STOCKTON — When visiting Sierra ran its lead to nine points with a 5-0 run to start the second half, Weston Ranch regrouped with a timeout from coach Chris Teevan.
Following that chat the Cougars did not just right their ship, they sunk the Timberwolves’ at the same time, going on a 13-0 run to end the quarter and carrying that into the fourth quarter to extend the run to 27-3 on the way to a 47-35 Valley Oak League win for Weston Ranch.
“They got to 28-19 and I had to call timeout,” Cougars coach Chris Teevan said. “I didn’t have them ready to play at the start of the game or coming out of halftime. B.J. Bowen came into the game for Gavin Wilburn when he got four fouls, and Bowen may not have made any points but he stepped up big. You need players that function – it’s not just the guys that score the points it’s the guys that know where to be and what to take away.
“The thing about Sierra is that they hold everybody accountable. He (Scott Thomason) is not the best coach in the area for no reason and we respect him over here. You have to box everyone out and you have to know where everyone is or they will get you, like they did in the first half. Eventually we started covering those bases.”
Sierra (4-5 VOL, 13-8 overall) led until the third quarter. Jaime Ochoa got a pair of 3-pointers and Jamille Grady (10 points) added one for an 11-8 lead after one quarter. Grady got the first five points of the second half before the Timberwolves went cold.
“I have to give Weston Ranch a lot of credit,” Thomason said. “You get up by nine points and you have to put teams away and we have been incapable of doing that all year. We can’t play for 32 minutes and we let teams get back in it and we have a hard time sustaining our effort.
“Weston Ranch made plays and big shots. They controlled the tempo of the game. No. 23 (Raul Melgarejo) hit those big 3s in the corner. After we got up nine there is not much to say. It was just one of the worst basketball halves I have seen.”
Melgarejo (seven rebounds) lead all scorers with 17 points behind three 3-pointers, hitting two from behind the arc during the big second-half run for the Cougars (5-4, 13-9).
“My teammates were getting me the ball at the right times,” Melgarejo said. “So I just tried to finish it out and make the shots.”
Makhi Turner contributed nine points, nine rebounds and six assists.
“It was a fun game,” Turner said. “It was fun for everybody.
“We locked in as a team with a game plan, especially in the second half, and we got a big ‘W’.”
Chedrick Ordonez added nine points behind three 3-pointers for the Cougars and Ochoa had two 3-pointers for six points along with four assists for Sierra.

Sophomore
Sierra 61,
Weston Ranch 51
 The Timberwolves’ Jayden Malone led all scorers with 17 points. Carl Rice added 15 points and Jess Ortiz-Martinez 10.
Amiel Adams paced the Cougars with 15 points followed by Christian Cuevas with 14.
 
Freshman
Weston Ranch 60,
Sierra 32
After the opening period the Timberwolves were held to single digits in the following three quarters.
The Cougars’ Curtis Green led all scorers with 18 points and teammate Lawrence Hillary had 10 points.
Austin Peterson had seven points for Sierra.