Merced grinds out win over El Capitan to keep CCC championship hopes alive
The top of the Central California Conference boys basketball standings is a lot more crowded after Merced held on to defeat El Capitan 49-45 on Monday night.
The Gauchos (17-9, 8- 3 CCC), Atwater (17-8, 8-3 CCC) and the Bears (16-10, 7-3 CCC) all have three conference losses in the final week of the regular season.
If all three win out there will be a three-way tie for first place.
“We have to win both of our games left,” said Merced senior Jaylen Thao-Booth. “We have to take care of Wednesday first (against Buhach Colony). After that is good and done with then we have to win on Friday (against Golden Valley).”
It’s been a long climb to the top of the standings for the Bears after starting 0-2 in the CCC. Merced has won seven of its last eight games, including a two-game sweep of the Gauchos, who twice had a chance to wrap up at least a share of the CCC title but lost to Atwater and Merced.
“Our guys have been grinding since August and September,” said Bears coach Adrian Sanchez. “We had a rough patch, but as a coach you want your guys to keep fighting and to just find a way. Since that Atwater win we’ve been rolling. We’ve just been taking it one game at a time.”
Monday night’s win over the Gauchos was definitely a grind.
It’s just how Merced wanted it, a slow-paced, defensive battle.
The Bears were deliberate on offense, running dribbling exchanges on top of the key, looking for an opening and running down the shot clock.
When it was time to attack, Merced did as it dictated the tempo of the game throughout.
Merced led just 10-8 at the end of the first quarter and El Capitan led 21-20 at the half.
“First of all, (El Capitan) is a very good team,” Sanchez said. “This is a tough environment to play. When they get rolling, the crowd gets going, they can speed you p. Our guys did a good job of keeping their composure and ultimately they made plays.”
The game was tight throughout with the Bears taking a 37-36 lead into the fourth quarter. Thao-Booth came up big in the final quarter, scoring nine of his team-high 15 points.
Thao-Booth scored six points as Merced opened up a 46-38 lead with 2:03 left in the game. The Gauchos scored just two points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter.
Will Bain (21 points) drained a 3-pointer and a shot from the top of the key to pull the Gauchos within 46-43 with 1:06 left.
Thao-Booth helped put the game away with three free throws in the final 30 seconds. Seth Mays-Meneley added nine points for Merced and teammate Gabe Celzo scored eight points.
As the final buzzer sounded, the Merced student section stormed the court.
“Just our tenacity from everyone got us through this one,” Thao-Booth said. “We were facing a hostile crowd. We needed tenacity and energy from everyone tonight to pull this out.”
Mered will close the season by hosting Buhach Colony on Wednesday and traveling to Golden Valley on Friday.
El Capitan will finish the regular season on Wednesday at home against Central Valley.
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 9:11 PM.
