Golden Valley boys basketball wins overtime thriller over Merced to continue strong play
Derrick Jacobs is thrilled with where his Golden Valley High boys basketball team stands at this point of the season.
The Cougars coach was ready to let loose after a nail-biting 51-48 overtime victory over crosstown rival Merced at Clemons Court in front of a raucous crowd.
The win completed a big week after a narrow three-point win over Patterson two nights earlier that has the Cougars sitting alone in second place in the Central California Conference at 12-9 overall and 4-1 in the CCC.
“It’s a blessing to be where we’re at,” Jacobs said. “We’re a young team. We’ve had to go through some adversity. Our guys have kept working hard for themselves and me.”
Friday’s victory over the Bears was a microcosm of the Cougars’ season that started with GV losing seven of its first eight games.
The Cougars battled back from a seven-point halftime deficit. Junior David Denson erupted for all of his game-high 16 points after halftime as GV built a five-point lead late in the fourth quarter.
“The kid can play,” Jacobs said. “It’s just a matter of him locking in and focusing. When he’s locked in and focused, he’s a player.”
However, Merced had a clutch player of its own in junior Aiden Cervantes who hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the score at 43-43 to send the game to overtime. Cervantes led the Bears (9-13, 1-5 CCC) with 15 points.
Denson gave the Cougars a boost with five quick points in overtime and GV was able to hold off the Bears to secure the victory.
“I just played with energy,” Denson said. “We needed it. It was my teammates who fired me up. They gave me a lot of confidence.”
The Cougars are 11-2 since that 1-7 start.
Golden Valley’s defense was the story in the second half as the Cougars held Merced to just five points in the third quarter to help GV pull within 30-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
“That was our focus in the locker room at halftime,” Jacobs said. “Our defense had to improve. We had to communicate and sprint to cover gaps on the help side.”
The game was tightly contested in the fourth quarter, which made for an intense finish with an electric crowd.
“It was a rivalry game,” Jacobs said. “We knew the score would jump up and down. This is what people came to see.”
Atwater 85, Buhach Colony 49 — Falcons senior Kaden Hillyer continued his hot shooting, draining four 3-pointers and leading Atwater with 16 points.
Colton Dukes, Leo Cebrero and Tyler Parr all added 12 points for Atwater.
The Falcons set the new mark for the best start in school history on Tuesday with a win over Ripon that improved their record to 21-0.
The Falcons improved to 22-0 overall and 6-0 in the CCC, which sits alone atop the standings.
Kaleb Madayag and Carter Chapman led Buhach Colony (7-15, 2-4 CCC) with 11 points.
This story was originally published January 20, 2023 at 10:34 PM.
