It was two difficult home losses for the Oakdale High School boys varsity basketball team. The first loss came on Wednesday night, Jan. 22 to Patterson and the second was on Friday night, as East Union played spoiler at the Mustangs’ Winter Homecoming.
First, the Tigers battled to a 50-45 road win in the opening contest of the week.
Gavin Wyatt got Oakdale to take a 2-0 lead when he pulled down an offensive rebound and quickly put the ball in the hoop with 6:01 remaining in the first quarter. Jake Norris connected on a long distance three pointer to go up 7-2 with 4:19 left in the first quarter resulting in a time out for Patterson. Charles Benninger got the crowd on their feet when he rejected a lay-up with 2:31 left in the first quarter. Oakdale led 9-5 at the end of one.
Beau Kesterson completed a three-point play following a foul to make it 12-7 Oakdale with 6:56 left in the half. Benninger got a rebound and passed it to Wyatt for an assist giving Oakdale a 16-13 advantage with 1:34 remaining in the half. Niki Jones got a steal and fast break layup to give Oakdale an 18-15 lead with 46 seconds left in the half. The Tigers tied the game at 18 with 26 seconds left. As time was running out in the half, Benninger connected on a halfcourt shot as the buzzer sounded to give Oakdale a 21-18 halftime lead.
The Tigers, though, took their first lead of the night with 7:01 left in the third quarter. Patterson extended the lead to 26-21 with 5:57 to play in the third resulting in a timeout for Oakdale. Griffin Galuppi pulled down an offensive rebound and putback basket with 3:46 left in the third quarter for their first points of the half, with Oakdale down 27-23. Patterson led 35-26 at the end of third quarter. Noa Concepcion knocked down a three-point basket with 7:11 to play and a Bryce Busam fast break layup made it a 41-38 deficit with 3:01 to play. At the line Busam connected on a pair of free throws to pull Oakdale to within 41-40 with 2:18 left to play. Benninger hit a corner three so the Mustangs trailed 46-43 with 1:01 left to play. With 28.2 seconds left, a Busam steal and fast break layup made it a 46-45 game. The Mustangs were forced to foul and Patterson made both free throws with 17.8 seconds left to go up 48-45 and the final was 50-45.
Busam had nine points for Oakdale. Benninger had eight points and five rebounds to go along with two blocks.
Friday night the boys dropped a 53-45 overtime loss to East Union. It took a little extra time but the Lancers came in and stole the game away from Oakdale on its Homecoming Night, with lots of festivities mixed in to the evening.
JV/FRESHMEN
The Oakdale JV boys got a split of their Valley Oak League contests this week. They put together a strong effort in a big win, 63-49, over Patterson. But they fell short to East Union on Friday, losing by a 10-point margin, 53-43. Consistent scoring was the key to the win over the Tigers on Jan. 22, the JV boys in double figures in all four quarters, taking a 34-20 halftime lead.
It was a pair of victories for the freshmen on the court. They took a 62-42 win over Patterson, keyed by a strong 23-6 first quarter run. They had a 40-20 lead at the half. Kicking off Homecoming with a victory on Friday, the frosh boys defeated East Union, 45-41. They built up a 27-16 lead at the half and held off the Lancers down the stretch for the win.
This week, Oakdale travels to Manteca to face the Buffaloes on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Friday night, Jan. 31 the squads host Central Catholic.
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