Cold shooting dooms Atwater. Merced picks up key win despite foul trouble.

It felt like the game could be slipping through the grasp of the Merced High girls basketball team.

A 14-point lead had been trimmed to just six points by Atwater with 2 minutes and 16 seconds left in the third quarter and the Bears had three key players in foul trouble with four fouls in Amaya Ervin, Jada Johnson and Phoebe Arista.

“Jada, Phoebe and Amaya, it felt like they were in foul trouble right away,” said Merced coach Art Solis. “It was tough to try to get the right subs in. I couldn’t play Jada and Phoebe together. Hopefully we can correct that in the future.”

Merced survived the third quarter as Angel Hewitt, Arista and Sierra Smith hit big baskets to close out the third quarter to give the Bears a 10-point lead.

Merced stepped on the gas in the fourth quarter to finish off a 68-51 win over the Falcons on Tuesday night at Vince Clemons Court.

“We’ve lived and died with the three and tonight we struggled,” said Atwater coach JR Davis. “Merced did a really good job with their speed. It stopped us from doing what we normally do.”

The Falcons made just 3-of-30 shots from beyond the three-point line against the Bears.

Merced took the opposite approach, making just 3-of-11 shots from beyond the arc. The Bears attacked the basket. Merced made an emphasis to get the ball inside to Johnson, drive or score in transition. As a result, the Bears made 25-of-63 shots from inside the arc.

Merced finished with a balanced attack.

Sierra Smith and Ervin led the way with 16 points each. Ervin added eight steals and six rebounds. Johnson contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds and Amari Stamps chipped in with 10 points.

The Bears defense also helped force Atwater (10-10 overall, 2-3 Central California Conference) into 24 turnovers.

“We didn’t get off the bus ready to play,” Davis said. “I thought our girls showed some energy during the JV game, but it didn’t roll onto the court. We missed easy ones, free throws. That killed us.”

Marisa Martinez paced the Falcons with 11 points. Jazlyn Barron and Amoni Claiborne both finished with 10 with Claiborne also recording 10 rebounds.

Next up for both teams is a rivalry game on Thursday night.

Merced (15-3, 4-1 CCC) will host Golden Valley. Atwater will host Buhach Colony.

Turlock 63, Buhach Colony 22 in Atwater – Jaydon Williams scored 20 points as the Bulldogs remained unbeaten in the CCC at 5-0.

Livingston 56, Ceres 44 in Ceres – Annie Winton scored a career-high 38 points as the Wolves improved to 3-0 in the Western Athletic Conference.

Boys Basketball

Hilmar 57, Escalon 52 in Hilmar – Jonas Tate scored 22 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Yellowjackets past the Cougars in Trans-Valley League play.

This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 9:55 PM with the headline "Cold shooting dooms Atwater. Merced picks up key win despite foul trouble.."