Following a controversial loss to Sacramento in the Sac-Joaquin section Division III championship game, the Weston Ranch high boys basketball team is relaxed and confident heading into today’s CIF State Basketball Northern California Championships first round against Acalanes of Lafayette.Sacramento was ranked 20th in California this week by Scouts.com, and was projected to be seeded first in Division III by the website before CIF released the brackets with St. Ignatius of San Francisco in the top spot.Having played with the Dragons until the final seconds, and knowing that a call (or non-call) in their favor could’ve meant the first section championship in school history, the Cougars are fully aware that they can play with anyone in Northern California.“We’re loose right now,” Weston Ranch head coach Bill Slikker said. “All the pressure is on (Acalanes). At the seven-seed, what do we have to lose?”The Cougars have thrived in the role of underdog during the postseason thus far.Having made their way to Arco Arena as the No. 7 seed in the section playoffs, the Cougars had to win two games on the road against top-notch competition — no easy feet.
“We’re confident,” Slikker said. “We had three good days of practice. It all comes down to tempo. If they try to run with us, we’ll have the advantage. If they slow it down and force us to play their game, we could have trouble.”Acalanes, recently ranked 8th in the Bay Area by Cal-Hi Sports, plays a grind-it-out brand of basketball.Jordan Fillmore, the Dons’ 6-foot-8 senior center is a bruiser at 230 pounds.Acalanes loves to slow the tempo and feed the ball to their towering centerpiece.“(Fillmore) does a lot of things for them,” Slikker said. “He can handle the ball, he can shoot and post up. We’ve got to get help in order to stop him.”Fillmore led the Dons to a 13-1 Diablo Foothill League championship.Ranked as high as 6th in the state at one point, Acalanes is 25-4 and have won 13 straight games.Last week the Dons took down Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland for the North Coast section title, 60-43.Scoring 63 points a game and only giving up 46, Acalanes is 11-1 at home on the year and played a tough preseason schedule.In one of only four losses, the Dons were clipped by De La Salle 37-36. The Spartans were ranked No. 1 in the state in Division I at the time.“They are a good fundamental team,” Slikker said. “They don’t make mistakes. They are methodical, and they take advantage of your mental miscues.”James Nunnally is playing his best basketball of the season at the right time for the Cougars.Averaging 23 points a game in the postseason, Nunnally has led Weston Ranch in scoring in all four playoff appearances, and saved the Cougars’ season in the first round with a game-tying shot with under four seconds left in regulation against Rio Americano.In the section championship, Jerrell Walker and Walter Jackson drew tough assignments against Sacramento’s sizable front court, forcing Nunnally, Brandon Silva and Vinny Devencenzi to step up their games on the offensive end.Look for a similar scenario today, as Acalanes’ front court features 6-foot-4 senior forward Joe Wallace to compliment Fillmore.If the Cougars can pull out the upset, a rematch with Sacramento possibly awaits in the second round.The Dragons drew an extremely tough first-round opponent in Riordan of San Francisco, currently ranked 10th in Northern California.Riordan beat top-seeded St. Ignatius three times in the regular season before falling to their crosstown rival in the section final 51-48 after their best player fouled out with two minutes remaining.Even so, Slikker gives the nod to the Dragons.“Right now I’d have to give the advantage to Sacramento at home,” Slikker said.If the Dragons and Cougars do face off in the second round, Weston Ranch will have unique opportunity to claim a little revenge and find themselves one game away from a repeat appearance at Arco Arena, this time with a state title on the line.By BRANDON PETERSENStaff reporter of theManteca (Calif.) Bulletin
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/articles/2007/03/08/sports/sports4.txt
The votes are in: Nunnally, Gowan are VOL’s best
OAKDALE — After the All-Valley Oak League meeting had ended in Oakdale Wednesday, 26 area basketball players and three area coaches were honored for the efforts on and around the hardwood this season.Highlighting the voting was Weston Ranch’s James Nunnally and East Union’s Christin Gowan who took home the boys and girls Most Valuable Player awards, respectively.East Union’s Brian Goulart and Manteca’s Andrea Hiatt shared Coach of the Year honors for girls basketball, while Sierra’s Scott Thomason took home the honor on the boys side.James Nunnally, Weston Ranch’s junior phenom took home MVP honors after leading the Cougars to second-place finish in league and an appearance in the section finals.Nunnally finished the VOL campaign averaging 18 points a game to go along with 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists.“James was the leading scorer in league. He never had an off night,” Weston Ranch head coach Bill Slikker said. “He was consistent game in and game out, which I think was the leading factor in the voting.
Senior forward Walter Jackson (Weston Ranch), senior swingman Marvin Cotton (Sierra) and junior forward Adonis Brown (Sierra) took home first team All-VOL honors.“Those two (Cotton and Brown) meant everything to us,” Thomason said. “Adonis’ rebounding and toughness as small as he is was huge. Marvin’s ball handling. He’s just a big time scorer and rebounder. Those guys deserve it.”Manteca’s guard Sughey Cervantes and forward Kym Gause, both seniors, as well as East Union’s junior guard Ellen Parker made the first team on the girls side.Second team honors went to senior guard Derek Kulberg (Manteca), senior center Jerrell Walker (Weston Ranch), senior center Melanie Promes (Manteca), sophomore center Heather Scharmann (Sierra), senior center Kathy Stephenson (East Union), senior forward Kay Bautista (East Union) and senior forward Ashley Bonifacio (Manteca).Highlighting the honorable mentions were senior guard Ruben Cedano (Manteca), senior guard Aaron Gonzalez (Sierra), junior guard Matt Gomez (Manteca), senior center Brett Paige (Sierra), junior forward Kathy Butler (Weston Ranch) and senior guard Shauntey Cliatt (Weston Ranch).
Several players got the nod for the All-Defense squad as well.They include: Cedano, junior guard Eddie Morales (Sierra), senior guard Brandon Silva (Weston Ranch), junior center Mallory McIntyre (Sierra), senior guard Alex Gonzalez (Manteca) and sophomore guard Rachel McDaniel (East Union).Staff reports for theManteca (Calif.) Bulletin
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/articles/2007/03/08/sports/sports6.txt
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