Cougars stage second straight big upset, face No. 4 Sacramento tonight
By Stephen Roberson, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 03/02/2007 02:33:20 AM PST
GALT — You can call them Cinderella or you can call them Lucky No. 7 — one more win and you'll be calling them section champions.
The Weston Ranch boys basketball team, the seventh seed in the 16-team Sac-Joaquin Section Division III tournament, overcame Natomas' 12-0 opening run to beat the No. 3 Nighthawks 72-59 at Galt High on Wednesday.
The victory lifts the Cougars (24-7) into tonight's section championship against No. 4 Sacramento at Arco Arena. By advancing to the finals, Weston Ranch earns an automatic berth in the NorCal tournament. Game time is 9 p.m.
Wednesday night's win was the Cougars' second straight big upset — at least in terms of tournament seeding. They earned a trip to the semifinals with a road win over No. 2 El Camino last week.
But make no mistake, the two wins didn't surprise anyone.
The Cougars played a brutal schedule that included top-notch talent at tournaments in Reno and at Modesto Christian, going a combined 4-4.
The heavy early-season difficult slate damaged the Cougars' chances of earning a high seed, but it also prepared them for the types of battles they're seeing in the playoffs.
"Every step is a learning step," Weston Ranch coach Bill Slikker said. "Those tournaments were (meant to prepare us) for moments like this."
The Cougars certainly didn't look prepared early.
Natomas stormed out to a 12-0 lead, dominating so convincingly that simply keeping the game from becoming a laugher seemed as if it was going to be a difficult task.
But a funny thing happened on the way to a blowout — Weston Ranch responded, proving it does indeed belong.
The Cougars put together a 14-2 run to tie the game with 1:55 left in the first quarter and entered the second quarter trailing 16-14.
"It was important (to answer fast) so we knew we could play with them," said 6-foot-5 junior forward James Nunnally, who led all scorers with 25 points. "(The poor start) was just nerves. They've been here before, but it's the first time we've been here."
Fittingly, while the Cougars' challenging road to the playoffs served them well, the Nighthawks' schedule probably — at least in part — led to their downfall.
Natomas (28-2) was searching for its 20th straight victory. During that run, the Nighthawks outscored their opponents by an average of more than 27 points per game.
"We talked about that the last two days," Slikker said. "Streaks are meant to be broken.
"We were the battle-tested team coming in."
Center Jerrell Walker, who finished with 13 points, said it was clear the Natomas players didn't know how to react once they were really tsted.
"They weren't used to being down that late in the game," he said. "I guess they kind of lost their composure."
Actually, the Nighthawks' composure went AWOL midway through the first quarter.
Natomas controlled the first three minutes of the game, building the 12-0 lead. Walter Jackson (13 points) got the Cougars on the scoreboard with an inside jumper, and the ice was broken.
Brandon Silva and Nunnally followed with consecutive layups. Walker then hit the first of two free throws and added an inside jumper just 15 seconds later.
In a meret 2:08, the Cougars had cut a 12-point deficit to three points, stealing the momentum and leaving the Nighthawks reeling. Having blown such a big lead in such a short amount of time, the Nighthawks never recovered.
Nunnally had two big field goals — one a 3-pointer — to help the Cougars tie the game 14-14.
Natomas led 16-14 at quarter's end, and the slim lead wouldn't last.
Zach Nelson gave the Nighthawks a 21-18 lead with 5:02 remaining in the half, but then Weston Ranch took control.
Led by Nunnally, Jackson and Walker, Weston Ranch closed out the first half on an 11-0 run to take a 29-21 kead. A back-and-forth third quarter ended with the Cougars in front 48-39.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/prepsports/ci_5338731
Cougars can make history
Weston Ranch High boys basketball coach Bill Slikker said he remained calm when the Cougars' season was in jeopardy.
They trailed Natomas (28-2) 12-0 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III semifinals when Slikker decided to talk things over.
"The kids came in overexcited, and we weren't calm and collected," Slikker said. "We had a timeout and said relax, take a breath and go out there and play ball."
The No. 7 Cougars (24-7) responded and bear the No. 3 Nighthawks 72-59 to the section championship game against No. 4 Sacramento (24-5).
At 9 p.m. today at Arco Anrea Weston Ranch has a chance to win its first section title in any sport.
"Hopefully, we can continue to wear that Cinderella slipper a little longer," Slikker said. "We're very excited, but (Wednesday) night was our night to celebrate. Going into this season, our goal was to get to Arco. We said, 'let's get there and win it'."
Weston Ranch reached the section final in just its third varsity season. After going 1-24 two years ago, the Cougars finished 20-6 and won a share of the Valley Oak League last season. That squad lost to Foothill in the section quarterfinals.
"You stick with your gameplan, work hard and put the time in and it'll pay off," Slikker said of building the program. "We've taken that next step and gone further. (Last year's) senior class set the tone for the program, the senior class this year and has built upon that."
By contrast, the Dragons are a traditional power. They won the section in 2005 and finished as the runner-up last season. Sacramento senior center Fred Ellis leads the Dragons with 17.1 points and 7.9 rebounds.
"We've got to bring our A-plus game in order to try to pull another one out," Slikker said. "We can't start the game down 12-0 against Sacramento in order to win."
Junior James Nunnally is the Cougars' leading scorer with 18.5 points, and senior Walter Jackson is averaging 14.5 points. Weston Ranch has seven seniors on its roster, including four starters.
"We've played very tough teams," Slikker said. "We've seen most every scenario in games we've had."
http://recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070302/A_SPORTS07/703020343/-1/A_SPORTS
Weston Ranch ready to make history
Weston Ranch High head basketball coach Bill Slikker saw this one coming.When the Sac-Joaquin section released it’s Division III postseason tournament bracket two Sundays ago, Slikker pegged two teams to meet in the finals — his Cougars, and No. 4 Sacramento.
The logic behind Slikker’s prediction was sound, and as it turns out, right.Both Weston Ranch and Sacramento played top-tier preseason schedules.While the Cougars headed to Reno to play nationally-ranked squads hailing anywhere from Arizona to Utah, the Dragons had their hands full with high-caliber programs like Cornerstone Christian of Texas and Monteverde Academy of Florida.
While both Sacramento and Weston Ranch took a few knocks in the loss column early on, Slikker insists it was those games that prepared both teams to meet tonight at Arco Arena.
“Certain years (a rigorous preseason schedule) works for you, sometimes it doesn’t,” Slikker said. “Obviously this year, it worked for both teams.“When you play tough teams early on, it gives you experience that you can’t replace. Being down by 12, needing a shot in the final seconds. We’ve played through those situations, and it has paid dividends.”It’s not often that a section final pits a four seed against a seven seed, but then again, neither of these teams truly reflect their respective seeding.“The seeding doesn’t really mean too much this year,” Slikker said. “You have teams within the Division with one or two losses and they got the higher seeding, but again, who did they play? Where are they now?”
While the Cougars are excited to be in the final, they know that they have a tough task ahead of them and are not willing to settle for just getting to Arco.“We’ve talked about teams in the past from Manteca Unified who got to this stage, but couldn’t get the win,” Slikker said. “We want to make history here and get the section championship. It’s not good enough just to get there. We have to finish the job.”
In order to do that, the Cougars will have to beat a Sacramento squad that is ranked 9th in Northern California by NorCalPreps.com, and features 6-foot-7 senior center Fred Ellis who averages 17 points, eight rebounds and almost 3 blocks a game.Complimenting Ellis in the post is Cervante Burrell, a 6-0 senior point guard who drops in 13 points a game while dishing six assists and grabbing three steals.
The Cougars have done their homework on the Dragons, having watched them on film and in person.“We started practice a bit late (Thursday) so we could get some film in,” Slikker said. “We’re familiar with them. Obviously it starts with stopping Ellis. We also have to keep Burrell from penetrating. Easier said then done, but those are the keys.“We just need to stay focused and not get in an early hole like we did against Natomas. If we do that, we’ll be fine.”Sacramento is 8-4 on neutral courts this season, and are 24-5 overall.The Dragons score 64 points a game while allowing just 47.The road to the finals wasn’t an easy one for Sacramento.In the first round, they took down Inderkum 65-48, before eliminating St. Mary’s 66-53 in the second.In the semifinals, the Dragons took down No. 1 Union Mine 49-44.Union Mine is ranked 14th in Northern California.
The Cougars coaching staff had a chance in the preseason to get a feel for Sacramento at the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoops Classic.“We’ve had our eyes on them,” Slikker said. “We’ll be ready. The kids are just extremely excited, but not yet satisfied.“We want to bring it home.”The Division III section final tips off tonight at 9 p.m. at Arco Arena.
By BRANDON PETERSENStaff reporter for theManteca (Calif.) Bulletin
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/articles/2007/03/02/sports/sports2.txt
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