Just before the New Year’s holiday, Escalon’s varsity basketball boys earned the Consolation Championship of Oakdale Rotary Tournament, defeating Johansen on Monday, Dec. 29. It was the first of three games for the Cougars during the week and they won all three contests.
At the Oakdale tourney, they were 63-53 winners against Johansen, outscoring them 37-20 over the middle two periods.
“Johansen has been playing good ball this season. They pose a challenge because they have an elite shooter and several athletic wing players. After a second quarter defensive adjustment, we kept their best player in check, seeming to negatively impact their offensive success,” said head coach Nate Bartelinik. “Credit primarily to Issac Petalio, but also Donovan Martinez for limiting Johansen’s best player’s touches. We shot the ball really well that night. The ball was moving, and when the ball has energy, it often equates to efficient offense. It was a good win to end the tournament.”
Logan Huebner paved the way with 19 points, 21 rebounds, and six assists.
“Just a massive performance. There’s no other way to describe it,” Bartelink said of the senior taking on a leadership role for the squad.
Jake Ferreira had 16 points, including four three-pointers, and dished out four assists; Conner Jones had eight points and Ben Ferreira had seven.
Friday, Jan. 2, the boys were at Johansen and defeated the host Vikings, taking their second win of the week from the same squad, this time by a 63-57 decision.
“With the way the schedule fell, we played Johansen again for the second time in five nights. Playing the same opponent in back-to-back games almost never happens,” noted Bartelink. “Obviously there was a lot of familiarity on both sides. Johansen came in with a few offensive adjustments in an attempt to counter how we were guarding their best player. We didn’t change much early on and actually held their best player to zero points in the first half. Again, Issac Petalio did a great job defending him. The problem was another one of their players was having success, along with our ten first half turnovers.”
The Cougars regrouped at halftime, adjusting things defensively a bit. However, the coach said his team struggled offensively in the third quarter and trailed by ten going into the fourth.
“Something flipped in the fourth quarter and we had our best quarter of the season at the right time. Our defense tightened up and we started converting our offensive opportunities,” Bartelink noted of the comeback win. “The players continued to believe and just chipped away. We took care of the ball much better with only two second half turnovers, and played with a ton of heart. That win was very gratifying. We had struggled in the fourth quarter this season and putting together that kind of fourth quarter performance showed some growth for our players. I was extremely proud of them.”
Logan Huebner had 15 points, seven rebounds; Conner Jones 15 points, five rebounds. Issac Petalio added 14 points, along with his strong defense, and Bartelink said he made some big offensive plays throughout, on the way to his varsity career high in points. Jake Ferreira had nine points and four steals.
The team wrapped up a busy holiday break with a short road trip to Riverbank, facing off with a former Trans-Valley League foe, the Bruins, on Saturday evening, Jan. 3. The game went in the books as a 65-50 win for Escalon.
“We played a solid four quarters of basketball. Riverbank had a couple impactful players return to their line-up after being out due to transfer rules and an injury. They are much improved over last season,” said Bartelink. “It was great to rekindle an old TVL rivalry. It brought back a lot of memories competing against a program that I respect a ton. I was proud of our players for playing well throughout.”
Escalon had a seven-point halftime lead that they extended to 15 with an 8-0 run to start the third quarter.
“We never looked back. Our guys gave great effort and ended our non-league schedule on a great note,” the coach said. “Logan Huebner was a monster; making winning plays, scoring at all three levels. His career high of 27 points was big, but he was on the floor multiple times, securing loose balls or knocking it to a teammate. His four-year varsity career is in its last couple of months, but I’m not taking for granted what he’s doing for us in a Cougar uniform.”
Along with his 27 points, Huebner had five rebounds, four assists and five steals; the Ferreira brothers were also key, as Jake Ferreira had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists; Ben Ferreira had 13 points, four rebounds and five assists.
“There are still things to improve upon, but we’re playing pretty good basketball at the right time. We’ve started to figure out what makes us successful. Now we need to remain consistent and be able to play well for four quarters, especially in critical moments, against the better teams,” Bartelink said.
The boys are scheduled to begin TVL play this week, with a road game Jan. 7 at Sonora and hosting the Hilmar Yellowjackets on Friday night, Jan. 9 for Winter Homecoming.
They improved to 9-7overall with the trio of wins this past week and head into league on a four-game winning streak and ranked eighth in the CIF SJS Division IV MaxPreps rankings.
“Until someone knocks off Ripon Christian, the TVL title goes through their gym. I’m confident we have the guys in the locker room to get it done. It sounds cliche, but we need to take it one practice, one game at a time,” Bartelink explained “We can’t look past anyone in our league because it’s pretty balanced. Sonora and Ripon are always tough. Hughson and Hilmar have improved.”
Tip off for the varsity game on Friday night at home will follow the JV boys and the varsity girls.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The JV Cougar boys played for the title at the Oakdale Rotary Tournament on Dec. 29, going up against the host Oakdale JV team. They lost by a 58-40 final, taking second place honors.
“Ian Trejo, Benji Novetzke and Trevor Jansen had really good tournament play,” said head coach Dave Anderson. “This week we lost to Johansen in OT and beat Riverbank.”
Against Johansen, it was a 71-67 loss, though Jansen had 25 points to lead the team.
“Benji Novetzke had 18 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead our comeback, which fell just short,” Anderson said.
At Riverbank on Saturday, the JV Cougars came away with a 77-32 victory.
“Everyone played well; Trejo had 20 points to go with an incredible defensive performance; Jansen had 15 points and Rhodey Trimble added 14, Ty Caton had eight,” noted Anderson.
FRESHMEN
Both games for the freshmen were losses this past week but head coach Brenden Holmes said he is seeing some good things from the squad.
“We lost to Johansen 55-36, but the boys are showing heart and improvement,” Holmes explained. “Jackson Degruy led that game with 14 points and eight rebounds.”
At Riverbank on Saturday, it was a close game, but the frosh boys fell short, 41-34.
