Merced boys basketball outlasts Oakdale. El Capitan wrestling wins big match.
Adam Cardoso got hot in the second half, scoring 11 of his 14 points to lead the Merced High boys basketball team to a 46-38 win over Oakdale on Vince Clemon’s Court on Wednesday night.
The Bears improved to 4-3 with the victory.
Merced overcame some poor shooting in the first half. The Bears made just 2 of 18 shots from the floor in the first quarter, including 1 of 12 from beyond the three-point line.
“I told the guys, our shots are there,” Merced coach Hector Nava said. “They just aren’t falling. We’re going to get on a streak and when we do our defense will carry . It just happened that Adam was the guy that got hot.”
Merced made four of seven 3-pointers in the second half. Jeremy Redwine added 11 points.
Drew Legan led the Mustangs with 15 points.
The Bears built the lead as high as 12 points in the fourth quarter with 6 minutes left. Oakdale was able to cut the lead to 44-38 with 2:29 left, but Merced held the Mustangs scoreless the rest of the way.
“I liked our composure, especially on defense after we made some critical turnovers down the stretch,” Nava said. “Our guys didn’t panic.”
Atwater 66, Hanford West 59 in Freso – The Falcons opened up the Hoover Holiday Invitational with a win to improve to 8-2. Saul Avitia continued his strong play early on this season with 26 points. Fernando Jeronimo added 13 points as Atwater won its seventh consecutive game.
Wrestling
El Capitan 33, Pitman 27 in Merced – The Gauchos came up with a big win to improve to 2-0 in the Central California Conference on Wednesday night in the Staple Center. Joseph Pia (106 pounds) and Devin Holman (132) both delivered six big points in their matches with pins. Austin Xiong (120), Josiah Araujo (126), Zachery Haase (138), Evan Myrtue (160), Kevin Fernandez (195) and Kyle Lee (220) also picked up wins for the Gauchos.
Boys Soccer
Livingston 3, Oakdale 0 in Oakdale – Francisco Lopez, Estevan Moreno and Carlos Valencia all scored goals as the Wolves (6-0) remained unbeaten on the season. Goalie Marcos Sobervilla recorded 11 saves for Livingston.
This story was originally published December 14, 2017 at 4:48 PM with the headline "Merced boys basketball outlasts Oakdale. El Capitan wrestling wins big match.."