Cougars knock off Natomas to advance to section finalsGALT — It’s still 11:59 p.m. on their clock.The seventh-seeded Cougars of Weston Ranch High gave up the game’s first 12 points and roared back to upend No. 3 Natomas 72-59 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division III playoff semifinal Wednesday at Galt High, earning the school’s first-ever boys basketball berth to the championship round in the process.“We’re the Cinderella, and if you want to look at it that way right now we’re wearing that slipper with pride,” said Weston Ranch coach Bill Slikker.Last Friday, the Cougars (24-7) upset No. 2 El Camino 85-78 on the road.Natomas (28-2) came into Wednesday’s contest ranked sixth in Northern California while riding a 19-game winning streak.
During that streak, the Nighthawks were rarely tested having won by an average margin of 26 points per game.Slikker said he scheduled a tough preaseason for his team — which saw some of the top teams in the state and the nation at the George Maldonado Classic in Reno, Nev. and the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic — to prepare the Cougars for their postseason run.Whether its last two victories were upsets based on seeding or Weston Ranch is simply peaking at just the right time, the Cougars proved that they belong all along.“Yeah they can be called upsets, but with the schedule we played it was hard for us to get a higher seed,” said Cougar center Jerrell Walker, who had 12 points and 15 rebounds. “We saw some of the best big men at those tournaments, so we were used to seeing them.
”Natomas 6-foot-7 center Justin Baker, the team’s leading scorer for the season, was limited to 13 points before fouling out.Zach Nelson, a hard-bodied 6-6 forward, also fouled out, finishing with six points.Nighthawk guard Marquis Robinson poured in all of his 19 points in the second half, but the latter two quarters belonged to Weston Ranch.The Cougars were shell-shocked by Natomas’ combination of size, activity and athleticism before settling in and countering the Nighthawks’ early run with a 9-0 spurt of their own.“We knew that we could play with them,” Weston Ranch wingman James Nunnally said. “I don’t know why we came out so sluggish, but we picked it up on defense.
Once we started scoring, everything started flowing for us.”Nunnally was Weston Ranch’s go-to guy throughout, as he scored the majority of his 25 points with short-range jumpers in the lane and slick drives to the hoop. He also pulled down eight rebounds.
Walter Jackson ended up with 13 points and 10 boards.“We know that we can come back when we get down,” Nunnally said. “We have faith, we believe in each other. It’s not just one person, it’s the whole team.”While Weston Ranch’s Big 3 did what it normally does, it took a complete effort from everybody else who got playing time.Reserve point guard Mic’eal Thomas scored all of his seven points in the second half, and Brandon Silva finished with eight.Khiry Thomas’ only bucket, a fastbreak layup off a cross-court feed from Mic’eal Thomas, with 3:43 remaining pushed the Cougars’ fourth-quarter lead to 59-43 — their largest of the contest.Natomas cut its deficit down to 11 three times down the stretch, but the Cougars nailed nine of their last 12 free-throw attempts.
Weston Ranch, which is guaranteed a spot in next week’s California Interscholastic State Northern California Regional Championships, will face No. 4 Sacramento Friday at Arco Arena.Sacramento defeated top-seeded Union Mine 49-44 Wednesday in the other semifinal showdown. Sacramento is ranked ninth according to NorCalPreps.com, and Union Mine is 14th.“I didn’t go around telling people this, but I thought that the two teams that will still be in it at the end will be Sacramento and us, because we’re the two most battle tested teams of the tournament,” Slikker said. “Our goal at the beginning of the season during our very first practice was Arco — period.“Now that we’re going to Arco, we want to win that game. We’re hungry. We’re playing extremely well right now, and I like our chances.”By JONAMAR JACINTOSports editor of the Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/articles/2007/03/01/sports/sports1.txt
Cougars on course for dream ending
GALT - Weston Ranch's dream season lives on.
The No. 7 Cougars advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship game with a 72-59 upset victory over Natomas on Wednesday at Galt High's Warrior Gym. Weston Ranch (24-7) will play fourth-seeded Sacramento at 9 p.m. Friday at Arco Arena. Sacramento upset top-seeded Union Mine 49-44.
Weston Ranch coach Bill Slikker said it wasn't easy to prepare for the Nighthawks (28-2), but he said he was proud of the way his defense responded.
"Natomas penetrates (the key) really well, so we worked hard on that over the past few days," Slikker said. "We're playing pretty well right now."
James Nunnally proved difficult to defend, consistently penetrating for his game-high 25 points. The 6-foot-5 forward also impressed Cougars fans by making a 3-pointer. Nunnally said playing the role of underdog, mostly because of Natomas's size, did not faze him or his teammates.
"It didn't matter that they were bigger than us," Nunnally said. "We had position and helped each other on defense."
Walter Jackson (13 points) and Jerrell Walker (12), also scored in double figures, but Walker said the Cougars played with a "defense-first" mentality.
"We had to get back on defense and keep it to one shot," he said. "We wanted to run it because they were bigger."
The game couldn't have started worse for the Cougars, as the Nighthawks jumped out to a 12-0 lead. But Weston Ranch went on a 14-2 run to tie the game on Nunnally's offensive rebound and basket.
Nunnally also was instrumental in the second quarter by scoring four points and distributing three assists during a 15-5 run. But it wasn't until Walter Jackson's follow-up shot in the lane that the Cougars got their first lead, 23-21.
http://recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070301/A_SPORTS09/703010323/-1/A_SPORTS
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