Roundup: Golden Valley finishes strong to defeat El Capitan in CCC opener.
The Golden Valley High boys basketball team closed out their Central California Conference opener against El Capitan strong.
The Cougars outscored the Gauchos 23 to 9 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 68-45 win at Cougar Arena on Friday night.
Mateo Tangaan, Joshua Rockholt and Joseph Sanchez all hit big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help put El Capitan (7-10 overall) away.
“That’s big, that’s what you have to do,” said Golden Valley coach Keith Hunter, whose team improved to 10-5 overall. “Rockholt had 12 points tonight. He hit a big three. Joe hits a big three and Tangaan hits one. What I like is they came from penetrating into the paint and kicking it out. We worked the ball inside-out.”
The Gauchos hung around most of the game, sticking within 10 points.
El Capitan even closed the deficit to six early in the third quarter on a steal and a score by Dishawn McCutchen. When the Cougars opened up the lead to 44-30, Brody Collins and Joe Serena responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to pull the Gauchos within 44-36 with 1:03 left in the third quarter.
There were just too many scoring droughts for El Capitan to overcome.
“That’s been our problem all year,” said Gauchos coach Adrian Hurtado. “After the first or second quarter, good teams focus on our good shooters. Good coaches make you adjust and then we have to rely on our younger guys. We have three sophomores and one freshman.”
McCutchen led the Gauchos with 10 points. Dillon Greenwood and Serena finished with nine points.
Avery Townsel led Golden Valley with 13 points, including six in the first quarter. Aurrion Harris added 13 points and Rockholt scored 12.
The Cougars have their eyes on a second straight CCC championship.
“I’d say this team is a lot like last year’s team,” Townsel said. “All of us have been together for four years. Our goal is to get better every day.”
Golden Valley will travel to Patterson on Wednesday. El Capitan will host Buhach Colony.
Merced 69, Central Valley 39 in Ceres — Kortez Tyler scored 19 points as the Bears (8-9) opened CCC play with a rout of the Hawks. Jaryll Acosta added 13 points for Merced.
Buhach Colony 61, Patterson 37 in Atwater — Gerald Braxton scored 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the Thunder (8-6) past the Tigers in the Thunder Dome.
Jake Sapien chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds and Naiser Muldrow scored 10 for BC.
Girls Basketball
El Capitan 42, Golden Valley 25 in Merced — Caly Curran led the Gauchos (8-7) with 13 points in a win over the Cougars. Sierra Alvarez and Harmonie Farr both scored nine points for the Gauchos.
Merced 54, Central Valley 11 in Merced — It was all Bears in the CCC opener for both teams. Khya Martin led Merced with 12 points and Amari Stamps added 11 points.
Merced improved to 8-3 on the season.
Patterson 45, Buhach Colony 26 in Patterson — The Thunder had their eight-game winning streak snapped by the Tigers. Buhach Colony dropped to 9-5 on the season. BC will host El Capitan on Tuesday.
This story was originally published January 3, 2020 at 10:27 PM.
