Merced proved once again how unpredictable rivalry games can be.
The Bears' season came to an end on Friday night, but not before they shocked Golden Valley with a 50-39 win at Cougar Arena.
Merced pulled the upset with defense, holding the Central California Conference champions to just 12 of 44 from the field.
"Our offense is based on passing and players moving around and that didn't happen a lot tonight," Golden Valley coach Keith Hunter said. "We forced some shots.
"I give my very best to Hector (Nava). He had his team prepared. They played hard and they played with a lot of energy. A lot of teams in their situation don't."
The win snapped a five-game losing streak to Golden Valley for Merced (5-10 CCC, 6-20).
More importantly, the players don't have to hear about getting swept when they run into their friends from across town.
"It's great to get the win and even bigger to win at their place," said Merced senior Jaquari People, who led all scorers with 14 points. "Don't get me wrong, I love all those guys like A.J. (Hernandez) and Robbie (Martinez), but it felt good to get this."
The Cougars (11-4, 20-7) came out sluggish and never came close to getting in any offensive rhythm.
Merced jumped out to an 11-6 lead and never trailed in the game.
The careless turnovers that have plagued the Bears all season didn't come into play against the Cougars. Merced finished with only 10 turnovers.
With no playoff possibilities, the Bears approached the game as if it were their playoff game.
"They did a great job on the execution part," Nava said. "We stayed composed, we swung the ball around and our leaders stepped up when we needed it.
"It's been an uphill battle all season. Coming into the game we talked about this being our time and our game. We wanted to make the most of it, and we did."
Golden Valley stayed close as Adam Durbin scored 13 points. The Cougars only trailed 35-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
However, the Bears put the game away with an 11-1 run to start the final quarter. Bradley Adamson and Travante Richard combined for eights points during the surge.
Meanwhile, the Merced defense harassed Golden Valley into missing its first nine shots of the fourth quarter.
"This was big for our three seniors on the team," People said. "It was tough having a new coach, but we stuck through it. This was huge for all of us."
Golden Valley will now wait to see where it will open the playoffs. The loss ends any hope of a first-round home game.
"We can't just show up and beat anybody," Hunter said. "We have to come to play."
Los Banos 56, Pacheco 33
LOS BANOS -- Joey Bennett scored 20 points as the Tigers (10-2 Western Athletic Conference, 18-7 overall) defeated Pacheco.
The win combined with Patterson's upset of Central Catholic, helped the Tigers clinch a share of the Western Athletic Conference title.
Le Grand 71,
Mariposa 59
MARIPOSA -- Zach Moreno scored 30 points to help the Bulldogs (9-5 Southern League, 10-10 overall) defeat their rivals in the regular-season finale.
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