Merced High senior point guard Valentin Vasquez wasn’t ready for his season or high school career to end on Wednesday night. The Bears wanted to extend their season at least one more game. However, No. 9 Tracy used a barrage of 3-pointers to defeat No. 8 Merced 77-57 in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs at Clemons Court.

 

For the Bears (20-9) it was an emotional end to a special season that saw Merced win a second consecutive Central California Conference championship. “This group is special because they were brought into the game of basketball year-round,” said Bears coach Adrian Sanchez. “They enjoyed working on their craft on their own and ultimately coming together to accomplish what they did this season. They are a great group of kids with great hearts on and off the court.”

Vasquez is one of the leaders as a three-year varsity player and point guard. The senior tried to will Merced to a victory against the talented Tracy squad by scoring a career-high 29 points. Vasquez, who averages 7.7 points this season, attacked the basket, making floaters in the lane, getting to the free throw line and knocking down three 3-pointers. “I wanted to go to the second round so badly, so whatever I had to do to try to win that’s what I was going to do,” Vasquez said. “Unfortunately, I couldn’t get the job done.”

 

“Val emptied the tank and went out  like a warrior,” Sanchez added. “He didn’t hold back from picking up full court to running the offense.”

 

The Bears focus on defense was to try to slow down Tracy star Maximillian Russell, a super athletic senior guard who averages 25.1 points per game. “Our game plan was to stop Maximillian,” Valentin said. “But even when we did that they kicked it out and hit three after three. We had to live with either him or his teammates.”

 

The Bulldogs drained 10 3-pointers on the night with many of the long distance shots answering Merced baskets on the other end to squelch any Bears rally. The biggest shot was Russell drilling a half-court shot at the halftime buzzer as the Bulldogs (21-8) closed the second quarter with a 12-0 run to take a 35-24 lead at the half. 

 

Russell scored from all over the court, finishing with 28 points. Cam Breckenridge knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with 16 points and Lars Lindros added 12 for Tracy, which advanced to the second round against top seed Jesuit, which defeated No. 16 Atwater (19-11) 79-43 on Wednesday night.

 

Merced couldn’t find another player to help carry the scoring load with Valentin and keep pace with the Bulldogs. Aiden Matsuo finished with nine points for the Bears. 

 

It wasn’t the finish the Bears wanted, but it was still a great season that saw two players rewrite the Merced record books. Senior Diego Aguilar set the program record for 3-pointers in a season with 95. Fellow senior Jordan Thomas also set the career record for steals.

 

“This was a very special season,” Vasquez said. “This is the hardest we’ve ever played as a team. We all bought in, diving for balls, taking charges, whatever it took to be where we’re at now. We just came up short tonight. I’m going to remember all my brothers and coaches.”

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