Golden Valley continues its dominant run through the Central California Conference

The Golden Valley High boys basketball team found itself in a familiar position on Friday night against Merced. The Cougars were ahead by a lot early.

The lead was 30 points in the second quarter.

That didn’t stop Cougars senior Zack Fernandez from diving for a loose ball. The energy level never dropped off as Golden Valley finished off another Central California Conference blowout with a 73-32 win over the Bears on Clemons Court at Merced High.

Even though the Cougars seem to be breezing their way to a second consecutive CCC championship, don’t expect this team to suffer from complacency.

“We just work at it every day in practice,” Fernandez said. “Our coaches push us really hard. If the energy level drops, our coach makes us run. Everyone is on the line. Everybody holds each other accountable.”

Golden Valley won its ninth consecutive game to improve to 16-5 overall and 6-0 in the CCC. The Cougars have outscored their six conference opponents 407 to 227. They’ve won by an average of 30 points each game.

Don’t expect the Cougars to take their foot off the gas in their final six games of the regular season.

“We need to keep on shooting,” Fernandez said. “We’ve shot the ball well the last couple games. We’re all coming together finally. Some of our guys were out early in the year.”

The Cougars made 10 3-pointers against Merced. Sophomore Preston Castleton had the hot hand, draining three 3-pointers and finishing with 13 points. Christian Magallanes added 13 points and Anthony Mendez scored 10 for Golden Valley.

Jaryll Acosta led Merced with nine points.

The Cougars travel to El Capitan on Monday. Meanwhile, Merced (9-13, 2-4 CCC) will host Central Valley on Monday night.

This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 10:08 PM.