The Merced High boys basketball team came out with a heightened focus and intensity after a slow first half in a recent game against Sonora. The Bears established a frenetic pace with their full-court press and created points off turnovers to quickly extend a five-point lead to double figures in the third quarter as they cruised to 61-43 victory.

 

The challenge for the Bears is to bottle up that energy they exerted in the second half and extend it for four quarters with Central California Conference play set to begin next week. If they can do it, the Bears have the experience and talent to repeat as CCC champions. “We’re playing all right but there’s definitely a lot of things we need to work on,” said senior Jordan Thomas. “We can play better but we’re going in the right direction.”

 

It took a not so subtle reminder from the Bears coaches at halftime to shift gears in the second half. “We came out in this game stagnant and with bad energy,” said fellow senior Adrian Matsuo. “It was kind of a collective thing. Everyone came together, a couple words got said, some voices got raised, but the point got across and we got the message.”

 

It helps to have seven seniors on the roster so the Bears have veteran players who will get the message. Merced’s nucleus includes three third-year varsity players in Thomas, Matsuo and Valentin Vasquez. Thomas was named the CCC’s Defensive Player of the Year last year. Fellow senior Diego Aguilar was named the Offensive Player of the Year and Vasquez was an all-CCC first-team selection.

“This year's group has experience with seven seniors,” said Merced coach Adrian Sanchez. “We have played a challenging preseason schedule which has been good for us. From Rocklin to Las Vegas and the Clovis Elks (tournaments) we have been able to play a variety of teams with different styles.  Having players with experience has been a positive note because they know what to expect. From preparation to practice to games; they have seen it for years now. They are also good mentors to the younger group players that got moved up.”

 

Aguilar leads the Bears in scoring at 14.4 points per game. Thomas averages just over 11 points and Vasquez and Matsuo can help out with scoring on any given night. “I like that we’ve been playing together for a long time so we have that chemistry, that bond,” Thomas said. 

 

They’ve been tested in November and December by playing teams from Sacramento and teams in Las Vegas. They’re going to know how to react when they see different presses and styles of play.”You don’t see the same type of basketball everywhere you go,” Matsuo said “There’s a lot of taller, bigger, stronger teams that play in Sacramento and then you have certain teams we played in Vegas that want to slow it down. It’s helped us a lot and we know what to expect with different teams we play.”

 

The CCC is usually a competitive league and this year should be no different with Golden Valley, El Capitan and Atwater all hoping to contend for the championship. “The expectations are high, but with those expectations come a lot of responsibility ,” Matsuo said. “Our coaches have challenged us to play four quarters in a row. We struggle at times to start slow or finish slow or vice versa. We just need to be able to play consistently throughout the whole game.”

Here’s a look at the rest of the rest of the MUHSD teams with conference play set to start soon:

 

Atwater (9-7) – The Falcons have been one of the top CCC teams in recent years, winning four CCC championships and compiling a 43-11 conference record in the past five years. Atwater’s strength is on the defensive side of the ball, limiting teams to under 50 points scored in five of their nine wins. Atwater is led by seniors Sylas Austin, A.J. Banks and junior Logan Sanchez.

 

Buhach Colony (13-4) – The Thunder have won nine consecutive games and are led by senior Carter Chapman, who is averaging 17.5 points per game to go along with 8.9 rebounds and 4.3 steals. Chapman has scored 1,275 career points during his four-year varsity career. Teammate Elijah Garza is chipping in with 11.5 points per game.

 

El Capitan (10-7) – Former girls basketball coach Tyler Dietz takes over the program with Adrian Hurtado making the move to administration at the school. The Gauchos reached the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship game last year. El Capitan returns one of the top players in the CCC in A.J. Jones, who is averaging 14.6 points per game. Seniors Jay Ervin and Guerin Bliss also return.

 

Golden Valley (11-6) – The Cougars tied Merced for the CCC championship last year and have won seven of their last eight games headed into conference play. Golden Valley returns last year’s CCC Most Valuable Player Izaivian Goode. Elijah Carter, Edgar Rodriguez and 

Julian Solorio will also contribute under first-year head coach August Tangaan.

 

Livingston (6-9, 1-1 WAC) – Adrian Aguirre is leading the Sac-Joaquin Section in scoring at 27.4 points per game, which ranks No. 14 in the state, according to MaxPreps. Aguirre has topped 30 or more points six times this season, including two 44-point performances against Orestimba and Ceres. The fourth-year varsity player has scored 1,388 career points. Christian Deol also averages 15.3 points per game for the Wolves. 

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.