Golden Valley boys end first-round playoff drought with win over Sierra
The Sac-Joaquin Section playoff committee did the Golden Valley High boys basketball coaching staff a favor by setting the Cougars up with Sierra in the first round of the playoffs.
Not because the Timberwolves would be an easy win.
Instead, the Golden Valley staff had the players’ complete focus this week in practice as they prepared to face a Sierra team that handed the Cougars a 10-point loss in the second game of the season.
Golden Valley avenged that loss with a 79-70 win on Wednesday night in the first round of the Division III playoffs.
“You always want to get your get-back games,” said Golden Valley coach Derrick Jacobs. “Early in the year teams aren’t always as good as they normally are. We were without Avery (Townsel) that game. When we drew Sierra we knew who we were up against.”
It showed.
The fifth-seeded Cougars (23-6) looked dominant from the start as they outscored the No. 12 Timberwolves by 9 in the first quarter, six in the second quarter and four in the third quarter to build a 19-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Cougars extended the lead to as high as 24 points before Sierra made a late run.
“We came with that intensity,” said Townsel, who scored 14 points. “We were immature the first time we played them. We buckled down this time and did what we needed to do.”
The Cougars forced turnovers and spread the ball around on offense with six players scoring eight points or more.
It also helped that they knocked down 12 3-pointers. Aurrion Harris led the way with four 3-pointers for 12 of his 20 points. Christian Magallans and Zack Fernandez both scored 12 points.
“Dunks and 3-pointers are the energy of basketball,” Jacobs said. “I thought for three quarters we played with high intensity, high energy and we were focused.”
As a result, Golden Valley reaches the quarterfinals for the first time since 2014. The Cougars will travel to Sacramento to face No. 4 Christian Brothers on Friday at 7 p.m. The Falcons blitzed Beyer with 42 points in the first quarter on their way to a convincing 71-39 win over the Patriots.
“We have to come out the same way we came out at home,” Townsel said. “We have to come in and make it our house.”
Mountain House 61, El Capitan 48 in Tracy — The No. 8 Mustangs outscored the No. 9 Gauchos by 17 points in the fourth quarter to overcome a four-point deficit in a Division III first-round game.
“We lost our identity a bit,” said El Capitan coach Adrian Hurtado, whose team finished with an 18-11 record. “(Mountain House) is a good team in transition. I thought we did a good job for 28 minutes.”
Dillon Greenwood led the Gauchos with 22 points. Brody Collins added 11 points and Joe Serena scored 10.
Mountain House will host No. 1 Vanden on Friday in the second round.
Girls Soccer
East Union 2, Golden Valley 1 (OT) in Merced — The Lancers scored with about 5 minutes left in the second overtime to knock off the No. 6 seed Cougars.
Golden Valley’s Haylee Heffner helped send the game in overtime after scoring on a penalty kick late in the second half.
The Cougars finished with a 10-5-5 record.
Beyer 4, Buhach Colony 1 in Atwater — The Patriots built a 4-0 lead in the first half. The Thunder finish with a 10-3-6 record.
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 10:03 PM.
