Merced High senior Diego Aguilar raised his shark fin three-point celebration often again on Friday night as the Bears’ sharp shooter drained six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points to help lead Merced to a big 64-45 win over Atwater in a showdown between the two teams that came in to Friday night undefeated in Central California Conference play.

 

With the victory, Merced moved into sole possession of first place at 4-0 in the CCC and 15-7 overall. Aguilar added the shark fin – where he raises his right hand to his forehead – as he runs back on defense to celebrate a made 3-pointer. Merced students, parents and fans have begun raising their shark fins too to celebrate each Aguilar 3-pointer. The six 3-pointers tied a career high for Aguilar.

 

The Bears had a balanced attack with Jordan Thomas adding 15 points and Valentin Vasquez chipping in with 10 points. Merced has dominated on its way to the four consecutive CCC victories, winning by an average of 26 points per game. “Obviously they knew what was at stake tonight,” said Merced coach Adrian Sanchez. “We know Atwater is a good team and we were both 3-0 coming in. We knew it would be a big game but I think the biggest thing we could focus on is our intensity, effort and urgency.”

 

The Bears haven’t lacked in any of those areas since the start of CCC play. Merced used a 16-0 run in the second quarter to take control of Friday night’s game against the Falcons. Atwater started the second quarter with a quick basket from Sylas Austin (13 points) and a 3-pointer from Jayden Ybarra to cut Merced’s lead to 17-14 with 7:08 left in the first half. 

 

Merced answered with 16 consecutive points as Joviann Martinez scored seven points during the run. “I think us just playing together and moving the ball so well,” said Aguilar, who drained a 3-pointer during the run. “Man, we just played incredible together. We fly around on the offensive end and the defensive end.”

 

The Bears took a 39-22 lead at the half with four players scoring six or more points in the first two quarters. “That’s the beauty right, if they take Diego away we have three other guys who can still play the game, execute, knock down shots and get to the rim,” Sanchez said. 

 

The Falcons never cut the lead under 17 points the rest of the way. Aguilar drained two more 3-pointers in the third quarter. “I was locked in all game,” he said. “As soon as I woke up I was locked into my routine. I knew it was going to be a night like this for sure.”

 

The Bears say their success starts at practice. “We’ve been going hard at our practices,” Thomas said. “Coach has been on us but we know what we have to do. We have to keep working hard, pushing ourselves, pushing our guys at practice, just getting after it.”

 

Senior A.J. Banks led Atwater with 14 points. The Falcons (13-9, 3-1 CCC) will look to bounce back on Wednesday at crosstown rival Buhach Colony. Merced will travel to its crosstown rival Golden Valley on Wednesday night. Sanchez will remind his guys they have a long way to go before they can claim a second consecutive CCC championship. 

 

“One game at a time, one day at a time, that’s what I tell them,” Sanchez said. “Stay humble and I’m going to do my best to make sure they are humble and bring that intensity to practice every day because everything starts in practice.”

 

El Capitan 42, Golden Valley 32 – A.J. Jones scored 12 points to help lead the Gauchos past the Cougars to pick up their first CCC win. El Capitan improved to 11-11 overall and 1-3 in the CCC. Elijah Carter scored a game-high 16 points for Golden Valley (11-10, 0-4 CCC).

 

Buhach Colony 58, Los Banos 45 – Carter Chapman poured in a game-high 22 points to help the Thunder rebound after having their 12-game winning streak snapped at Merced on Wednesday. Jayden Harvey added 10 points for the Thunder (17-5, 3-1 CCC).

 

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