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WINNING WAYS
Jones wills Weston Ranch to winWith his jersey draped over his head, Davon Jones skipped to midcourt and pumped his chest as teammates mobbed him following his buzzer-beater.For a moment there, Jones thought he was dreaming.He wasn’t.The soft-spoken senior buried a 3-pointer with no time left on the clock to send the game into overtime, and then after a short celebration, scored all five points during the extra session as the Cougars rallied to an emotionally-charged 45-42 victory over Sierra High.Weston Ranch has now won four straight Valley Oak League games, and remains in a two-way tie for second place with district rival East Union High at 4-2.
But it took some theatrics to keep the streak alive.After Aaron Gonzalez missed a free throw with 11.9 seconds left that would have given Sierra a four-point lead, Jones rushed the Cougars up court.The final play was designed for Walter Jackson along the baseline but the shot never materialized, leaving Jones all alone in a race against time.Tick. Tock.“We had a play designed for Walter, but they did a good job of covering it up,” Weston Ranch coach Bill Slikker said. “To be honest, that was a hail mary . . . a prayer answered.”With two defenders in his face and less than two seconds on the game clock, Jones released a high-arcing heave.A rowdy crowd held its collective breaths as the buzzer sounded.Swish.“I knew I just had to get a good release,” Jones said playing back the still-frames of his buzzer-beater. “I didn’t even feel it leave my hands.“Sierra came out and got after it. But coach Slikker told us that we needed to win this rivalry game. We’re looking toward the playoffs, so this was good experience for us. We needed to do this.”Jones, who scored all 11 of his points in the second half, took the opening tip in overtime and converted a conventional three-point play to give the Cougars the lead for good, 43-40.
Mic’ael Thomas had 12 points, including seven points in the third quarter as Weston Ranch closed to within one heading into the fourth.“This is a tough one,” Sierra coach Scott Thomason said. “I’ll take the blame for this one. The kids fought hard. We’ve talked about putting teams away . . . and Jones hits a tough shot like that. I didn’t think we could play it any better than that.”The Timberwolves have now lost four of their last five contests, including three straight.Gonzalez seemed destine to right the ship though.The scrappy junior point guard knifed through the paint and connected on a floater with 35 seconds left in regulation to give Sierra a 39-37 lead.Then with less than 12 seconds left, he had a chance to ice the victory. His free throw caromed off the right side of the rim and into the arms of Jackson.Fate took its course from there.Gonzalez finished with a game-high 14 points and 10 rebounds, but watched as his last-ditch shot in overtime dribbled out of bounds.Weston Ranch had won its last two games by 10 or more points, but Slikker said it’s the close ones like Wednesday’s that shape character.There were 19 lead changes and six ties. The Timberwolves led for 12 minutes, 55 seconds during the second and third quarters.The Cougars took their first lead since the 7:19-mark in the second quarter when James Nunnally floated in a runner at the start of the fourth.“This is huge for us,” Slikker said. “We didn’t have any big games last year. (This year) we’ve been in a few games where they had to finish, and those games have been instrumental.“We have to find out what we’re made of. This will be a huge momentum lift for us.”Weston Ranch (13-5 overall) welcomes Buhach Colony High on Friday, while Sierra (7-10) gears up for another district rivalry game against visiting Manteca High.Both games tip-off at 7:15 p.m.
Junior Varsity
Weston Ranch trailed by four at the intermission but staged a mad fourth-quarter blitz to escape with a 44-35 win at Sierra.Josh Bowen scored 15 points and Darrel Johnson tallied nine as the Cougars outscored the Timberwolves 17-6 in the final stanza.Adonis Brown led Sierra with 18 points.
Freshman
Three players scored in double digits for Weston Ranch in a tight-knit 55-51 victory over Sierra Wednesday.Chris Durante led the Cougars balanced attack with 14 points, while Jashune Stokes and Casey Stephens chipped in 14 and 11, respectively.Chris Choate led all scorers with 15 points in the losing effort. Jordan Richardson and Robert Plunk chimed in with nine points apiece for the Timberwolves.By JAMES BURNSSports editor of theManteca (Calif.) Bulletin
www.mantecabulletin.com
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