Thirty-two days after its last victory, win-starved Sierra got to finally celebrate another.
The 16th-seeded Timberwolves played with enthusiasm and efficiency in building a 20-point halftime lead, then staved off a second-half charge from No. 17 Lathrop to prevail 54-42 in a Sac-Joaquin Section Division III out-bracket game Monday night.
It twice as sweet for Sierra’s returning players, who looked forward to the rematch with a familiar foe. Lathrop (17-10) is in its inaugural season in the Western Athletic Conference after competing with its Manteca Unified counterparts, such as Sierra, in the Valley Oak League for the last nine years.
Sierra (16-11) put an end to its eight-game skid and faces another rival school in top-seeded Weston Ranch (27-1) on Wednesday.
“After being on that eight-game losing streak, it just feels amazing getting that win,” Sierra senior center Jaedon Malone said. “And they beat us here last year, so I wanted revenge.”
The Timberwolves rode Malone and the rest of the “Four Horsemen,” coach Scott Thomason’s nickname for his quartet of senior post players.
Malone finished with eight points, nine rebounds and four blocks. John Elijah (seven points, 10 rebounds, three assists) ignited Sierra at the start, scoring the first points of the game with an and-one conversion and pulling down four offensive rebounds in the opening period. The Timberwolves also got key minutes from Romeo Sesma (10 points) and Eduardo Jasso (four points, four rebounds) off the bench.
Sierra had a tough time scoring from the field in the second half as Lathrop opened on a 13-1 run to close in 39-31. It was Sesma who ended the drought with a nifty reverse lay-in midway through the third quarter.
“They brought great energy,” Thomason said. “We talked about getting back to pounding the ball inside to our Four Horsemen. John was like a pogo stick getting those offensive rebounds at the start, and I thought Romeo was an inspiration tonight and gave us great minutes. He provided a spark for us.”
Walton Whaley kept Lathrop in it early, scoring his team’s first seven points and finishing with a game-high 19. Sophomore center Eddie Cotton contributed 12 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Cotton’s older brother, Marvin, starred on the 2006-07 VOL championship team for Sierra.
Kendrick Currey led Sierra with 12 points, eight rebounds and four steals. He drilled a hurried 3-pointer from well behind the arc as the shot clock buzzer sounded late in the third quarter to help keep Lathrop at bay, 46-34. Ryan Borgeson (seven points) later converted on a running floater in the closing seconds as the T’wolves carried a 48-34 lead into the fourth.
Already struggling with Lathrop’s increased pressure on defense, the T’wolves went ice cold in the fourth quarter. They were scoreless for seven-plus minutes as Lathrop tallied eight unanswered points but made just six of 11 free throws in that stretch.
The Spartans cut it to six, 48-42, but could get no closer.
“It was too little, too late,” Lathrop coach Craig Ward said. “If we come out in the first half the same way we did in the second half I believe it’s a whole different game, but we also missed 14 free throws.
“That’s been the bane of our existence all year and it bothers me because we shoot a lot of free throws in practice. It’s tough to lose like that. Had we made some free throws I think the momentum completely changes. We had opportunities.”
Sierra sophomore Zachariah Curry got his team out of its shooting rut with 46 seconds to go. His fastbreak layup, set up by Malone’s blocked shot on the other end, was the Timberwolves’ only field goal of the final period. Elijah and Borgeson closed it out by making four straight free throws, while Lathrop was held without a point in the final 4 minutes, 35 seconds.
It was the first game back in about a month for Curry, who is recovering from an injury to his shooting wrist. There was obvious rust as he struggled to get shots to drop from mid-range and closer. His only points came from that clutch basket.
“I knew that was going to be the dagger,” Curry said. “Watching these last seven or eight games from the bench, I was super eager to play this game. I wasn’t physically fit for it but I tried my best to help my teammates win this game.”
Sierra is ecstatic to prepare for another, even if it’s against the section’s hottest team. Weston Ranch is riding a 26-game winning streak and beat the Timberwolves twice in league by an average margin of 16 points, most recently last Thursday, 54-36.
“They’re the best team in the nation,” Thomason said. “They’ve got NBA players and we have nothing to lose. We can’t wait for Wednesday.”