Atwater boys basketball ties best start in school history at 20-0 with win over El Capitan
Jayden Hillyer was beaming with confidence after watching his first two 3-pointers go down.
The Atwater High senior caught fire, knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers in a 95-second stretch of the the second quarter that spearheaded a 19-2 run that opened a 24-point lead against El Capitan.
Hillyer scored a team-high 15 points on five made 3-pointers to help Atwater defeat the Gauchos 55-46 on Friday night at the Stable Center.
The Falcons improved to 20-0, equaling the best start to a season in school history since the 1987 boys started 20-0 before losing to Merced.
“This is the best team I’ve ever played with,” said Hillyer. “I just transferred to Atwater last year (from Buhach Colony) and this is my first year playing here. The potential of this team is amazing. I’ve become such a better player playing for coach Kanoa (Smith).”
The Gauchos (10-10 overall, 2-2 Central California Conference) were able to contain the Falcons top scorers, limiting Colton Dukes to 12 points and Tyler Parr to 13 points.
However, it was the Falcons role players like Hillyer that helped Atwater (20-0, 5-0 CCC) jumpe out to a 40-19 lead at the half.
“That’s the reason we’re 20-0,” Smith said. “It’s not just one guy. If it were one guy we’d probably be around .500. It can be any guy for us on any given night.”
Hillyer said he was motivated to have a good game because he hasn’t played well at El Capitan in the past.
“It felt good to knock down those first couple shots,” Hillyer said. “It gave me confidence and kept me active the rest of the game.”
Up until the Gauchos made a late 12-0 run in the fourth quarter, scoring was an issue all game.
“You can’t miss free throws and layups,” said El Capitan coach Adrian Hurtado. “I thought we were right there but we couldn’t get the ball to go down. When you’re trying to beat a 20-0 team you have to make shots.”
Atwater held El Capitan’s top two scorers Brody Collins and Will Bain to just 11 points combined in the first half. Collins erupted for 16 of his game-high 27 points in the second half, but Bain finished with just two points.
Carson Trost added 10 points for the Gauchos.
The Falcons can try to become the first team to start 21-0 in school history on Tuesday at Ripon.
El Capitan will try to rebound from two consecutive losses with a Wednesday game at Central Valley.
