Sometimes it pays to improvise.

Trailing by a point with 1:24 remaining Wednesday night, Sierra coach Eddie Morales called a timeout for Anthony Grady to get the ball for a layup.

Grady had another idea. Seeing the lane congested, he pulled up for a 3-pointer that gathered nothing but net and put the host Timberwolves ahead for good in a 46-40 Valley Oak League boys basketball win over East Union.

“I saw the defender was like three steps behind, so if I would have drove I may not have made it,” Grady said. “So, if I am wide open, I’m going to shoot it.”

Morales was happy that Grady (10 points) hit that 3-pointer.

“We ran that play for the layup,” Morales said of Grady’s 3-pointer. “And these guys just don’t look. That was just a good shot by him – it was nothing that I coached.

“They came to play, and my guys were a little lax and we have been struggling offensively. I thought we were going to pound them on the inside and dominate the glass. They might have outworked us on the boards. I think as a group we are bigger than them, I think we are a little more athletic than them and on the perimeter our guys should be doing their job, too. I was disappointed, and we were sloppy offensively.”

The Lancers (0-4 VOL, 5-14 overall) led 22-17 early in the third quarter when Emil Esperanza (10 points) started an 11-3 run for Sierra (2-2, 12-8) with a steal he took coast-to-coast for a layup, and he ended it with another coast-to-coast sprint for a layup, this one off of a rebound which he converted on the other end to put the Timberwolves ahead, 28-25.  

“We were just trying to get something going, because we we’re not performing like we wanted to,” Esperanza said of his team’s 9-3 run. “So we had to get into the paint and hustle. That’s what we needed.”

Sierra’s Joshua Seals led all scorers with 12 points.

With six seconds remaining in the game, Seals grabbed a defensive rebound and was fouled with a skirmish ensuing. When the dust settled, two technical fouls and a personal foul were called on East Union and a technical foul was called on the Timberwolves.

“It was pretty messy there at the end,” Lancers coach Dutch Ell said. “Any time you have an in-league, crosstown game it can get a little gritty at the end. Six free throws to two free throws at the end was a little bit wild.

“We fought. We did all right early in the first half, but they came out in the second and we couldn’t take care of the ball and they got a couple of offensive rebounds that hurt us. Credit to them, as they played hard. I am proud of my boys for fighting, and we just need to keep going to the chalkboard. We are a young group, and we will keep figuring stuff out. I know they are going to go to war for me, and I will go to war for them.”

Vincent Hudson scored 11 points for East Union, and Jackson Fay added nine.

On Friday at 7:30 p.m., the Lancers host Manteca and Sierra hosts Oakdale.

Junior varsity
Sierra 57 East Union 42
Julian Ruiz scored 11 points for the Timberwolves.

Cody Camarena, Anthony Mayorga and Riley Kane each scored nine points for Sierra with A.J. Chapman and Colby Vueve adding eight points apiece.

Austin Barnes paced the Lancers and led all scorers with 17 points.

Freshman

Sierra 47, East Union 33
Ryan Alves scored 17 points behind five 3-pointers for the Timberwolves.

Sierra’s Isaac Kempf (eight rebounds, five assists) added 12 points. Arsh Gosal (nine rebounds) and C.J. Simas played well on defense for the Timberwolves.
Michael Torio and Chase Kalin scored 10 points apiece for the Lancers.