22-1. That makes our first quarter scores against them this year 61-3.”
Escalon didn’t let up and had a 34-4 lead at the half. Velasco paced the team with 23 points, 21 of them in the first half, while Jones had eight points.
Friday, the varsity girls traveled to Hilmar to play before the varsity boys contest. Hilmar is also near the top of the league standings, battling for playoff position.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start and only led 8-6 after one, but got going with a 21-point second quarter,” Dalpogetti said.
Escalon took a 29-13 lead at the half on the way to a 51-25 win.
“Ari had 17 points in the first half and finished with 26,” the coach noted. “Ayana Cocio had three three’s for nine points.”
Even getting the three wins, it was a bit of a tough week for the team.
“Madi Babasa is our leading scorer but has been limited with an injury; she played limited minutes on Monday and Friday and did not play against Sonora,” Dalpogetti said. “Half the team had a bad case of the flu this week … we need to get healthy as we gear up for a final TVL push and the postseason.”
Escalon improved to 19-5 overall and 8-0 in league play with the trio of wins this past week.
They were scheduled to be at home for a Feb. 3 game hosting Hughson and travel to Ripon Christian on Friday, Feb. 6.
The JV girls fell by a 27-18 decision on the road at Sonora on Jan. 27.
BOYS SOCCER
Both Trans-Valley League games went in the loss column for the varsity soccer boys this week.
Wednesday, they were at home hosting Sonora and though they had a 2-1 lead at the half, they lost 4-2.
Goals from Juan Navarro and Lizandro Torres put Escalon in the lead early.
“In the second half we conceded two penalties in the span of 10 minutes to fall behind and Sonora scored another one to seal the game,” said head coach Paul Silva.
Friday, they boys were on the road at Hilmar and lost 2-1.
“We were up 1-0 at the half with an early goal from Co Northcutt,” Silva said. “As the game wore on, Hilmar began to take control of play and finally scored the equalizer midway through the second half, with the game winner coming shortly afterwards.”
The squad is slated to be at Hughson on Wednesday, Feb. 4 and host Ripon Christian on Friday, Feb. 6.
Escalon’s JV boys, meanwhile, put together their most explosive offensive game of the year, shutting out Sonora by a 14-0 decision on Jan. 28.
Omar Pantoja had five goals, Gabriel Lupercio and Fidel Segura added two, with one each from Moises Cortes, Johnathan Portillo, Adrian Tristan, Chris Portillo and Marcus Gonzalez. Adding two assists was Gonzalez, and one each came from Angel Rodriguez, Nicolas Solano, Gabriel Lupercio and Anthony Torres.
“I tried changing the entire line up and they still kept scoring,” JV head coach Polo Rodriguez said of the barrage against Sonora.
At Hilmar on Friday, the JV boys won 5-0. Marcus Gonzalez and Adrian Tristan had two goals each, Brandon Beltran scored one. Moises Cortes and Omar Pantoja each had an assist.
“The boys played outstanding games, scoring a high number of goals and not conceding any on our end,” Rodriguez said.
They improved to 8-1 in league, 14-2 overall with the wins.
GIRLS SOCCER
Hitting a scoring drought, the Escalon varsity soccer girls fell in two league games this past week. They lost a 6-0 decision at Sonora on Wednesday, Jan. 28 and fell 4-0 at home to Hilmar on Friday, Jan. 30.
“Rough game for us,” assistant coach Jim Ball said of the game against Sonora. “We couldn’t get anything going on offense and our defense struggled with the speed of the Sonora forwards.”
Senior Jasmine Barron had two shots on goal for Escalon and keeper Payton Abbott notched 15 saves.
Hosting Hilmar, it was another loss but a better game for Escalon.
“The girls played very hard this game,” said Ball. “Hilmar is one of the top teams in our league and they beat us 8-0 last time we played them.”
The offensive struggles continued for the varsity squad, though, and as a team they took just seven shots total, three of them on goal.
“Despite the score, coach (Jeremy) Titsworth and myself both felt good about how the entire team played,” Ball added. “Hilmar is a physical team and Adriana Romero, Reagan Baker and Yareli Cervantes, all starters, had to leave the game due to injury but the team didn’t give up.”
The varsity girls will host Hughson on Feb. 4 and travel to Ripon Christian for a Friday, Feb. 6 game.
Action the past couple of weeks for the JV girls saw them defeat Orestimba 11-0 and take a 4-0 loss at Ripon. Goals against Orestimba came from Riley Titsworth with four and one each from Hannah Oliver, Briley Silva, Lola Duenas, Elizabeth Coelho, Ryan Killingsworth, Sandra Rowe and Aryanna Rodriguez.
This past week, they were at Sonora on Wednesday and won by a 4-1 final.
“Lola Duenas had two goals, Riley Titsworth had one and Ryan Killingsworth added the other,” said head coach Lindsay Plascencia. “The girls played tough.”
Friday, they found themselves in an “intense battle” with Hilmar, said the coach.
“The girls had to fight hard and we won, 1-0, Lola Duenas scored a goal off a handball free kick outside the box and it was a great goal.”
Editor Marg Jackson contributed to this report.
