East Union avenged one of its three heartbreaking Valley Oak League losses on Wednesday and did so decisively, routing Oakdale 65-42 to stay alive in the chase for a piece of its first championship in 21 years.
The Lancers (8-3, 20-7 overall) also secured their first 20-win season since doing so back-to-back in 2002-03 and 2003-04. They’ll have to beat rival Manteca across town on Friday in their regular-season finale to have a shot at a title share. They’re also going to need some help from the team they just routed, as Oakdale (7-4, 22-5) travels to first-place Mountain House. Two weeks ago, there was a four-way tie at the top of the standings with Central Catholic joining East Union, Mountain House and Oakdale.
Fourth-year coach Dutch Ell likes how his team has responded since their stunning 55-50 loss at Sierra on Jan. 30. East Union has won three straight against solid teams since. The other league losses were decided in overtime at Mountain House and Oakdale, but Ell has his troops focused on what’s ahead.
“We can only change what we can change moving forward,” he said. “Maybe we can get some help (from Oakdale), maybe we don’t, but we only have the 32 minutes that’s in front of us every single day, and that’s what I preach.
“Yeah, it’s frustrating, but that’s also the VOL. This year, the results in the VOL have been everywhere, so we can only kind of control the 32 minutes we have and that’s what I keep teaching.”
He also preaches balanced production, and he got that in the revenge win on Wednesday.
Ricky Soria and Salesi Toki spearheaded came off the bench to spearhead a 22-8 second-quarter surge that helped build a double-digit halftime lead, 32-32.
Zydell King took over in the third quarter, as he and Toki shared game-high honors with 15 points apiece. Soria finished with 14 points, Rico Johnson added eight points and standout center Lorenzo Jones came alive after a quiet first half to end with five points, 15 rebounds and two blocks.
Gavin Wyatt led Oakdale with 12 points, and sophomore reserve guard Donavyn Hernandez pitched in with 10.
“That’s truly the special thing about this team, is that all nine can contribute and will contribute every single game,” Ell said. “Every single person that steps on that court is going to give us something. Any day can be their day.”
Oakdale started out on the front foot and led 19-13 early in the second quarter after getting back-to-back 3-pointers from Griffin Galuppi and Wyatt.
That was Soria and Toki’s cue to change the momentum, as they combined 17-2 run that was followed by Johnson’s buzzer-beating layup set up by a good pass from Jackson Fay.
Soria nailed two 3s 23 seconds part during that flurry, and Toki capped it with a breakaway dunk after intercepting a pass near mid-court.
A mid-season addition, the 6-foot-3 Toki has carved out an important role in the Lancers’ rotation as their do-it-all energizer.
“We had to change our intensity of the game,” Toki said. “What I bring is energy to the team. As long as we get back on defense and rebound, we know the offense will come along.”
Toki scored 13 of his points in that second quarter, and King exploded for 10 in the third. He accounted for of the Lancers first 11 points of the half, punctuating that stretch with an and-1 conversion that pushed EU’s lead to 43-25 with 3 minutes left in the period.
“After the first half, I realized that I could get get to the basket, so I came out more aggressive in the second half,” King said.
Regardless of the outcomes on Friday, East Union is guaranteed a spot in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs for a fourth time in five years. The Lancers are hoping to lock up a first-round home game. They came into the week seventh in the SJS Division III MaxPreps rankings, just behind No. 6 Oakdale.
