Summerville knocks off Merced in Columbia basketball semifinal

For the second game in a row, Summerville High School was escorted to a basketball win by twins Ethan and Eli McLaurin, who combined for 35 points to beat Merced 57-50 on Saturday in the Columbia Holiday Classic semifinals.

A.J. Stewart was the top scorer for the Bears (9-5) with 18 points and Deshawn Peterson had 14 in the loss to the Bears (8-3).

In the consolation bracket, Chapman Mello scored 25 points to lead Escalon (7-6) to a 68-59 win over Golden Valley (5-7).

Delhi (4-6) hit 15 of 20 free throws to edge El Capitan 40-38. Chance Browning paced the Hawks with 14 points. The Gauchos (7-4) were led by Jesus Sellers with 15 points.

Today’s schedule at Columbia College’s Oak Pavilion: Golden Valley vs. El Capitan for seventh place at noon, Escalon vs. Delhi for the consolation title at 1:30 p.m., Sonora vs. Merced for third place at 3 p.m., and Beyer vs. Summerville for the championship at 4:30 p.m.

Girls basketball

Livermore 53, Golden Valley 51 in Turlock – Camille Flores missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer as the Cougars lost a semifinal at the Pitman Holiday Tournament.

Delia Moore paced the Cougars (7-3) with 12 points, six assists and seven steals. Flores scored 11 points.

Golden Valley hurt itself at the free throw line, making just 10 of 23, including 1 of 4 in the final two minutes.

The Cougars play Pitman tonight at 6 for third place.

This story was originally published December 28, 2014 at 6:44 PM with the headline "Summerville knocks off Merced in Columbia basketball semifinal."