For the second time this season, Central Valley High School's varsity boys basketball team squandered a chance to knock off top-ranked Weston Ranch.
The Cougars elevated their game in the final stanza and pulled away for a 76-58 victory against the Hawks Friday night in Ceres.
"We got to learn how to finish," Central Valley junior sharpshooter Trevor Mew said. "They know how to do that well. That's why they're undefeated."
Mew buried five treys on his way to tallying a team-high 17 points for the Hawks (3-9 Valley Oak League). Yama Noorzai and Tony Marques finished with 11 points each. Sean McLeod and Robert Morgan scored 10 and five points, respectively. Rick Rogers and Eric Esquivel had two points apiece.
Chris Gray tallied a game-high 23 points for the Cougars (12-0 VOL). James Nunnally and Daniel Castillo contributed 21 and 16 points, respectively.
Ignited by Mew's stellar shooting, Central Valley rallied from a double-digit deficit and grabbed a four-point lead with several minutes remaining in the third quarter. Weston Ranch answered with a 6-0 run to make it a 54-52 game.
"Everything was just falling," said Mew, who accounted for 12 of the Hawks' 20 third-quarter points. He buried four 3-pointers.
Weston Ranch sealed the win with a 17-2 run in the final four minutes.
"The intensity was there," Mew said. "We just weren't executing in the fourth. They were. We're not afraid of them. We know we can play with them. We're not a bad basketball team. We just have to learn how to play together."
The game-sealing surge came after officials stopped the game to tend to a problem in the stands. A Central Valley dancer and several Weston Ranch fans had to be separated by security and coaches. Trash talking almost escalated into a scrum.
"It's that type of rivalry," said Marques, who was ejected during the first meeting between the two teams. Tony committed a flagrant foul on Nunnally.
The Cougars elevated their game in the final stanza and pulled away for a 76-58 victory against the Hawks Friday night in Ceres.
"We got to learn how to finish," Central Valley junior sharpshooter Trevor Mew said. "They know how to do that well. That's why they're undefeated."
Mew buried five treys on his way to tallying a team-high 17 points for the Hawks (3-9 Valley Oak League). Yama Noorzai and Tony Marques finished with 11 points each. Sean McLeod and Robert Morgan scored 10 and five points, respectively. Rick Rogers and Eric Esquivel had two points apiece.
Chris Gray tallied a game-high 23 points for the Cougars (12-0 VOL). James Nunnally and Daniel Castillo contributed 21 and 16 points, respectively.
Ignited by Mew's stellar shooting, Central Valley rallied from a double-digit deficit and grabbed a four-point lead with several minutes remaining in the third quarter. Weston Ranch answered with a 6-0 run to make it a 54-52 game.
"Everything was just falling," said Mew, who accounted for 12 of the Hawks' 20 third-quarter points. He buried four 3-pointers.
Weston Ranch sealed the win with a 17-2 run in the final four minutes.
"The intensity was there," Mew said. "We just weren't executing in the fourth. They were. We're not afraid of them. We know we can play with them. We're not a bad basketball team. We just have to learn how to play together."
The game-sealing surge came after officials stopped the game to tend to a problem in the stands. A Central Valley dancer and several Weston Ranch fans had to be separated by security and coaches. Trash talking almost escalated into a scrum.
"It's that type of rivalry," said Marques, who was ejected during the first meeting between the two teams. Tony committed a flagrant foul on Nunnally.
