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Impressive comeback
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Sean McLeod leaned on his crutches and watched from near midcourt as his Central Valley High School varsity boys basketball teammates went through pregame warmups before Friday night's homecoming game against visiting East Union.

With their standout center relegated to the bench with a right foot strain, the Hawks eked out a 51-49 victory over the Lancers.

Trevor Mew, Yama Noorzai and a strong supporting cast consisting of Brian Blunt, Christopher Beleele and Eric Esquivel propelled 3-5 Central Valley past 1-7 East Union.

Mew scored all 15 of his points after intermission. Noorzai buried two treys on his way to totaling 11 points. Blunt had eight points, including two 3s. Esquivel and Beleele each contributed six points in place of McLeod. Eric and Chris were major contributors on defense as well.

"Everybody stepped up," Mew said. "We got to have that every game. Sean's going to be out for two weeks."

"They (Chris and Eric) both played well tonight," Central Valley assistant coach Mike Holliday said. "They shut down (East Union's Eugene Alston). He's a good ball player."

Central Valley rallied from a 12-point, third-quarter deficit to defeat East Union. Mew had nine points in the fourth, including two treys, and six in the third.

"We picked up the intensity in the second half," Holliday said. "That's been our problem all year, staying solid from start to finish."

Added Mew: "We played with pride and heart in the third and fourth quarters."

The Hawks took their first lead of the second half when Trevor drained a 3-pointer from the right baseline to make it 41-38 with 6:57 remaining.

Noorzai and Beleele increased Central Valley's lead to 46-40. Yama banked in a 3 from straightaway. Chris put back an offensive rebound at the 5:19 mark.

Ahead 49-47 thanks in part to another 3 by Mew, Beleele grabbed a teammate's miss and converted inside with 41.5 seconds to play.

East Union's Garrett Jones made a layup at the buzzer to close the gap to two.

Highlighted by Ricky Inderbitzin's 14-point barrage in the second quarter (four 3s and a layup), the Lancers built a 28-23 lead in the first half.

"We just came out and executed in the second half," Mew said. "We started listening to what (head coach Darryl Dickson) was saying. That's what we need to do all the time."

Trevor failed to score in double figures in six of Central Valley's seven previous league games. He led the Hawks in scoring at the varsity level as a sophomore last season.

"I'm starting to get my confidence back," Mew said. "I've been in a little slump."

Mew and Central Valley knocked off East Union 58-55 on the road earlier this month.

"They're a good basketball team," Mew said. "They lost by only one point to Ceres (5-3 VOL)."