Eddie Andrade is a young man of few words.
Sierra High’s sharpshooting senior guard usually has trouble describing the moments that have become routine for him in basketball games.
Any of the usual clichés apply: he caught fire, got on a roll, was in the zone and so on.
In Wednesday’s revenge game at Manteca High’s Winter Gym, he was unconscious.
“I didn’t really know what happened,” he said after pouring in 23 points — including seven 3-pointers that all came in the first half — in a 65-38 blowout.
“I just started shooting the ball and they were falling in.”
What started out as a 3-point shooting contest between Andrade and whichever Buffalo stepped up to the challenge ended up being a clinic put on by the former.
Seniors Ryan Culpepper and E.J. Godfrey each hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter, and junior reserve Ben Odell fired one more to help Manteca (5-8 Valley Oak League, 8-16 overall) keep pace with the Timberwolves (10-3, 19-6) through one quarter of play, 21-21.
“Early on we were hitting 3s and fell in love with it,” Manteca coach Dave Asuncion said. “We got away from what we needed to do to be successful.”
The 3s stopped dropping in for the Buffaloes.
Andrade was just warming up.
He nailed four of his 3-pointers in the second quarter — two from the top of the arc, one from the left corner and another from well beyond NBA range.
Culpepper and Godfrey would end up with 10 points apiece to lead Manteca. Godfrey, a 6-foot-5 center, came into the contest averaging 19.5 a game.
Sierra stretched its 37-28 lead by outscoring Manteca 17-3 in the third. At one point, the Buffaloes went 11 minutes, 37 seconds without a field goal, a brutal stretch ended by Culpepper’s 3-pointer with 2:36 remaining.
Will Ward added 13 points and six rebounds for Sierra, which had 11 of 12 players score. Among them was sophomore call-up Emmanuel Elijah. With 30 seconds left in the first quarter, he turned a steal into a transition layup for the only points of his varsity debut.
“When you put the ball in the hole everything looks better, but I think we won this game on defense,” Sierra coach Scott Thomason said. “All of our guys did a great job defensively.”
Manteca previously upset Sierra 53-49 on Jan. 26 but has since dropped five of six to completely fall out of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-III playoff race.
Sierra, which has wrapped up second place in the conference, can earn its 20th win Friday against undefeated champion Weston Ranch on Senior Night. Weston Ranch claimed their first meeting, 67-56.
A victory for Sierra Friday would mark its fourth 20-win season in five years while giving itself a decent shot at hosting a first-round postseason game. The Timberwolves are No. 9 in the latest Division-III playoff power ratings.
“We’re peaking at the right time,” Thomason said.
Sierra High’s sharpshooting senior guard usually has trouble describing the moments that have become routine for him in basketball games.
Any of the usual clichés apply: he caught fire, got on a roll, was in the zone and so on.
In Wednesday’s revenge game at Manteca High’s Winter Gym, he was unconscious.
“I didn’t really know what happened,” he said after pouring in 23 points — including seven 3-pointers that all came in the first half — in a 65-38 blowout.
“I just started shooting the ball and they were falling in.”
What started out as a 3-point shooting contest between Andrade and whichever Buffalo stepped up to the challenge ended up being a clinic put on by the former.
Seniors Ryan Culpepper and E.J. Godfrey each hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter, and junior reserve Ben Odell fired one more to help Manteca (5-8 Valley Oak League, 8-16 overall) keep pace with the Timberwolves (10-3, 19-6) through one quarter of play, 21-21.
“Early on we were hitting 3s and fell in love with it,” Manteca coach Dave Asuncion said. “We got away from what we needed to do to be successful.”
The 3s stopped dropping in for the Buffaloes.
Andrade was just warming up.
He nailed four of his 3-pointers in the second quarter — two from the top of the arc, one from the left corner and another from well beyond NBA range.
Culpepper and Godfrey would end up with 10 points apiece to lead Manteca. Godfrey, a 6-foot-5 center, came into the contest averaging 19.5 a game.
Sierra stretched its 37-28 lead by outscoring Manteca 17-3 in the third. At one point, the Buffaloes went 11 minutes, 37 seconds without a field goal, a brutal stretch ended by Culpepper’s 3-pointer with 2:36 remaining.
Will Ward added 13 points and six rebounds for Sierra, which had 11 of 12 players score. Among them was sophomore call-up Emmanuel Elijah. With 30 seconds left in the first quarter, he turned a steal into a transition layup for the only points of his varsity debut.
“When you put the ball in the hole everything looks better, but I think we won this game on defense,” Sierra coach Scott Thomason said. “All of our guys did a great job defensively.”
Manteca previously upset Sierra 53-49 on Jan. 26 but has since dropped five of six to completely fall out of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-III playoff race.
Sierra, which has wrapped up second place in the conference, can earn its 20th win Friday against undefeated champion Weston Ranch on Senior Night. Weston Ranch claimed their first meeting, 67-56.
A victory for Sierra Friday would mark its fourth 20-win season in five years while giving itself a decent shot at hosting a first-round postseason game. The Timberwolves are No. 9 in the latest Division-III playoff power ratings.
“We’re peaking at the right time,” Thomason said.
