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Teamwork Lifts JV Cougar Boys To Twin Wins
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Putting the pressure on their opponents, the JV Cougar basketball boys earned a pair of Trans-Valley League victories this week.

Tuesday, Feb. 8, they were home to host Hughson and put away the Huskies in a 63-38 contest.

"We came out early and scored 18 in the first quarter, got them into foul trouble a little bit," explained coach Greg Largent. "We went to the free throw line 37 times for the game and made 25 of them."

With an 18-7 edge in the first quarter, 14-7 in the second, the JV boys cruised to a comfortable 32-14 halftime lead. They put the game away for good in the third period, with a 22-11 advantage over the Huskies in that frame.

"At that point, there was no pressure," said Largent.

Several players turned in outstanding performances on the night, with Mike Stime putting in 13 points, Steve Largent adding 12. Phil Parrish chipped in with nine, Scott Backovich scored eight and David Anderson put in seven.

"The kids are getting better every week," Largent said. "And they get a thrill with the statistics, the first thing they look for is who had the most assists and rebounds."

With the team as a whole playing unselfish ball, the wins have come. On Friday night, they went to Ripon and faced off with the rival, with some lingering resentment from the football season still festering.

"These teams don't like each other," Largent said. "They both had a 9-0-1 record in football and the only blemish was the tie they had against each other...it was a very emotional game."

Escalon prevailed with a 51-38 win.

The Cougars went in shorthanded and Largent said he wasn't sure if they could pull off the victory on the road.

"Jared August was out and we had been working with Dan Sawyer to step in for him, that was going OK until Dan turned an ankle Thursday morning," Largent explained.

Sawyer was in the line-up, however, with plenty of tape to brace his ankle.

"Deep down, I didn't know if we could do it," admitted Largent. "Steve (Largent) and David Anderson each had two early fouls, they sat the whole second quarter."

Visiting Escalon had a 9-8 lead after one quarter, 19-18 at the half.

At that point, Largent said, he let the team know that the game was in their hands, and they responded with a huge third quarter, outscoring Ripon 18-9 to pull away.

"We came out in the third and scored the first eight points," the coach said. "Steve hit a three, Brian French got a steal and a lay-up, Phil Parrish hit a three."

Ripon started to deflate at that point, said Largent, and the Cougars seized the opportunity.

"We were up by 10 points after three quarters and got up by 20 at one point," he said. "We had to fight through the fouls, Mike (Stime) and Dan (Sawyer) did a great job, they really came through for us. Phil Parrish and Brian French stepped it up and Jaremy Puthoff did an excellent job for us."

The team weathered two technical fouls as well, and hit six 3-pointers on the night to help pad the score. Parrish hit three of them, with one each from Anderson, French and Largent.

For the game, Parrish paced the squad with 15 points, French had 12 and Largent added 11. The boys improved to 11-1 in league play with the wins. They will be on the home court for the season finale on Friday, Feb. 18, hosting Hilmar.

By MARG JACKSON