A spirit week crowd in Kimball High's gym gave the Jaguar basketball team the intensity it needed for a 57-52 win over visiting Oakdale.
The teams proved to be an even match as Oakdale (7-11, 2-5 VOL) started with a first quarter lead and Kimball (10-11, 3-5 VOL) came back to tie it up 12-12 at the end of the first. The Jaguars then out-rebounded a cold-shooting Mustang team in the second quarter.
For most of the game the inside of the key was hotly contested territory, but the outside shooters were on target with their 3-pointers, hitting 16 outside shots between the teams. A series of 3-point shots from Alex Toledo, Shakeel Carpenter and Dilraj Singh, put the Jaguars ahead 29-21 at the half.
Oakdale beat Kimball in their first Valley Oak League meeting three weeks ago. Kimball players said the difference this time around was a stronger team effort.
“We’ve just got to keep passing around and sharing the ball,” junior guard Chandler Alves said.
Junior forward Toledo, who hit four 3-point shots for the night, said those kinds of scoring opportunities came up because the Jaguars kept the ball moving toward the open man.
“It just makes everyone else score. It psyches everyone up,” he said, adding that the atmosphere in Kimball’s gym on Friday, with the school celebrating its “Swoosh Bam” spirit week, also helped the team play harder.
Kimball coach Joe Lawrence said that he saw a more aggressive team in the Jaguars on Friday, especially on the boards. Junior forward Evan Owens collected 16 rebounds for the night.
“All of our games have been keyed on defense, so we’re just glad we got this win on defense and rebounding,” Owens said, adding that his team was ready for Oakdale to put up a good game. “We just came out with a game plan and succeeded with that game plan.”
The Jaguars stretched their lead by as much as 11 points a few times in the third quarter, but Oakdale, also supported by a series of 3-point shots, came back and briefly held the lead in the fourth before DeVante Baisa and Evan Owens scored to get the Jaguars back into the lead.
Toledo was the Jaguars’ scoring leader with 12 points, Owens scored 11, Joe Walls scored eight points and had eight rebounds, and Singh and Baisa scored seven each.
Varsity boys: West 56, McNair 55
The first half of the Tri-City Athletic League season finishes with a three-way tie for first place after West’s 56-55 win over McNair on Friday in Stockton. Both the Wolf Pack, 18-4 overall, and the Eagles, 15-4 overall, are 4-1 in the TCAL, with St. Mary’s also at 4-1.
It sets up a battle for first place in the league in the second half of the season, and the TCAL is also likely to be well-represented in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs with the second-highest league rating in the section, right behind the Sacramento area’s Delta River League. On Monday the section will release the first of three power ratings reports to show where teams stand in the race for playoffs.
Friday’s game showed that nobody is going to get the top spot in the TCAL without a fight. West and McNair played a close first quarter before the Eagles took a 33-28 halftime lead. West was down by up to 12 points in the third quarter and had to hold McNair to just four points in the fourth in order to take the win.
“We just did what was necessary and defended really well,” West coach Derek Sprecksel said. He credited Jordan McIntosh as the team’s offensive and defensive standout. McIntosh scored 26 points for the night, including three 3-point shots, and also had to guard McNair’s usual scoring leader, Thomas Wallace, to hold him to nine points for the night.
West’s top scorers also included DeAndre Thompson with eight points and Jaylen Sanders, Robert Mason and Kenneth Daye with six points each.
Varsity boys: Tracy 55, Chavez 54
Tracy High’s varsity boys (8-11, 2-3 SJAA) held the lead over Chavez (13-9, 3-2 SJAA) through the first half of Friday’s home game, but turnovers allowed the Titans to take the lead in the third quarter and nearly shut down the Bulldogs in the fourth.
Tracy coach Doug Silva said that the Bulldog defense came though big at the end. Down by seven points with just over a minute left, Ryan Black hit a 3-point shot to provide the offensive spark the Bulldogs needed, and Tracy forced the turnovers to cut the Titans’ lead to 54-53 as the clock ran down.
Tracy forced another turnover with a press that wouldn’t allow the Titans to in-bound the ball in time, and the Bulldogs then ran a play that finished with T.J. Williams hitting a shot from 12 feet out to put Tracy up 55-54 with four seconds left. Justin Phelps then made a steal as soon as Chavez inbounded the ball to seal the win.
Silva added that Tracy’s rebounding was strong through the second half, which limited Chavez’ second-chance shots, and the Bulldogs made their stops at half court when the Titans were able to get back on offense.
Williams led Tracy's offense with 20 points, and Black scored 14.
Varsity boys: Millennium 69, Stone Ridge Christian 45
The Falcons (7-9, 2-2 CCAA) consistently outscored the Knights in the first half of Friday’s game at West High to take the 33-19 lead at the half. The Knights (3-9, 0-4 CCAA) started to keep up with the Falcons in the third quarter, but Millennium again turned up its offense in the fourth for the 69-45 win.
Daniel Yanez was the Falcons’ leading scorer with 26 points. Jamani Woods scored 10, Mark Dewitt scored eight, and Tanner Carroll, Raj Kumar and John Lukach each scored six.
Sophomore boys: Kimball 73, Oakdale 33
The Jaguars (17-3, 8-0 VOL) were relentless in their outside shooting Friday at home, making seven 3-point shots for the night against visiting Oakdale. Kimball had a 38-16 lead at the half and continued to outscored the Mustangs in the second half. Leading scorers for the Jaguars were Jonah Laguana, Bryer Peet and Mykelle Elliott, who each scored 13 points for the night. Kean Mutia scored eight and Ali Habal and Andrew Aellos scored seven each.
Sophomore boys: West 65, McNair 14
The Wolf Pack’s press gave West a 35-7 lead at the half. All of West’s players got in the game in both halves, and all players scored. Leading scorers were Alvin Crenshaw with 13 points, Salmon Tareen with 12 and Anthony Ross with 10 points. West is now 9-11 overall and 2-3 in the TCAL.
Freshman boys: Kimball 43, Oakdale 25
Kimball’s freshmen (7-1 VOL) shut out the Mustangs in the first quarter and held a 25-4 lead at the half on their way to a win. Mario Perez and Peter Van Katwyk each scored eight points, and Tiko Davenport, Sai Padhy and Evander Cruz each scored five points.
Freshman boys: Tracy 63, Chavez 28
Tracy High’s freshmen (11-5, 3-2 SJAA) got scoring contributions from across the Bulldogs’ roster on Friday at Chavez High in the 63-28 win. Nate Brown led the way with 11 points and Druce Asah scored 10. Jeff Nguyen scored eight points, Eric Travis scored six, Jake Serrato scored five, Nate Jones, Austin Coakley and Anthony Karjalainen each scored four, Ajay Ceema scored three, and Austin Tucker and Marc Anchartechahar scored two each.
Freshman boys: West 56, McNair 32
West High’s freshmen move to 4-1 in the TCAL with a 56-32 win at McNair High Friday. The Wolf Pack jumped out to a 19-9 lead in the first quarter and West was up 32-13 at the half. West’s Spencer Carroll led all scorers with 23 points, Kyle Hunt scored 12, Austin Torma added eight, Max Aduako scored five and Kona Chong and Donovan Patterson scored four each.
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