SACRAMENTO – It was close – until it was not.
Weston Ranch used defense to ignite third-quarter runs of 10-2 and 11-0 while limiting Central Catholic of Modesto to just four third-period points on the way to a resounding 67-42 win for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III boys basketball championship at Golden 1 Center, the second blue banner in four years for the Cougars and the team’s 30th consecutive win.
“We started rebounding,” Weston Ranch coach Chris Teevan said of his team’s third-quarter runs. “And if you rebound you can get out in transition. In the first quarter we were getting killed on the glass and it was tough to come down against a set defense as opposed to it being tough to guard us when the defense isn’t set. And then Mi’Son (Coilton) got in foul trouble, but once he got back in the game he was our best rebounder.
“But we still have room to improve. If we get to that open division we are going to see a different type of athleticism and size we haven’t seen in a while. The players are going to be taller and bigger and faster and we won’t just be able to blow by people.”
After three ties and four lead changes to this point, with 3:23 left in the first half Gavin Wilburn (14 points, 11 rebounds, four assists) muscled in a put-back as part of a 10-2 run to give Weston Ranch (31-1) the lead for good at 18-17. Following that run, Wilburn helped wrap up the scoring in the first half with a pair of beautiful assists to Devin Small who buried a pair of long-range 3-pointers to extend the lead to 29-21.
“In most of the first half we were God awful,” Wilburn said. “We weren‘t doing our keys and we weren’t doing what we were supposed to keep guys off the glass. That’s why the game was close.
“Eventually we shut it down, got defensive rebounds and got it into transition like we usually do.”
One of the reasons the Raiders (23-9) were able to stay in the game early was an absolutely abysmal free-throw effort by the Cougars who missed seven of nine in the first half. Following that second-period run when Coilton (15 points, 13 rebounds) owned the glass with five rebounds he doubled down in the second half when he made six consecutive free throws.
“In the first quarter I was shooting too hard on my free throws,” Coilton said. “In the locker room I was told I had to get in a rhythm so in the third quarter I just shot rhythm, rhythm, rhythm and I knew once I got that first three in a row I wouldn’t miss again.
Winner of the Sac-Joaquin Section Sportsmanship Award for the Cougars, Small (13 points) was the lone member of the Starting 5 who was a senior.
“This is my senior year and it is exciting that this is the best way to go out,” Small said. “And after we struggled in the first quarter I think those 3-pointers in the second got everybody going.”
Normally a team that will alternate between the long ball and the slam, Weston Ranch left the dunks on the shelf Friday and threw up the bombs, hitting 10 from behind the arc. Titus Haley hit four from downtown for 12 points.
“If you give it to me I’m going to knock `em down,” Haley said. “In the first quarter we were off and we were not focused. The atmosphere was getting to us and everyone was trying to do their own thing.
“Once we got to the second and third quarters the atmosphere wasn’t really getting to us, we were focused and got comfortable with how we were playing. We locked in with our assignments and did what we do best.”
It was announced Sunday that Teevan’s season-long wish had been granted and the Cougars will compete in the CIF State Open Division, earning the sixth seed and taking a road trip to Concord on Wednesday to face No. 3 De la Salle at 7 p.m.
“As a competitor, be it a coach or a player, you always want to play the best at the highest level you can possibly play,” Teevan said. “I think these guys have earned that right. We started talking about this 15 games ago and it was acknowledged that we would have to win 30 straight games to have a chance at that and we did just that. Other than the (Archbishop) Mitty game (a 58-45 road loss on Nov. 29, 2018) we have met every challenge and I think we are deserving of the chance at the open.
“These guys don’t run from anybody and the success of our team is that every time they step on the court they think they can compete with anybody. We just want a chance to compete against the best teams.”
