Roundup: Ervin hits game-winner in final seconds for Merced to knock off Pitman.

Sierra Smith caught fire in the second half and Amaya Ervin delivered the game-winning shot in the final seconds as the Merced High girls basketball team knocked off Pitman 37-35 on Tuesday night at Vince Clemons Court.

Ervin hit a running floater from about 5 feet out with 3 seconds left on the clock for the game-winner.

“Every second and moment is precious,” Ervin said. “I know I’m one of the better finishers on the team. I had to go in strong. I just hoped it would go in and it did.”

It was a battle of two teams who hope to be contending for playoff spots and possibly a league championship this year. Merced (13-2, 2-0 Central California Conference) handed Pitman (11-7, 2-1) it’s first CCC loss.

The Bears did it with shear grit and determination.

Points were hard to come by for both teams. Merced fired up shot after shot in the first half with little luck. The two teams combined for just eight points in the second quarter.

The Bears were 2-for-24 from the floor in the second quarter alone and 7-for-42 in the first half.

“We couldn’t make anything,” said Merced’s first-year coach Art Solis. “We went 2-for-24 in the second quarter. If we could have just made some of those underneath shots. All the rebounds we got. If we could have just a made a few of those that could have been 12 more points.”

The two teams went into halftime tied at 16-16.

Smith then caught fire in the second half, scoring 15 of her game-high 18 points. She made four 3-pointers in the second half after a poor shooting first half.

“First of all, I can hear my mom yelling at me from the stands,” Smith said. “She’s my biggest fan. She’s telling me to calm down. Coach Art is telling me to trust me shot. Not to force anything. In the second half, that’s all I did is trust my shot.”

Smith hit 2 3-pointers to give Merced a 22-16 lead midway through the third quarter.

After Pitman retook the lead in the fourth quarter, Smith knocked down to more treys to give the Bears a 35-31 lead with 2:47 left in the game.

“Once one goes in my arm becomes like a robot,” Smith said. “It’s like, that’s the spot. I need to keep it right there.”

Ervin and teammate Kaitlynn Perez rotated guarding Pitman’s University of the Pacific-bound senior Kaylin Randhawa and held her to just 13 points. Gracie Alves hit three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points for the Pride.

Jada Johnson was big on the boards, finishing with 17 rebounds to go along with six points for Merced.

Randhawa did score on a layup and hit two free throws to pull the Pride even at 35-35 with 55.7 seconds left.

Perez grabbed an offensive rebound and was tied up. With the possession arrow in Merced’s favor, the Bears got the ball with 10 seconds left in the game.

The ball ended up in the hands of Ervin, who drove to the left side of the key and tossed up her game-winning shot.

After a couple timeouts, Pitman drew up a play for Randhawa, who got a shot near the top of the key at the buzzer, but it glanced off the rim.

“When (Randhawa) hits her threes it becomes automatic so I was little worried on the last shot,” Smith said. “But Amaya is the best defensive player and she had it.”

Turlock 67, Atwater 37 in Turlock – Jada Washington scored 18 points as the Bulldogs (11-4) improved to 2-0 in the CCC. Hope Salsig added 14 points for Turlock. Jazlyn Barron paced Atwater (9-7, 1-2) with 11 points.

Golden Valley 37, El Capitan 34 in Merced – The Cougars picked up a win in a game that was tight throughout. Delia Moore led Golden Valley (6-10, 2-1 CCC) with 11 points. Diana Bautista added nine points for the Cougars.

Livingston 56, Central Valley 47 in Livingston – Annnie Winton scored 20 points as the Wolves opened up Western Athletic Conference play with a win at home. Alizabeth Huerta added 15 points for Livingston (10-6 overall).

Boys Basketball

Le Grand 61, Denair 55 in Denair – Wyatt Bond knocked down seven 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead the Bulldogs past the Coyotes. Beto Marquez added 11 points for Le Grand (7-10, 2-1 Southern League).

This story was originally published January 9, 2018 at 9:27 PM with the headline "Roundup: Ervin hits game-winner in final seconds for Merced to knock off Pitman.."