Friday, Jan. 01, 2010
Basketball: Los Banos loses championship to Calaveras
By John-Joel Griffiths / jgriffiths@losbañosenterprise.com
Print
E-Mail
AIM
ReprintOAKDALE -- The Los Baños High boys sophomore basketball team gave Calaveras High a run for its money during the third day of the Oakdale Rotary Classic on Wednesday.
Down by five at the half, Los Baños pulled within two points of the lead and threatened throughout the final half.
However, Calaveras knocked down key jumpers down the stretch and closed the tournament with a 47-42 win over Los Baños.
"They outhustled us," Los Baños head coach Greg Soliz said. "I think that was the difference -- and they outrebounded us. We gave them a lot of second and third chances and they took advantage of them."
The Tigers only trailed by one point after the first quarter. They went into the locker room facing a 21-16 deficit.
In the third quarter, Los Baños guard Garrett Guilford opened up the half with a 3-pointer to make it 21-19.
Calaveras answered back with a 6-0 run before Tramane Moore knocked down a runner in the paint.
Gary Dunn assisted a Kyle Quint score to make it 32-23.
Jake Martin got hot from beyond the arc and knocked down back-to-back 3-balls on consecutive trips down the court to make it 34-29 with 9-minutes, 39-seconds left in regulation.
"Jake was very consistent," Soliz said. "And we were hoping to get him the ball a lot more. The biggest difference is we didn't play defense. We made our shots but at the same time we needed to get out and stop them."
Calaveras answered back with a trey of its own to make it an eight-point game once again.
Moore closed the third quarter with a pair of free throws, which made it 37-31.
Quint opened up the fourth quarter with an assist to Javier Garcia, who cut it to four.
Dunn assisted Martin for a bucket to keep Los Baños within two possessions, and then Guilford (9 points) converted on his third 3-ball of the contest to make it a five-point game.
Moore (7 points) connected on a triple to make it a 44-41 ball game with under two minutes to play.
Martin (11 points) earned a trip to the free-throw line and made the first of a 1-and-1. He missed the second, however, and that made it a two-point contest.
Calaveras' Chris Simpson crushed Los Baños' hopes of finishing the Oakdale tournament with a 2-1 record.
"They knocked down their shots," Soliz said. "Defensively we just couldn't get on their shooters. They knocked them down when it counted."
Simpson sunk the biggest shot of the ball game for Calaveras, which was a 17-foot jumper that made it 46-42 with 25 seconds left.
Los Baños wasn't able to convert during the final 20 seconds.
On Tuesday, Los Baños knocked off Hughson, 69-35.
On Monday the Tigers opened the Rotary Classic with a 54-41 loss against Johansen High of Modesto.
This Wednesday Los Baños will open up Central California Conference play against Golden Valley High of Merced on the road in Merced.
On Friday, the Tigers will host Atwater High as CCC play kicks into full gear.
To contact John-Joel Griffiths, e-mail jgriffiths@losbañosenterprise.com or call 826-3831 ext. 565.