Merced High guards go the distance, help beat Buhach Colony in CCC opener

The Merced High School guard trio of Lexi Thompson, Symone Gilliam and Jordan Pierce didn’t come off the floor for the Bears against Buhach Colony on Thursday night.

Merced coach Rob Pierce feels he can’t afford to rest them.

The trio combined for 46 points as the Bears opened Central California Conference play with a 56-50 win over the Thunder on Vince Clemons Court.

“Those three are our backbone, our nucleus,” Rob Pierce said. “It’s tough for us to be productive without them on the floor or even if one or two of them is out. We need those three to play big minutes.”

Thompson led Merced (11-4) with 18 points despite being face-guarded most of the night by a variety of defenders. The Thunder (8-8) started the game in a box-and-one with Nia Smallwood following Thompson around.

“I knew it was going to happen,” said Thompson, who entered the game averaging 20.9 points. “It’s been happening all season.”

The focus on Thompson allowed Jordan Pierce to find some space as she made three three-pointers and finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Gilliam scored 13 points.

“We’re pretty dangerous when (Pierce) is scoring,” Thompson said. “I don’t think teams can stop all three of us. They might stop me and Symone, but not all three.”

Pierce hit two three-pointers in the first quarter and Thompson drained a three with 4 seconds left to give the Bears a 19-10 lead.

Merced extended the lead to 13 points early in the second quarter until Buhach Colony finally settled in.

The Thunder used a 10-0 run to cut the lead to 31-30 late in the quarter. Thunder leading scorer Kaelee Lynch, who is averaging 19.5 points, got going with nine of her 16 points in the quarter.

Thompson drew the defensive assignment against Lynch for most of the first half. Pierce and Raelynn Blackwell also spent time guarding Lynch.

“We just tried to stay close and keep a hand in her face,” Thompson said. “She’s a shooter. Sometimes we were too focused on her and let other people score.”

Merced limited Lynch to two points in the second half, but Vanessa Lopez (12 points) made three of her four three-pointers in the final two quarters to help the Thunder make their runs.

The Bears extended their four-point lead out to 42-32 midway through the third quarter, but Merced couldn’t put Buhach Colony away.

The Thunder pulled within seven points by the end of the third quarter and 46-44 after Lynch scored with 5:12 left in the game.

“I knew it was going to be a battle,” Rob Pierce said. “Regardless of their record, they always play us tough. It’s because they play so hard. They play good defense and they rebound hard.”

Gilliam led a 6-0 Merced run to push the lead back up to 52-44 with 1:36 left as she made two free throws and scored on an inbounds play.

The Thunder answered with three-pointers by Lopez and Remi Mosses to pull within 54-50 with 43 seconds left, but Merced’s defense stiffened the rest of the way.

It was a rough night shooing for the Thunder, who made just 6 of 31 three-point attempts and 4 of 15 from the free-throw line.

“I knew with their guard-heavy team we’d have to do some things different than usual,” Buhach Colony coach Shane Gentry said. “We just had difficulty scoring at times.”

Atwater 42, Turlock 35 in Atwater – Brittany Massa led all scorers with 15 points and Heaven Mazon had 11 for the Falcons (13-3, 1-0 CCC). Atwater held an 18-3 lead after the first quarter, but Turlock pulled within four points by the end of the third quarter.

Golden Valley 64, Pitman 36 in Merced – Stephanie Moore turned in a solid all-around game with 25 points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists for the Cougars (12-4, 1-0 CCC). Abbee Croninger had her first double double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds for Golden Valley.

Dos Palos 51, Fresno Christian 30 in Fresno – Kayla Hall scored 23 points as the Broncos improved to 6-4 win the win over the Eagles.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 10:40 PM with the headline "Merced High guards go the distance, help beat Buhach Colony in CCC opener."