STOCKTON — Weston Ranch notched its 17th straight win Tuesday night, leading by as much as 22 points in downing intra-district rival Sierra, 61-47.
The Valley Oak League-leading Cougars (4-0, 18-1 overall) have certainly opened some eyes in their electric start to the season, which has included impressive title runs in Edison’s McDonald’s Classic and Modesto Christian’s Holiday Hoop Classic. They are currently ranked No. 5 by NorCalPreps.com and No. 19 in the state by MaxPreps.
Coach Chris Teevan isn’t satisfied, however, not even after a game his squad would celebrate winning with far more enthusiasm in seasons past. He doesn’t want the Cougars to be content with what they’ve accomplished and has set the bar much higher.
“We just haven’t been playing great,” he said. “We haven’t been getting better every game and in practice. … Our goal is to be in the Open Division (for the state playoffs) and be among the top eight teams NorCal.”
Weston Ranch looked the part, at times, against Sierra (3-2, 15-4), which has dropped two of its last three after winning nine in a row. The Cougars registered the first nine points of the contest and held the visitors without a field goal for the first 5 minutes. Reserve forward Eduardo Jasso ended the dry spell for the Timberwolves, converting a layup off a nifty move in the post.
The undersized Jasso was Sierra’s spark throughout, finishing with 10 points. Ryan Borgeson also had 10 points, and reserve guard David Kakala added nine points, four rebounds and three assists. The trio accounted for 10 of Sierra’s 14 points in the opening half when the team made just 3 of 8 free throws. Weston Ranch was comfortably ahead 28-14 by the break.
“Disappointed with our offense today,” Sierra coach Scott Thomason said. “Can’t get down points and then you’re missing free throws and can’t make an outside shot. A lot of areas we didn’t do a very good job tonight.
“I thought we’d control the paint defensively better than we did. They’d come down, throw the ball right by the basket and lay the ball up. We didn’t take care of the ball very well in the first half. Just a poor performance on our part.”
Weston Ranch also had some trouble getting shots to fall early on and struggled with fouls. Sophomore Donjaé Lindsey got rolling early but picked up his second foul with 3:17 to go in the opening quarter. He still finished with a game-high 13 points. Gavin Wilburn added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists, noting that the team’s depth helps it overcome any shooting woes and foul trouble.
“We have nine starters on our team,” the 6-foot-3 standout said. “When somebody needs to get replaced, we replace them and play as hard as we can.”
The Cougars also help themselves by crashing the boards and valuing possessions. They had just one turnover in the first half and finished with seven, though five were committed in the fourth quarter with the starters benched.
“We’re creating so many extra shots and we’re not giving any away, which allows our defense to get set and makes it hard for teams to score,” Teevan said. “It was a good team win.”
Devin Small was played a big part, scoring all 10 of his points in the second half and mostly off dribble penetration. Raul Melgarejo contributed eight points, five boards and three blocks.
“When you play with so many players that versatile you can interchange positions a little bit more,” Teevan said. “Everybody in our rotation is a three-way player — you gotta be able to play on the glass, defense and offense. There are a couple of guys who are hard to play without, like Raul and Devin — they played great. Those are guys who haven’t been written about as much, so it was good for them.”
It doesn’t get any easier for Sierra, which hits the road again on Thursday and faces second-place Central Catholic.
“I take blame for this one, but I’ll get them ready to go for Thursday at Central Catholic,” Thomason said. “We have to get after it, have energy and be scrappy and compete. If you don’t do that we’re always going to be in trouble. We have to be at a high level every time we step onto the court.”