‘He’s like Rocky in Russia.’ Junior helps Golden Valley storm back in win over Thunder
Golden Valley assistant coach Derrick Jacobs describes junior Anthony Mendez as a warrior.
It’s easy to see why.
Mendez suffered a cut against Central Valley last week that needed six stitches above his right eye. He played the next night against Deer Valley in a nonleague game.
The 6-foot-3, 189-pound Mendez played a big role on Friday night for the Cougars, coming off the bench to score 14 points in a 79-64 win over Buhach Colony at Cougar Arena.
“He’s just tough,” Jacobs said. “He’s like Rocky (Balboa) in Russia.”
Golden Valley (20-6 overall, 9-1 Central California Conference) needed a spark after the Thunder came out on fire, hitting four 3-pointers as they jumped out to a 24-9 lead with 1:48 left in the first quarter.
“We weren’t doing what we do,” Jacobs said. “The kids came out and they weren’t mentally focused. We called a timeout and we did what needed to do. The communication level wasn’t there on defense and on offense we weren’t moving the ball like we usually do.”
The Cougars outscored Buhach Colony 70 to 40 after the timeout.
It started with a 7-0 run to close out the first quarter to cut the deficit to 24-16. Mendez then hit two 3-pointers to help the Cougars close within 30-28 with 5:21 left in the first half.
Golden Valley drained five 3-pointers in all in the second quarter to eventually pull even with the Thunder (12-14, 5-5 CCC) at 43-43 at the half.
After building an eight-point lead in the third quarter the Cougars pulled away in the fourth. Aurrion Harris scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half.
Christian Magalanes finished with 12 points and Avery Townsel added 11 points for Golden Valley.
“We had to make some stops and get the ball moving,” Mendez said. “We knew we’re better than what we were showing.”
Jake Sapien led Buhach Colony with 17 points and Gerald Braxton scored 16.
The win keeps the Cougars’ hopes of a second straight CCC championship alive. With El Cacpitan defeating Patterson on Friday, it’s becoming clear Golden Valley is going to have to win out to earn a share of the title.
“That’s all we can do is hope they lose a game,” Mendez said. “We’re going to do our part.”
El Capitan 71, Patterson 60 in Merced — Senior Dillon Greenwood broke his own school scoring record by pouring in 40 points to help the Gauchos improve to 17-10 overall and 10-1 in the CCC.
Greenwood’s previous record of 38 points came earlier this season against Buhach Colony.
Brody Collins added 20 points for the Gauchos.
This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 10:32 PM.
