Golden Valley boys basketball extends season with win in NorCal playoff opener.
If anything last week’s Sac-Joaquin Section semifinal loss to eventual champion Vanden served as a confidence booster to the Golden Valley High boys basketball team.
The Cougars proved they can hang with one of the elite teams in the section.
Getting dropped down to Division IV for the Northern California Regional playoffs may be a blessing. The No. 6 seeded Cougars started slow but quickly seized control on their way to a 61-41 win over over No. 11 Santa Teresa of San Jose on Tuesday night at Cougar Arena.
“After that (Vanden) loss we know we can hang with one of the top teams in the section,” said Golden Valley assistant Derrick Jacobs. “We know what we’re capable of. We just had to clean up our mistakes in the last four minutes of that game against Vanden.”
The Cougars defense dominated from the start of the second quarter on against the Saints (20-8).
Golden Valley outscored Santa Teresa 16 to 4 in the second quarter to take a 25-20 lead into intermission.
The Cougars then used a 15-4 run to expand the lead to 40-24 with 4 minutes left in the third quarter.
Leading the way was senior Aurrion Harris, who turned in a monster performance with 25 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.
Harris said the Cougars used their week to prepare wisely.
“We worked hard and we watched a lot of film,” Harris said. “We knew who their best player was and we knew who their best shooter was.”
Mahmoud Fofana came in averaging 22 points per game for the Saints.
Harris and Avery Townsel held him to just nine points.
The Cougars switched from a man to a 2-3 zone in the second quarter to kept the Saints out of the paint and force some shots from outside.
Christian Magallanes helped carry the scoring for Golden Valley with 19 points. He scored inside and scored in transition.
“We thought Vanden was our last home game,” Magallanes said. “It meant a lot to get another home game.”
The Cougars will hit the road on Thursday for a quarterfinal matchup with No. 3 University of San Francisco.
Clovis 70, Merced 28 in Clovis — Getting bumped up to Division II for the NorCal playoffs wasn’t beneficial for the Bears as they saw their season come to an end.
Clovis jumped out to a 25-5 lead after the first quarter and never looked back.
The Bears finish with a 27-5 record.
Boys Soccer
Hilmar 2, Lowell 2 (Hilmar 4-1 PK) in Hilmar — The Yellowjackets outscored Lowell four to one in penalty kicks to advance to the second round of the NorCal playoffs. Hilmar will travel to No. 2 Anderson in Redding on Thursday.
