Merced boys let another CCC basketball game slip away

It was another lost opportunity for the Merced High School boys basketball team, as the Bears let another game get away late.

Turlock outscored Merced 15-5 in the final two minutes, 42 seconds to defeat the Bears 63-54 on Friday night at Turlock High.

“It’s hard. We always lose our composure the last two or three minutes of the game,” Bears guard Jared Pazin said. “We have to work on that. We have to stay mentally focused.”

Pazin hit a three-pointer to give the Bears (12-11, 3-4 Central California Conference) a 45-39 lead with 5:40 left.

However, Turlock responded with a 7-0 run with Josh McGinnis draining a three to give the Bulldogs a 46-45 lead with 4:03 remaining.

The lead went back and forth until Will Hilgen knocked down his fourth three-pointer to give Turlock a 51-49 edge with 2:42 to go. It was all Bulldogs from that point.

“You train your team to execute because you know it’s going to be a tight game like this,” Merced coach Hector Nava said. “You’re not going to beat good teams by 20 points. Turlock did a good job the last two minutes and we didn’t. We turned the ball over.”

Fading in fourth quarters has been Merced’s Achilles’ heel during conference play. The Bears blew a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter against Turlock in a 51-44 loss Jan. 13. Merced had at least a six-point lead in the fourth quarter in three of their four CCC losses. The Bears’ other loss was a 53-51 defeat to Pitman.

Merced’s not getting it done in close games.

“We’ve got to fine-tune everything,” Nava said. “From rebounding, to getting those critical stops late, to getting a hand in the face on defense. It’s the little things we’re not doing in the last two minutes.”

Meanwhile, Turlock is doing what it needs to pull out games. After starting the season 1-16, the Bulldogs are now 7-0 in the CCC and have a two-game lead with three to play as they try to win back-to-back titles.

“Early on this season, our guys tried to do a lot on their own,” Turlock coach Doug Cornfoot said. “We’d have guys go one-on-three and take a shot. Now, they understand the team concept. I don’t mind if any of my players take a shot if they’re open in their comfort zone. If it’s there, attack, and if not, back it up and slow down.”

Hilgen had the hot hand for Turlock, scoring 20 points. Habib Velasquez scored 18 points, including eight in the final 3:12. Point guard Oscar Moreno scored 17.

“It’s just perseverance,” Hilgen said. “We never give up, and we believe in ourselves. We started 1-16; we know how it feels to lose a lot of games. We don’t want to go back to that.”

A.J. Stewart led Merced with 21 points but was held to two in the fourth quarter. Pazin scored 16 points.

“All of our losses, we felt we let them go,” Pazin said. “We just don’t keep our composure the last two, three minutes of the game. We just have to play all four quarters strong.”

Atwater 69, Pitman 66 in Atwater – Kyle Anaya scored 19 points with the help of three three-pointers as the Falcons (10-13, 2-5 CCC) upset the Pride on homecoming night. Reggie Ricks scored 18 points and Juan Walle 16 for Atwater.

The teams combined for 59 points during a wild fourth quarter.

Jando Diaz paced Pitman (12-8, 5-2) with 22 points.

Buhach Colony 68, Golden Valley 64 in Atwater – Jake Walejko scored 16 points to help the Thunder (10-14, 4-3 CCC) regain sole possession of third place.

Cyrus Allen turned in a big performance for the Cougars (0-7 CCC) with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Golden Valley had four players foul out, including Allen.

El Capitan 61, Central Valley 49 in Ceres – The Gauchos scored the first 14 points and cruised to their second win over the Hawks (11-11, 4-4 Western Athletic Conference) this week. James Sellers knocked down five three-pointers on his way to a game-high 21 points. Isaiah Knott had 15 points for the Gauchos (17-5, 8-0).

Ceres 71, Livingston 56 in Livingston – Kevin Alvarez led the Wolves (7-16, 2-6 WAC) with 18 points, but it wasn’t enough against the Bulldogs (8-12, 5-3). Austin Stiles led five Ceres players in double figures with 16 points.

Tranquillity 57, Dos Palos 27 in Dos Palos – Noel Inguez scored 15 points to lead the Tigers (15-7, 3-2 West Sierra league) to a rout. Daniel Rivas led the Broncos (3-17, 1-5) with seven points.

Girls

Dos Palos 67, Tranquillity 19 in Tranquillity – Grace Schofield poured in 20 points and Kayla Hall had 16 as the Broncos cruised to a win to improve to 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the WSL.

This story was originally published January 29, 2016 at 11:08 PM with the headline "Merced boys let another CCC basketball game slip away."