MODESTO – The Weston Ranch boys basketball team is plug and play.
Weston Ranch kept coming at Campolindo of Moraga from every angle Saturday night and came away with the championship of the 19th edition of the prestigious Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic with a 60-47 win over Campolindo, ending the game on a stunning 15-5 run.
“I think the special thing about our program and this specific team is that it is positionless,” Weston Ranch coach Chris Teevan said. “Gavin Wilburn starts at the 5 and moves to the 1. If you can’t shoot, pass, drive, rebound and defend – if you’re not a three-way player, you can’t play.
“All 11 of our players can do just that, but only seven got the opportunity tonight. You have to be versatile and positionless. We don’t want specialists. We don’t want just a shooter or a rebounder.”
Tournament MVP Wilburn had 10 of his team-high 17 points in the first half with Weston Ranch leading 27-25 at halftime.
“A lot of the reason the calls weren’t going our way in the beginning was the great defense Campolindo was playing,” Teevan said. “That’s a great team over there.
“Also, we only hit two 3-pointers in the first half and missed a lot of free throws. We had three games in this tournament where everything kind of went our way, and when it came down to it in the fourth quarter and we were leading 45-42, they only scored five points the rest of the way.
Wilburn added five rebounds, four blocks, two steals and an assist.
“We started off the game really well,” Wilburn said. “We had to adjust to the way the calls were going and we did and then we held on after that.”
With Weston Ranch (13-1) leading 54-45 and 1:49 showing on the fourth-quarter clock, Wilburn stepped up and drew a charging foul. Campolindo (9-4) scored just two more points after that.
“They were calling the game tight and I realized how he played,” Wilburn said. “He sticks his arm out a little bit and I just kept my arms up and drew the foul.”
Donjae’ Lindsey, who earned all-tournament honors, also had a big first half when he scored 10 of his 14 points. He also had four rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block.
“We just came out aggressive,” Lindsey said. “We started off playing hard. We had great teamwork.”
Lindsey hit four of six free throws in the third quarter when Weston Ranch outscored Campolindo 17-8.
“I always work on my free throws at practice,” Lindsey said. “When I step in there I just try to focus and knock them down.”
Mi’son Coilton scored 10 points and Devin Small had a pair of 3-pointers in the third quarter and totaled eight points for Weston Ranch. Titus Haley added seven points. Da’Quan Kelly (four points) pulled down 10 rebounds with three blocks and two steals.
Campolindo’s Carter Mahaney led all scorers with 22 points.
Weston Ranch opens Valley Oak League play Friday night in Tracy against Kimball at 7.
7th place
Manteca 97, Turlock 88
The Buffaloes (11-4) have had problems finishing games, but they finished this one in a big way.
Manteca overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime and thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Dominick Victor in overtime the Buffaloes survived for one more period where despite four players fouling out they ran away with the win.
“We executed really well in double OT and got some big stops,” Manteca coach Brett Lewis said. “It was a good team win.
“Hopefully it’s what we needed to get us rolling into league and we had a lot of guys come off the bench to contribute and that was big.”
Victor led all scorers with 26 points. Isaiah Victor added 15 points, Jorge Cedano 14 and Miguel Segueira 12. Cameron Walker and Cameran Sherwood each had 24 points for the Bulldogs (7-9).
The Buffaloes host Central Catholic of Modesto on Wednesday night at 7 for a VOL game.
11th place
Bakersfield Christian 55, Ripon 47
The Indians (5-10) led by a point going into the fourth quarter before the Eagles (10-3) pulled away for the win.
Vincent Olmo scored 14 points for Ripon and Baz Cheema added 10. Bakersfield Christian’s Kadar Walter led all scorers with 16 points.
The Indians host Argonaut of Jackson for a non-league game Wednesday at 7 p.m.
