Late basket caps fourth-quarter comeback by Golden Valley in win over Merced in CCC opener
Golden Valley High basketball coach Derrick Jacobs says he’s constantly asking his Joey Spielman to look to score more.
The senior guard is always focused on defense and rebounding, but Jacobs wants more on the offensive end.
Spielman delivered at the right time on Wednesday night.
With the Cougars trailing by one point in the final seconds, Spielman drove to the basket and made a short five-footer that bounced on the rim and in to give Golden Valley a thrilling 55-54 victory over crosstown rival Merced in the Central California Conference opener for both teams at Cougar Arena.
“During the timeout my coach he told me if my shooter isn’t open, just take it and see what happens,” said Spielman, who scored 10 points. “My teammates cleared the way and it was a wide open lane.”
Spielman initially looked for fellow senior Braden Castleton, but when he was covered, he attacked the basket.
“Joey I’m on him constantly, ‘You do a good job of playing defense and rebounding, but you’re a scorer too,’” said Jacobs, whose team improved to 12-5 overall. “I knew they wouldn’t think he’d get the ball so I called for the ball to go to him and I told him, ‘You’re going to score.’”
Spielman’s basket came with just under 4 seconds left. Merced (8-9 overall) had one last chance, but the inbound pass was intercepted by Castleton and time ran out.
Castleton led the Cougars’ fourth-quarter comeback as GV erased a nine-point deficit in the final quarter.
The shooting guard drained two quick 3-pointers and scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter. Castleton led a 12-4 run by Golden Valley that cut the Bears’ lead to 51-50 with 2:38 left in the game.
“I told him, ‘This is you, it’s time to go,’” Jacobs said. “’You’ve been quiet, it’s time to go.’ Once he seen one go through, the next one is going to go through.”
Ricardo Perez added 11 points and Zay Goode scored 10 for Golden Valley.
Keaton Hillyer led Merced with 12 points and Jordan Thomas chipped in with eight points.
Jacobs says these are the type of games he expects in CCC play without much separating each team.
“Every night, it’s wide open,” Jacobs said. “Patterson has two dudes who can get to the rim at will. Atwater is scrappy and you know they’re going to bring it. (El Capitan) is well coached.”
“Defense and rebounding is key,” Jacobs added. “If we can play defense, rebound the ball and take care of the ball, the offense will take care of itself.”
