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Becker leads Sierra past CHS basketball
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Sierra High point guard Jeff Becker buried a 3-pointer, his fifth of the game, looked at his coaches and teammates on the bench and pumped his fist. Becker scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half during the Timberwolves' 63-52 victory over host Ceres High varsity basketball team on Wednesday night.

Charlie Cunha, Kevin Dupree, Ross Tate, Rafael Valencia, Zack Wiedenbeck, Brett Sayad, Brad Muniz and Derrick Goblirsch scored 11, 10, nine, seven, six, four, three and two points, respectively, for the Bulldogs, who fell to 1-1 overall.

"We have a bunch of talented players but we haven't put it together yet," Valencia said. "We've only had one practice."

Nick Rego and Davey Dutra each had eight points, Michael Elder scored seven points, and Malichi Tasby, Joseph Kilpatrick, Garrett Larson and Brian Rohles added five, four, three and two points, respectively, for the Timberwolves, who improved to 2-0 overall.

Ceres struggled after Wiedenbeck, Goblirsch and Dupree were relegated to the bench.

"When we got three guys with four fouls in the third quarter, that really hurt us," said Ceres coach Jason Martin. "We got tired. We didn't put the ball in the hoop."

Sierra did. The Timberwolves outscored the Bulldogs 40-22 in the second half. They shot 48 percent (13-for-27) from the field.

Becker accounted for 10 of Sierra's 22 points in the third quarter. He helped the Timberwolves turn a four-point deficit into a two-point lead when he scored seven straight. His second 3-pointer in the quarter gave Sierra a 41-38 lead with 53 seconds remaining.

Sierra outscored Ceres 20-11 in the final quarter. The Timberwolves made 4 of 7 shots from the field and 11 of 16 from the free-throw line. They put the game out of reach with a 15-7 run in the final five minutes.

Ceres shot just 25 percent (7-for-28) from the field in the second half. The Bulldogs missed 14 of 17 shot attempts in the third quarter and 7 of 11 in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs dominated the first half. They outscored the Timberwolves 17-10 in the first quarter, and led 30-23 at intermission. - By DALE BUTLER / Staff Reporter of The Ceres (Calif.) Courier