SALIDA – In a game that was nonexistent a few weeks ago, the Weston Ranch Cougars seized the moment in an 89-84 overtime shocker over Modesto Christian in the Crusaders’ home gym Saturday in front of a standing room crowd.
The Cougars (18-2) seemed on their way to the inevitable late in the fourth with Modesto Christian clutching a 70-66 lead, but that wouldn’t be the case. Allen scored nine points in the final quarter, tying the game at 81-81 with a beautiful put-back off of an offensive rebound.
Modesto Christian wouldn’t get a shot to the rim, sending the contest to overtime where Payton took over, scoring on a pair of layups, the second of which proved to be the game winner.
“I just wanted to come in here and play great defense and try and get my teammates involved,” Payton said after the win. “We wanted to get out and run the floor and we were able to do that.”
Weston Ranch’s in-your-face, man-to-man defense challenged the Crusaders scoring options to get on the board. Anthony Pratt was the only Crusader to have his way on offense, lifting his team with timely scoring runs, including scoring 10 of 12 points at one point midway through the fourth.
Weston Ranch played exceptionally well over the game’s first 12 minutes, building a double-digit lead with 6:41 remaining in the second period. Offensively, the Cougars got dominant inside-play from Daiveon Leverett and quality guard play from Melvin Allen, Andre Beard and Zerrion Payton.
Modesto Christian (19-4) would fight back, reeling off a 12-2 run behind Pratt (31 points) and Joseph Sausau. The Crusaders would clip Weston Ranch’s lead to 44-41 at the half, and come out in the second half like a new squad.
Even when things were going the Crusaders’ way, they were never able to pull away from the Cougars. Weston Ranch blew a 10-point lead to get Modesto Christian back in the game, but the Crusaders were never able to get up by more than four points at anytime in the game.
“I told our kids when we got to overtime that it was a brand new game, 0-0,” Weston Ranch head coach Ryan Bono said. “Just play, and they did a great job in the overtime period.
“Playing Modesto Christian at their place, this is the atmosphere that I wanted.”
The contest was a monumental test for both programs, getting a matchup like this heading into the postseason could pay immeasurable dividends. Beating a team like Modesto Christian on its court will undoubtedly boost a group’s confidence. The Crusaders will gain perspective as well, likely assisting their postseason run.
“When they were available for this game I was so tickled,” Crusader head coach Gary Porter said. “They are a good team. They played hard and they really wanted it down the stretch. That tip-in was huge, but it just comes down to somebody has to win and somebody has to lose.”
Dillon Alexander finished with a team-high 20 points, while Payton and Allen had 18 and 14, respectively. Leverett amassed 14 before succumbing to foul trouble, four came via monster-dunks that ignited the Cougars’ early first half run. Alexander scored 12 out of 16 Weston Ranch points from the end of the first half into the midway part of the third. A follow up tip-dunk seemingly sparked the sophomore as well as his Cougar teammates.
“My jumper wasn’t really falling, so I decided to go to the basket,” Alexander said. “My teammates really stepped up. I felt that I was going to have to step up. I knew I let them down in the first half getting into foul trouble.
“I really just wanted to win.”
The Cougars (18-2) seemed on their way to the inevitable late in the fourth with Modesto Christian clutching a 70-66 lead, but that wouldn’t be the case. Allen scored nine points in the final quarter, tying the game at 81-81 with a beautiful put-back off of an offensive rebound.
Modesto Christian wouldn’t get a shot to the rim, sending the contest to overtime where Payton took over, scoring on a pair of layups, the second of which proved to be the game winner.
“I just wanted to come in here and play great defense and try and get my teammates involved,” Payton said after the win. “We wanted to get out and run the floor and we were able to do that.”
Weston Ranch’s in-your-face, man-to-man defense challenged the Crusaders scoring options to get on the board. Anthony Pratt was the only Crusader to have his way on offense, lifting his team with timely scoring runs, including scoring 10 of 12 points at one point midway through the fourth.
Weston Ranch played exceptionally well over the game’s first 12 minutes, building a double-digit lead with 6:41 remaining in the second period. Offensively, the Cougars got dominant inside-play from Daiveon Leverett and quality guard play from Melvin Allen, Andre Beard and Zerrion Payton.
Modesto Christian (19-4) would fight back, reeling off a 12-2 run behind Pratt (31 points) and Joseph Sausau. The Crusaders would clip Weston Ranch’s lead to 44-41 at the half, and come out in the second half like a new squad.
Even when things were going the Crusaders’ way, they were never able to pull away from the Cougars. Weston Ranch blew a 10-point lead to get Modesto Christian back in the game, but the Crusaders were never able to get up by more than four points at anytime in the game.
“I told our kids when we got to overtime that it was a brand new game, 0-0,” Weston Ranch head coach Ryan Bono said. “Just play, and they did a great job in the overtime period.
“Playing Modesto Christian at their place, this is the atmosphere that I wanted.”
The contest was a monumental test for both programs, getting a matchup like this heading into the postseason could pay immeasurable dividends. Beating a team like Modesto Christian on its court will undoubtedly boost a group’s confidence. The Crusaders will gain perspective as well, likely assisting their postseason run.
“When they were available for this game I was so tickled,” Crusader head coach Gary Porter said. “They are a good team. They played hard and they really wanted it down the stretch. That tip-in was huge, but it just comes down to somebody has to win and somebody has to lose.”
Dillon Alexander finished with a team-high 20 points, while Payton and Allen had 18 and 14, respectively. Leverett amassed 14 before succumbing to foul trouble, four came via monster-dunks that ignited the Cougars’ early first half run. Alexander scored 12 out of 16 Weston Ranch points from the end of the first half into the midway part of the third. A follow up tip-dunk seemingly sparked the sophomore as well as his Cougar teammates.
“My jumper wasn’t really falling, so I decided to go to the basket,” Alexander said. “My teammates really stepped up. I felt that I was going to have to step up. I knew I let them down in the first half getting into foul trouble.
“I really just wanted to win.”
