Weston Ranch scores big upset vs. No. 2 Eagles
SACRAMENTO—El Camino drained five first-quarter 3-pointers and went into the second quarter ahead 30-27 after forcing a breakneck pace with the visiting Weston Ranch High boys basketball team Friday in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III quarterfinals Friday.
“In between (the first and second) quarters, I happened to look over at El Camino’s coach (Justin Clymo) and he just had this big grin on his face,” Weston Ranch coach Bill Slikker said. “They wanted that pace. I don’t know if they knew it or not, but we wanted that pace as well.”
As the game went on, Clymo’s grin slowly turned into a grimace.
The seventh-seeded Cougars ran with No. 2 El Camino throughout.
By the end, Weston Ranch raced past the Eagles, 85-78, to advance to next week’s semifinals set for Wednesday at Galt High.
“I’d call it a mild upset,” Slikker said. “Anytime you knock off a 2 seed, especially if you’re on the road, I’d call it that.
“We didn’t play perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but we played pretty darn good as a team. I thought we played three great quarters, and we’re still looking to put together four.”
Although Weston Ranch outscored El Camino (25-3) 18-16 in the second quarter, Slikker said that was his least favorite quarter of the four.
In the third, the Cougars turned up the defensive pressure and held El Camino to 10 points. In the fourth, it was back to the uptempo pace, as they poured in 27.
James Nunnally (four assists) and
Walter Jackson (five blocks) finished with 17 points and eight rebounds apiece for Weston Ranch.
Brandon Silva added 16 points and three steals, while center Jerrell Walker had 13 points and seven boards.
Keith Arrington paced El Camino with 18 points.
After getting past No. 10 Rio Americano 81-75 in overtime Wednesday, Slikker said his team is focused more than ever.
“We didn’t have any of those lulls tonight. We were consistent and relentless and kept attacking the basket. That was the difference.”
Weston Ranch has just one more hurdle to clear before heading to Arco Arena — the site of the section championships.
The Cougars will take on third-seeded Natomas Wednesday after its 80-52 of No. 6 Foothill.
Staff reports of the
Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/articles/2007/02/24/sports/sports3.txtWeston Ranch one win away from Arco
Weston Ranch pulled off an upset in Sacramento and the Cougars are one win away from playing at Arco Arena.
Weston Ranch, the seventh seed, beat No. 2 El Camino 85-78 on Friday in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III boys basketball quarterfinals.
The Cougars will play No. 3 Natomas in the semifinals on Wednesday at Galt High School.
If they win, it's on to Arco for the finals on March 2.
Weston Ranch (22-7) has never gone this deep into the playoffs in its three varsity seasons.
"We're very happy with the win. One of the goals from the beginning of season was to get to Arco, and we're a win from it," Weston Ranch coach Bill Slikker said. "So we're happy, but we haven't made our goal yet."
James Nunnally and
Walter Jackson led the Cougars with 17 points each. Brandon Silva scored 16 points, and Jerrell Walker had 13.
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Weston Ranch battles into Div. III semifinals
STAFF REPORTS,
Article Last Updated: 02/24/2007 02:31:58 AM PST
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SACRAMENTO — In Weston Ranch's first year, it didn't make the playoffs. In its second season, it reached the second round before being eliminated.
The third year might be the charm, as the Cougars downed host El Camino 85-78 in the second round of the Division III Sac-Joaquin Section boys basketball playoffs.
"We are headed for the third round, and hopefully counting," Weston Ranch coach Bill Slikker said. "We normally would like to have a big three, but tonight we had a big four."
James Nunnally and Walter Jackson (five blocked shots) led the Cougars with 17 points and eight rebounds. Brandon Silva scored 16 points and had three steals, and Jerrell Walker had 13 points and seven rebounds.
"This was truly a team effort, and that is what you want to win on the road," Slikker said.
Weston Ranch plays Natomas in the section semifinals at Galt on Wednesday.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/prepsports/ci_5296706
Kulberg’s record-setting effort not enough
WESTON RANCH—Derek Kulberg and his Manteca High boys basketball team couldn’t miss Friday.
Neither could host Weston Ranch.
Kulberg’s eight made 3-pointers set the Manteca program record in a single game, but the defending co-Valley Oak League champions of Weston Ranch broke a record of its own in a 88-79 barnburning victory.
The Cougars’ point total is the most the team has scored in its three-year varsity history. The previous mark was set Dec. 11 in its 82-44 season-opening win over West Campus.
The way Kulberg and Co. were shooting, Weston Ranch had no choice but to flirt with the century mark.
Kulberg, who twice tied the previous mark of seven 3’s set by Mike Officer in the late 1990’s, had game-high honors with 31 points.
“It’s cool for sure,” Kulberg said of his record-breaking performance, “but I wish we would have won. It was still a fun game to play.”
Buffalo point guard Ruben Cedano hit three of his five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep his team in it, rounding out an impressive all-around performance with 20 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and five steals.
Matt Gomez added 18 points and four assists, as the Buffaloes (4-8, 9-16 overall) totaled 15 field goals from 3-point range.
“They were on like Donkey Kong,” said Weston Ranch guard Brandon Silva. “We couldn’t stop them — they were hot. We had to step up our defense in the second half, but they were still hitting.”
The Cougars (10-2, 20-6) were no slouches from the perimeter either, nailing seven 3’s and many more from just inside the arc.
“They hit outside shots, too, and they’re just a really good team that’s really talented,” Manteca coach Dave Asuncion said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our team.
“We have two more games left, and there’s still no quit in them even though we’re not playing for anything. We’re just playing for pride and doing that with heart.”
Silva, still hampered by a high-ankle sprain that kept him out for a week earlier in the regular season, shared team-high honors with 20 points to go with four steals.
James Nunnally had 18 points and eight boards, while Walter Jackson, who was held to five first-half points, finished with 20 and 10 rebounds.
Jackson poured in 13 of his points in the fourth quarter.
Weston Ranch coach Bill Slikker said a little trash talking was what helped light the fire under his standout senior.
“The worst thing you can do is get under Walter’s skin, as long as he doesn’t lose his focus,” Slikker said. “It was kind of like waking a sleeping giant.”
Weston Ranch led 42-36 at halftime, and the pace seemed to favor the home team despite Manteca’s collectively scorching touch from 15 feet and beyond.
The Buffaloes sank eight of their 3-pointers in the first half, and Slikker figured they would cool off the rest of the way out.
“In our gym, they shot lights out,” Slikker said. “I told coach (Ryan) Bono after the first quarter that we have the pace we want. I didn’t think they could hang with us.
“To my surprise, they did. I’ll play anybody at that pace. It was very physical and very fast. Both teams enjoyed that pace — no question.”
The bottom line is that the tempo is one Weston Ranch is equipped for.
Weston Ranch went on a 13-1 run in the third quarter, stretching its lead to 57-44 — its largest of the game — after Nunnally rattled one in from the post with 47 seconds left.
It wasn’t until Vinny Devencenzi intercepted a pass and tossed it downcourt to Nunnally for an emphatic two-handed dunk with 23 seconds left, making it 86-76, that the Cougars were able to sit comfortably.
And it was a victory Weston Ranch needed to keep pace with first-place Sierra (11-1, 17-7) with two games left on the VOL schedule.
But before those two teams match up, Weston Ranch will head to East Union Wednesday while Sierra hosts Manteca.
Should Sierra and Weston Ranch both win Wednesday, their Feb. 16 meeting will be for a share of the VOL championship.
Sonora (8-4) defeated preseason favorite Ceres (8-4, 19-6) 49-44 in overtime Friday to knock the Bulldogs out of the title race.
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/articles/2007/02/10/sports/sports1.txt
Cougars don’t let up in win over CV
STOCKTON— Weston Ranch came prepared to fend off a determined young Central Valley squad, and after a relatively poor first half performance used a blistering third period to pull away from the Hawks 75-46 Wednesday.
“We opened the game pretty sluggish, it was obvious that we needed work,” Weston Ranch head coach Bill Slikker said. “I told the team that going into the playoffs we need to be a cohesive group.”
The Cougars (9-2, 19-6) came out of the locker room after halftime looking to put the Hawks away, and that is exactly what unfolded.
Cougar guard Brandon Silva scored 10 of his 18 points during the pivotal swing, lifting Weston Ranch to a 29 point lead heading into the final period.
“We pulled our heads out of our butts and started to run and play together as a team,” Silva said. “Once we start running, it opens up a lot of options for us on offense.”
Silva connected on four 3-pointers, two in the third period, while
Walter Jackson controlled the post for nearly the entire game.
“When
Walt comes to play, everyone on this team just rolls in behind him,” Silva said. “When he is on his game, he always ignites us.”
Jackson finished the contest with game-highs in points and rebounds, going for 26 and 15, respectively.
“
Walter played out of position for us out there,” Slikker said of his senior’s performance in the paint for an ill Jerrell Walker. “The one thing that I love most about him is he’s such a coachable kid.
“He’s one of those guys that will do whatever it takes to win.”
With the ease and effort one displays while riding an exercise bike,
Jackson grabbed rebound after rebound and placed the majority of those boards back up for buckets.
“That’s the way it is for him, he’s so smooth in our offense,” Slikker said. “We don’t even have to create plays to get him involved.
“I would have never guessed he had that type of night.”
Jackson’s monster night coupled with Silva’s flawless play in his return from injury, left Central Valley clawing helplessly for answers.
“In a sense, for Brandon, the ankle injury was a blessing because it has enabled him to get some rest,” Slikker said. “He came right in from football to basketball and his body needed the rest.
“He did a great job taking care of his ankle during rehab, which has allowed him to return so effectively.”
Central Valley (1-10, 6-18) fought valiantly, but was unable to get on track against the Cougars’ stifling defense. The Hawks were left pondering on when the Cougars were supposed to go to the bench and relieve their starters from active duty.
“We’re a very young team, and we come in knowing what we are up against,” Central Valley head coach Daryl Dixon said. “I was not happy with the fact that he had his starters in with two minutes to play in the fourth, up by 30.
“That’s something that I don’t control. He makes the decisions for his team.”
With the postseason less than two weeks away, Slikker feels that each second his core group is on the court together is valuable time that he doesn’t have time to make up for.
“I understand where he is coming from, I was in that position three years ago,” Slikker said in response. “He has got to understand that we weren’t trying to run it up on them. Some things you can only work on in games.”
“I feel bad,” Slikker added. “But you make that call and I have to live with it.”
James Nunnally chipped in 16 points, six assists and four rebounds, while Silva picked off five steals to go along with his 18 points.
The Cougars will be in action Friday when they play host to the Manteca Buffaloes at 7:15 p.m. in preparation for a postseason run.
“The team that is playing well together and gelling is the team that will make the run,” Slikker said. “And it is my job to get them ready.”
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/articles/2007/02/08/sports/sports4.txt
Weston Ranch 75,
Central Valley 46
STOCKTON —
Walter Jackson tallied a double-double for Weston Ranch in VOL action.
Jackson scored 24 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and made five blocks. James Nunnally (six assists) and Brandon Silva (five steals) each added 16 points.
"We are just trying to get healthy," Cougars coach Bill Slikker said. "Jerell Walker still has the flu and didn't score for us.
"I think we looked all right in the second half and hopefully we can hold it together going down the stretch."
http://www.insidebayarea.com/search/ci_5182784
FLYIN’ HIGH
Cougars erase early14-point deficit to winWESTON RANCH—After its seven-game Valley Oak League winning streak was snapped, the last thing the Weston Ranch High boys basketball team needed was for another streak of the losing variety to start.Down 14 points to preseason favorite Ceres in the second quarter Wednesday, it was looking as if the Cougars were going to play themselves out of the title chase.So coach Bill Slikker had a positive, heart-felt speech prepped for halftime.“I chewed them out,” Slikker said.And they responded.
The Cougars, after putting through six unanswered points to end the second quarter, stretched the run to 10-0 and 24-7 in the third.In the end,
Walter Jackson pulled down a big defensive rebound off a missed one-and-one free throw and calmly sank two of his own from the stripe with 1.5 seconds to go to seal an important 66-61 victory.Weston Ranch (7-2, 17-6 overall) now shares the second-place spot with the Bulldogs (7-2, 18-4), with Sierra (8-1, 13-8) holding down the top spot following the Timberwolves’ 50-33 win at Central Valley.“It was a must-win game,” Slikker said. “If we lose this, we go down two games to them and we have to rely on other people. At home, you have to win games.”Weston Ranch had several chances to clinch the victory earlier but shot 6-for-14 from the free-throw line.
Heralded junior James Nunnally twice missed the front end of one-and-one free throws with under 25 seconds to go and the Cougars ahead by three.Ceres called a timeout after Nunnally’s second miss and had 6.7 seconds to hit a 3-pointer and send it into overtime.As soon as the ball was inbounded, Nunnally fouled Brett Sayad, who was off the mark on his first one-and-one attempt.“There was no way we were going to let them get off a three and tie it,” Slikker said. “That would be a momentum killer. We weren’t going to take our chances.”As for the early deficit, it was a situation the Cougars have faced before.Jackson highlighted the 45-second, 6-0 spurt at the end of the third quarter with a showtime dunk off a fastbreak feed from Nunnally.
Jerrell Walker tossed in a pair of free throws with 3:02 remaining in the third to give Weston Ranch its first lead (42-41) since it was ahead 3-2 within the first two minutes of the contest.“We’re used to it, but we don’t like being down by 14 points and have to come back,” Nunnally said. “We’d rather finish off teams early and cruise. But if we have to play a tough, physical game, we’ll do that. We’re ready for that.“That was definitely one of the better (stretches) that we’ve played,” he added. “Everybody was playing together and contributing.”Nunnally led the undermanned Cougars with 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists.Jackson had 17 points and nine boards, while Walker contributed 15 points despite battling the flu all week.Brandon Silva was back in action after he went down with a high-ankle sprain Jan. 24 against Oakdale.Weston Ranch is down in numbers after one player quit, two got suspended and key role player Khiry Thomas injured his wrist earlier in the season.Freshman post Ronnie Collins was called up from the sophomore team this week and made his varsity debut Wednesday.“We are beat up right now,” Slikker said. “Brandon battled. His ankle is bad. Jerrell was in question also, because he has a real bad flu.“Jerrell really stepped it up. He was a beast inside for us in that third quarter.”Walker went toe to toe with Ceres’ gigantic frontcourt trio of Kevin Dupree, Steven Downs and Sayad and poured in eight of his 15 in the third quarter alone.“We knew that they’d keep coming at us, no matter if they’re down by 10 or 14,” Ceres coach Jason Martin said. “They run and attack the basket real well, and I thought that we gave up way too many points in the paint in the second half.“They were just a little more physical than we were. (Walker) really hurt us inside. They did a good job of pounding it into the paint and getting good looks. That was the difference.”Ray Green had 15 points and 10 rebounds to pace Ceres. Sayad also had 15 points to go with six boards, while Dupree ended up with eight and nine.Shooting guard Ross Tate finished with 12 points before fouling out of the contest with 22.8 seconds left in the game.Weston Ranch’s defense of its 2006 co-championship continues Friday at Oakdale Friday.
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/articles/2007/02/01/sports/sports1.txtCougars avenge VOL loss to Ceres
By Dave Campbell, CORRESPONDENT
Article Last Updated: 02/01/2007 02:34:12 AM PST
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STOCKTON — It was the play of the game.
With 2:10 left in the game Wednesday night, and his Weston Ranch High Cougars clinging to a 64-59 lead, Vinnie Devencenzi extended his 6-foot frame and secured a long rebound on a Ceres miss. As he was being knocked to the floor, Devencenzi alertly called timeout, and Weston Ranch held on for a 66-61 win in the Valley Oak League.
The Cougars avenged a loss to Ceres earlier in the season.
"I knew that I had to get position on them," Devencenzi said. "The rebound was very important to us, and we needed the ball back.
"At first when I went down, I thought she was going to call traveling on me, but I looked to my right and did not hear a whistle, so I called timeout."
With 1.5 seconds left, the Cougars'
Walter Jackson (13 points) secured a rebound and made two free throws to make the final score 66-61.
"Honestly for us this was a must-win game," Weston Ranch coach Bill Slikker said. "If we had lost this one we would have gone down two games to them and would have had to rely on help from others.
"At home you have to win the tough games, just like they did against us at their place."
With 2:30 left in the third quarter, James Nunnally (23 points) capped a 20-8 run to start the half and make the Cougars' lead 46-42 on a short field goal.
"Halftime was a gut check for us," Slikker said. "The kids dug deep and came out aggressive and turned it up another notch, and they didn't quite match it."
The win puts the Cougars at 18-8 overall and 7-2 in league and Ceres drops to 18-4, 7-2.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/prepsports/ci_5132911
