By the time the night ended, Weston Ranch didn’t leave a whole lot of doubters inside of Dalben Center with their 60-40 handling of the Lancers.
But for the Cougars – who improved to 4-0 in Valley Oak League play – the performance was far from constant.
After mounting a 12-point run that spanned the majority of the first quarter, the Cougars found leading scorer Nate Moises and dominant inside player Ronnie Collins in foul trouble that sent them to the bench for the remainder the half.
And East Union wasted no time in taking advantage.
Down 14-6 to start the second quarter, the entire Lancer offense pulled together for what would be their most prolific quarter of the night to score six straight points at the end of the first half to pull the game to 23-21.
Once the Cougars rebounded to relatively full-strength – playing without team leader Derrick Sykes, who suffered a groin injury Wednesday against Sonora – that late surge and East Union rally would quickly matter not.
Moises scored seven of his 16 points in the third quarter, sparking the fire that dwindled in the first half. Weston Ranch would head in to the fourth quarter with a 15-point lead that would prove to be insurmountable.
“In that second half we just came out and played better team basketball,” Weston Ranch head coach Ryan Bono said. “We went in to the locker room at halftime and talked about not forgetting the fundamentals.”
Collins proved to be instrumental in the second half, putting up 10 of his 13 points as well as grabbing four rebounds, blocking two shots, and even coming up with an assist.
Josh Inis rounded out the Weston Ranch offense with 11 points.
“(Moises) came out in the third quarter after being in foul trouble and really started to piece everything together,” Bono said. “His shooting and that attack really set the tone for us for the rest of the game.”
For the Lancers, Ricky Inderbitzen led all scorers with 10 points, and Larry Molina recorded six.
While it might not have been the end result that East Union head coach Eric Simoni wanted to see, closing that early Cougar lead was something worth focusing on.
“I thought we did a good job hanging in there in the first half – our guys didn’t give up,” Simoni said. “But they came out and picked up the pace and we weren’t able to keep up.”
Weston Ranch (9-7 overall) will host Manteca Wednesday, while East Union (1-3 VOL) travels to Sierra. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
But for the Cougars – who improved to 4-0 in Valley Oak League play – the performance was far from constant.
After mounting a 12-point run that spanned the majority of the first quarter, the Cougars found leading scorer Nate Moises and dominant inside player Ronnie Collins in foul trouble that sent them to the bench for the remainder the half.
And East Union wasted no time in taking advantage.
Down 14-6 to start the second quarter, the entire Lancer offense pulled together for what would be their most prolific quarter of the night to score six straight points at the end of the first half to pull the game to 23-21.
Once the Cougars rebounded to relatively full-strength – playing without team leader Derrick Sykes, who suffered a groin injury Wednesday against Sonora – that late surge and East Union rally would quickly matter not.
Moises scored seven of his 16 points in the third quarter, sparking the fire that dwindled in the first half. Weston Ranch would head in to the fourth quarter with a 15-point lead that would prove to be insurmountable.
“In that second half we just came out and played better team basketball,” Weston Ranch head coach Ryan Bono said. “We went in to the locker room at halftime and talked about not forgetting the fundamentals.”
Collins proved to be instrumental in the second half, putting up 10 of his 13 points as well as grabbing four rebounds, blocking two shots, and even coming up with an assist.
Josh Inis rounded out the Weston Ranch offense with 11 points.
“(Moises) came out in the third quarter after being in foul trouble and really started to piece everything together,” Bono said. “His shooting and that attack really set the tone for us for the rest of the game.”
For the Lancers, Ricky Inderbitzen led all scorers with 10 points, and Larry Molina recorded six.
While it might not have been the end result that East Union head coach Eric Simoni wanted to see, closing that early Cougar lead was something worth focusing on.
“I thought we did a good job hanging in there in the first half – our guys didn’t give up,” Simoni said. “But they came out and picked up the pace and we weren’t able to keep up.”
Weston Ranch (9-7 overall) will host Manteca Wednesday, while East Union (1-3 VOL) travels to Sierra. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
