‘We were hungry.’ Golden Valley boys bounce back to win key CCC game against El Capitan
Golden Valley High senior Ricardo Perez took Monday’s overtime loss to Atwater to heart.
So it was no surprise to see the four-year varsity player playing with a sense of urgency against El Capitan on Wednesday night.
All game Perez attacked the basket en route to a game-high 16 points as the Cougars bounced back with a 57-40 victory over the Gauchos in a battle of two teams fighting for a Central California Conference championship at Cougar Arena.
Perez said he could tell his team was focused coming off the loss to Atwater.
“We were hungry,” Perez said. “We wanted to beat El Capitan because they got us at their place. We wanted to get them back.”
The loss to the Falcons was tough to swallow with Golden Valley letting a fourth-quarter lead slip away.
“It was the toughest lost I’ve ever had,” Perez said. “We were up seven with four minutes left. We went cold and that let the momentum go on their side and they ended up winning in overtime.”
The Cougars (7-3 CCC, 18-8 overall) jumped on El Capitan (6-3, 15-11) early as the closed out the first quarter with a 22-4 run to take a 22-7 lead into the second quarter.
Perez and fellow senior Joey Spielman led the way, attacking the Gauchos in the paint. Spielman finished with 13 points.
“We lost to Atwater and Ricardo scored two points,” said Golden Valley coach Derrick Jacobs. “You best believe I was not pleased with him. He got the message. Joey, he can score, he just likes to play defense. He got the message. When they listen, everything is all good.”
The Cougars felt they relied too much on their perimeter shooting against Atwater. They rode the hot shooting of senior Braden Castleton (21 points) as long as they could.
Castleton knocked down three 3-pointers against El Capitan and finished with 11 points, but the Cougars attacked the paint from start to finish.
“We’re more than a three-point shooting team,” Jacobs said. “Sometimes we have to continue to remind these kids, ‘Hey, there’s more to the game than shooting threes.’ We got guys who can get downhill, which will open up the three.”
The Gauchos chipped away at the lead in the second and third quarter and pulled within eight points in the third quarter.
However, the Cougars put the game away in the fourth with a 16-4 run to stretch the lead to 54-32 with 3:51 remaining.
Braylen Centeno led the Gauchos with 12 points.
Atwater sits atop the CCC at 7-2. Golden Valley is one loss back at 7-3. El Capitan and Patterson are one game back at 6-3.
The victory over the Gauchos was the first for Jacobs, who was 0-7 as a coach against El Capitan and head coach Adrian Hurtado before Wednesday night.
“We played like us, but I just never know what team is going to show up,” Jacobs said. “This feels good. It’s my first time ever beating El Cap. I love Adrian, but this feels good.”
