El Capitan boys eliminated with play-in game loss. Atwater survives with late charge.
The El Capitan High boys basketball season came to an end with a 55-45 loss to St. Mary’s in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II play-in game on Wednesday night at the Stable Center.
Two late turnovers by the Gauchos thwarted their comeback attempt late as the No. 17 Rams advance to a first-round matchup against undefeated No. 1 Ponderosa on Friday.
“We had turnovers in crunch-time minutes again,” said El Capitan coach Adrian Hurtado, whose team finished with an 18-10 record. “You don’t deserve to win when you do that.”
The Gauchos battled back from a slow start that saw St. Mary’s (16-13) score the first 10 points of the game.
Three-pointers from Edrian Figueroa and Carson Trost helped the Gauchos trim the deficit to 12-9 at the end of the first quarter.
Junior Brody Collins scored eight of his 11 points in the second quarter to help El Capitan pull within 25-24 at the half.
However, the Rams closed out the third quarter with a 12-0 run to take a 39-28 lead into the fourth quarter.
St. Mary’s was able to attack the rim and do their damage on offense close to the basket. The Rams scored on a layups and putbacks throughout the game.
“That’s kind of the way we play,” Hurtado said. “Our gaps could have been a little better. Teams have been sagging on us defensively and making us beat them from the three-point line. We can’t get to the free-throw line or get anything at the rim.”
Figueroa tied Collins with 11 points for the team high.
It was a tough ending of the season that saw the Gauchos have to settle for a three-way tie for the Central California Conference championship with Merced and Atwater after losing back-to-back games to the Falcons and Bears late in the season.
“I love the kids,” Hurtado said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group. Finishing with an 18-10 record and a three-way share of the CCC championship doesn’t sit well. We have high expectations when we step into the gym, but this was a great group of kids on and off the court.”
Atwater 55, Cosumnes Oaks 50 — Falcons senior Cameron Frazier came up big in the fourth quarter, scoring nine of his 12 points to help Atwater win a Sac-Joaquin Section Division II play-in game on Tuesday night in Atwater.
Frazier was big at the free-throw line, connecting on four free throws late to help the No. 15 Falcons hold off the No. 18 Wolfpack.
“Cam Fraizer was huge in the fourth quarter when we needed him most,” said Atwater coach Kanoa Smith, whose team will travel to No. 2 Elk Grove on Friday for a first-round game.
The Falcons used a balanced scoring attack to keep their season alive.
Junior Colton Dukes led the way with 13 points for Atwater (19-8). K.J. Ross added 11 points and Tyler Parr scored 10 points.
“K.J. Ross got us a lot of extra possessions throughout the evening,” Smith said. “Great energy throughout the game from him that got some runs started for us.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 10:20 PM.
