Falcons snap 28 game skid against Golden Valley
The streak is finally over.
Kyle Anaya drilled a three-pointer with 1 minute, 14 seconds left to give the Atwater boys basketball team the lead, and the Falcons went on to score the final eight points to defeat Golden Valley 60-53 on Friday night at the Nest. The win snapped a streak of 28 losses to the Cougars dating to 2003.
“Oh my gosh. I can’t tell you how good it feels,” Atwater coach Jason Boesch said. “This is my first win ever against Golden Valley. I love (GV coach) Keith (Hunter), but it sure is nice to finally beat him.”
The Falcons (9-10 overall, 1-2 Central California Conference) had to dig deep to do it after Golden Valley had seized momentum in the third quarter.
The Cougars (9-9, 2-1) crashed the offensive boards and took advantage of second-chance opportunities in the second half to erase a six-point halftime deficit.
Golden Valley dominated the offensive glass during a 12-2 run midway through the third quarter. Eight of the points came on second-chance opportunities. Lee McNeill, who led the Cougars with 18 points, led the way with three offensive rebounds.
McNeill scored six and Isaac Daniel added nine of his 14 points in the third as Golden Valley took a 45-41 lead into the fourth quarter.
“It was a great game,” Hunter said. “If you didn’t enjoy that game, you shouldn’t be playing. I had a blast. I was proud of our effort. We had a great third quarter. I thought our effort that quarter was outstanding. I think we built a six-point lead and let it slip away. Fatigue might have set in.”
The Cougars indeed stretched their lead to 49-43 with 6:31 left, but Atwater fought back. The Falcons twice cut the lead to one with Ayana and DeShawn Allison hitting three-pointers.
“We’ve been beaten up physically these last two games,” Boesch said. “We talked to the kids about fighting, not giving up, believing in themselves. In the past, when we fall behind by six, we wouldn’t have come back. Tonight they battled.”
Still leading by one with two minutes left, Golden Valley rushed down the floor and Daniel misfired on a three-pointer with plenty of time on the shot clock.
“That was on me,” Hunter said. “I went for the big shot. Isaac did exactly what I asked. Up one point with two minutes left, I’m looking to score. I’m not looking to run the clock.”
Anaya answered on the other end with a three-pointer to give Atwater a 55-53 lead with 1:14 left.
“All I was thinking was we had to get the lead,” said Anaya, who had 24 points. “We couldn’t lose this game. I put the shot up with confidence and just knocked it down.”
Sun-Star staff writer Shawn Jansen can be reached at (209) 385-2462 or sjansen@mercedsunstar.com.
This story was originally published January 16, 2015 at 10:58 PM with the headline "Falcons snap 28 game skid against Golden Valley."