Merced finishes strong to outlast gritty Golden Valley squad. Ervin comes up big late.

Merced High girls basketball coach Art Solis broke out his white Merced Lady Bears tie for Thursday’s rivalry game against Golden Valley.

The tie didn’t survive the game. At some point during the game, Solis ditched the tie with Merced locked in a white-knuckle battle with the Cougars.

“It was a rough game, a very rough game,” Solis said. “We came out flat. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that we finally found our rhythm.”

The Cougars (6-14 overall, 2-4 Central California Conference) had a three-point lead early in the fourth quarter before Amaya Ervin scored the next seven points for Merced as the Bears closed the game with a 21-4 run to pull away for a hard fought 49-35 win at Vince Clemons Court.

Ervin scored 11 of her game-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. The junior guard also finished with seven steals and six rebounds to help Merced improve to 16-3 overall and 5-1 in the CCC.

Ervin sank a 3-pointer to give Merced the lead at 33-31 with 5:50 left. She later added back-to-back baskets, including a nifty spin move along the baseline that she turned into a layup that extended the Bears’ lead to 45-35 with 1:30 left on the clock.

Ervin pumped her fist as the basket fell through the net and she made her way back on defense.

“Those baskets, they counted,” Ervin said. “We needed them. Coming back down court, I was really excited.”

It was a foul fest for most of the game.

What started as an intriguing matchup with Golden Valley star Delia Moore matched up against Ervin materialized into an ugly game with both Moore and Ervin picking up three fouls in the first half. Four players fouled out of the game.

Other than the fouls, the story of the game the first three quarters was Golden Valley senior Grace Mello.

A defensive whiz in the pool during water polo season, Mello had a career night. With Moore in foul trouble most of the game, Mello scored 19 of the Cougars’ first 29 points.

Her 10 first-half points kept Golden Valley within reach at 23-16 at the half. She then scored seven consecutive points during a 9-0 run by the Cougars in the third quarter that pulled them even at 25-25 with 2:58 left in the quarter.

“Sometimes for me, I get down during games when nothing seems to be falling,” Mello said. “Tonight shots started falling. I got excited and played with more confidence.”

Mello has a fan in Solis.

“I remember when I coached her when she was a freshman,” Solis said. “I would always tell her to play aggressive and get after it. I always knew she was that type of player. We saw it tonight with 19 points. She did a great job.”

Moore finished with 11 points.

“We’re not disappointed with this at all,” Mello said. “We’re proud of the way we fought super hard. Hopefully it gives us confidence going into the second half of league. We’re excited to take on the teams that we lost to the first time.”

Merced also likes where it sits at second place with just one CCC loss.

“We’re doing pretty good, better than most,” Ervin said. “I think we still have some things to work on like getting in foul trouble.”

Atwater 53, Buhach Colony 35 in Atwater – Jazlyn Barron poured in 21 points as the Falcons defeated their crosstown rivals Thunder at Falcon Arena. After trailing by two points after the first quarter, Atwater outscored BC 45-29 the rest of the way. Atwater improved to 11-10 overall and 3-3 in the CCC.

Los Banos 49, Livingston 39 in Livingston – Erika Gutierrez scored 27 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the Tigers (12-9 overall, 3-1 Western Athletic Conference) rebounded from Tuesday’s loss to Patterson with a big win over the Wolves.

Amelia Smith chipped in with 14 points for Los Banos.

Annie Winton paced the Wolves with 14 points.

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 10:35 PM with the headline "Merced finishes strong to outlast gritty Golden Valley squad. Ervin comes up big late.."