It was a rough week for the Oakdale High School basketball program. Taking the court for Valley Oak League action, there were no wins for the varsity boys or girls teams and just a couple victories at the lower levels. Here is a recap of the recent competition.
BOYS BASKETBALL
On Wednesday, Jan. 15 the varsity boys hosted Mountain House and it was the road team with 66-44 victory.
Mountain House opened up the game on a 16-2 run; Oakdale’s first basket came on a layup by Jacob Cavanaugh with 5:38 left in the first quarter. Down 16-6 Jacob Kindrick scored off an assist by Beau Kesterson with 1:11 left in the first quarter. Kindrick scored as time expired in the first quarter on an in bound pass. Oakdale trailed 21-8 at the end of the first quarter.
Noah Zepeda got the crowd on their feet when he drained a long corner three-point basket with 4:18 left in the half to get to 28-11. Kindrick stole the ball and was fouled in the act of shooting. He split his free throws and Oakdale trailed 32-12 with 3:09 remaining in the second quarter. In a crowded lane, Niki Jones made a reverse layup with 2:27 left to play in the half and Oakdale was down 36-17. With four seconds remaining in the half, Zepeda scored on a corner three to go down 41-23 at halftime.
The first points of the third quarter were scored by Cavanaugh off an assist from Griffin Galuppi with 6:01 left in the quarter. Galuppi scored on a layup with 23.7 seconds left in the third quarter to make it 57-33, this would be the deficit that Oakdale faced heading into the fourth quarter. A Bryce Busam steal and fast break layup for Oakdale made it a 62-38 game with 2:19 left to play. Busam got another steal and assist as he found Kesterson to make it 62-40. Busam then found Kesterson again to make it 63-42 with 31 seconds left in regulation but the visiting Mustangs easily took the win.
The junior varsity lost by a 76-38 decision to Mountain House while the freshmen fell in a much tighter contest, 46-43.
Friday night the varsity boys lost to Central Catholic 58-46. The JV boys were winners on the night over the host Raiders, taking a 55-43 decision off the court to record their first league win. The freshmen fell to Central by a 50-31 final.
Wednesday night the Oakdale varsity looks to snap their two-game skid as they host Patterson at 7:30 p.m.; freshman and JV games precede the varsity. Friday night, Jan. 24 Oakdale teams will host East Union in VOL action.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Newcomers to the Valley Oak League, Mountain House came to town on Tuesday, Jan. 14. In a battle of the Lady Mustangs, it was the visitors who came away with a 48-16 victory. Mountain House went on a 15-0 run after trailing 2-0 early in the first quarter and Natalie Powell broke up the run when she scored a basket down low with 2:01 left in the opening quarter. Mountain House led 17-4 at the end of the first quarter; all four points for Oakdale were scored by Powell. Down 22-4, Oakdale early in the second quarter, the host girls took a time out. Powell would go on to end the Mountain House run when she scored with 3:41 left to play in the half to make it 22-6. Samantha Powell scored a basket with just under 40 seconds left in the half, she was the first player to score for Oakdale other than Natalie Powell. Oakdale trailed 24-8 at halftime.
Brielle Lee scored the first points of the second half on a layup with 6:58 remaining in the third quarter. Much like the first two quarters, Mountain House went on a 14-0 run to go up 38-10. Oakdale faced that 28-point deficit as they entered the fourth quarter. In the final frame, Montserrat Garcia scored on a layup to make it a 43-12 deficit with 6:08 remaining. Skye Bratten earned an assist when she passed it to Samantha Powell for a bucket, 43-14, with 4:44 left to play. Gaby Acosta scored a layup with 2:38 left to play for Oakdale’s final bucket.
In the loss Natalie Powell led the team with six points and four rebounds. Acosta had two points and six rebounds.
In junior varsity action, Ellie Constance led the team with four points in a 43-17 loss to Mountain House. The freshmen took a 35-17 loss to the visitors.
Thursday night, Jan. 16 the Oakdale varsity lost to Central Catholic 49-46. Oakdale is now 0-5 in league play. The JV girls did pick up a victory, their first in VOL action, as they edged past Central by a 27-23 final.
Oakdale’s Lady Mustangs resume action on Thursday, Jan. 23 at East Union.
