Merced boys should contend for another CCC basketball title

The Central California Conference boys basketball race was tight last season, with Merced catching Golden Valley on the final night of the season for a co-championship.

Expect another close race with no clear favorite in this year’s field. Five of the six teams are capable of knocking off anybody. Buhach Colony (1-13), which has been plagued by injuries this season, appears to be the only team that can’t challenge.

Turlock and Merced might have the slight edge at the top. The top three teams qualify for the playoffs.

The Bears (10-6) enter CCC play tonight with the best record and feature one of the best guard tandems in A.J. Stewart and Ulonzo Gilliam.

“We kind of stumbled a bit (at the Columbia Tournament), but we’ve had two great weeks of practice after that,” said Merced coach Hector Nava, whose team will open at home against Buhach Colony. “I like where we’re at right now. We’re getting better chemistry and we’re working with each other.”

The Bears are guard-heavy with players like Travis Pazin, Brandon Blackwell, Deshawn Peterson and Dominic Mason. As usual, Merced is as athletic as any team in the conference. However, Merced’s lack of height and a post presence makes the Bears vulnerable.

“We’ve had problems facing zone defenses and against teams that have size,” Nava said. “When teams force us to shoot outside, we’ve struggled. I do think we have the best athletes and with our speed; I think we can make things difficult for other teams. Offensively, we’ll get better each week.”

The good thing for Merced is there isn’t a team that will tower over the rest of the CCC.

Turlock’s strength is its backcourt of Devan Bains and Demsen McFaddin. The Bulldogs are 6-8 but have played the toughest schedule.

“Turlock is always tough,” said Atwater coach Jason Boesch, whose Falcons open tonight at home against the Bulldogs. “Turlock has the experience of being successful for a number of years now. It’s a tough opener, but we feel confident. We feel we can compete with anybody.”

The Falcons (8-8) have been up and down. Senior Brody Patterson leads Atwater with 16.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Kyle Anaya and Reggie Ricks have also chipped in with big games.

“It’s been like a roller coaster for us,” Boesch said. “It’s nothing I can put my finger on and push the right button. We’re getting more consistent. We’re not having as big a dips as we’ve had. We’re getting better.”

Pitman (7-7) and Golden Valley (6-8) have hovered around .500 all season. The Cougars have struggled to score after relying on players like Evan Stillahn, Josh Sykes and Christian Carroll the past three years.

Lee McNeill, Isaac Daniel and Colin Hayes have been asked to step up their place.

“It comes down to, can we consistently put points on the board,” said Golden Valley coach Keith Hunter, whose team opens against Pitman tonight at home. “We’ve struggled in that area. We have to find guys to knock down shots.”

This story was originally published January 8, 2015 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Merced boys should contend for another CCC basketball title."