Buhach Colony upsets Turlock on road for CCC basketball victory
The Buhach Colony High School boys basketball team earned a big road win Wednesday night, as the Thunder defeated Turlock 63-56 to hand the Bulldogs their first Central California Conference loss.
Andrew Morris led Buhach Colony (11-14 overall, 5-3 Central California Conference) with 13 points and Alex Andrade scored 11.
“This was huge, almost like a turning point in the season because of the way we played tonight,” Buhach Colony coach John Bliss said. “We responded as well as you can playing on the road in a hostile environment. I was proud of the way we played. It was like a playoff atmosphere.”
The Bulldogs (8-16, 7-1) started the game with a 15-2 run, but point guard Oscar Moreno picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and was sidelined the rest of the half.
Without their primary ball handler, Turlock struggled against Buhach Colony’s pressure, as the Thunder outscored the Bulldogs in the second quarter 22-9 to take a 31-27 halftime lead.
“I think our pressure on Moreno kind of frustrated him,” Bliss said. “In addition to that, he picked up his third foul in the second quarter. When they lose their point guard, they’re in trouble. We forced them into a lot of mistakes.
“This was far and away our best defensive performance as a team. I think we took four charges tonight, too, which was big in the game.”
Leading by two, the Thunder started the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run to pull away from the Bulldogs.
Will Hilgen paced Turlock with 15 points. Moreno scored 12.
The win gives Buhach Colony a two-game lead over Merced and Atwater for third place and the final playoff spot with two games to go.
“We prepared as well as you can possibly prepare for this game,” Bliss said. “We had a great week of practice leading up to this game. I think that played a big part in it.”
Atwater 68, Golden Valley 54 in Atwater – Reggie Ricks led four Falcons in double figures with 19 points as Atwater improved to 11-13 overall and 3-5 in the CCC. Juan Walle (17), Kyle Anaya (11) and Nate Gilmore (10) also scored in double figures.
Cyrus Allen led the Cougars with 16 points.
El Capitan 62, Livingston 55 in Livingston – Mark Sellers scored 21 points to help the Gauchos (18-5) remain unbeaten in the Western Athletic Conference at 9-0. Older brother James Sellers had 18 points and made four three-pointers.
Josh Penrod scored 16 points to lead the Wolves (7-17, 2-7).
This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 10:33 PM with the headline "Buhach Colony upsets Turlock on road for CCC basketball victory."