San Jose – Oakland High does not even need the first quarter Tuesday evening in Valley Christian.
Oakland, the seeded n ° 13 in the CIF NORCAL DIVISION II support, followed Valley No. 4 16-4 after the first eight minutes in San Jose.
The following 24 minutes made the result of the opening frame without meaning. Oakland had the rest of the competition, reducing the six-time deficit and taking the lead in the middle of the third quarter.
The Wildcats no longer dragged again, and on the strength of their overall excellence, they extended the advantage more and won an undoubtedly 59-45 victory at the East Bay.
“We were 45 minutes late when we go down here, and they were just a base,” said Oakland coach Orlando Watkins. “Valley Christian is a good team. They ran their things and came out in the lead. I just said to my guys: “Calm down. There are three more quarters. If we do the next quarter, well the next quarter and well in the fourth quarter, we will be back in the match. And that’s what they did.
Oakland (22-8) returned to a striking distance in the second quarter, took control in the third and gained by leaving in fourth. With Valley Christian mired in a shooting crisis, the Wildcats did not need long to equalize the game, and they needed even less time to withdraw.
“We look at the bench in advance” “which can give us a spark, give us energy?” “Said VC Colin Pfaff coach.” We tried a lot of guys. The guys did not have him tonight for any reason, unfortunately. You would like to think about your land, someone is ready to leave, and we just couldn’t find this good combination this evening.
“And then guys lacked photos, you know?” I mean, we did not score a basket in the third trimester. I think we have scored free throws, only scored six points or something like that. So much in a way the snowball effect there.
The Warriors scored five points in total in the third, and indeed, all came by the charity. This is the kind of offensive outing that coaches have nightmares, unless they are on the other side.
“We told them:” It’s the “” said Watkins. “‘If you don’t match what you did in the second quarter, it’s our last game.” And all these guys want to continue and get another game. So I challenged them and they answered. »»
Oakland relied on a balanced score effort to come from behind and take the lead for good. Khaleed Odumuyiwa led the Wildcats with 12 points, followed closely by Rohm Neal with 11.
Bryant Clark has made a Herculean effort for Valley Christian in the section, trying to return the Warriors in the match with 17 points in the fourth quarter. He finished with 22 points in total to lead all the scorers.
The loss of Valley Christian brought a bitter end to an unforgettably soft season for the Warriors. VC (18-10) won more games than they had done since the 2005-06 campaign and has raised the bar of what the group of next year will strive to accomplish.
“It was a great year,” said Pfaff. “Obviously disappointing tonight. But I think that made us momentum. This puts our program as a basketball location for local children who go to private school. We had big young guys who arrived and come therefore, so I am super excited about this. “”
Meanwhile, the dance continues for Oakland High, which felt despised by its low seed in division I. But if the Wildcats continue to win, they can always arrive where they want to go.
“I keep saying to them: ’13 seed, take it a little personal”, “said Watkins.” I don’t think we are 13 seeds, but the powers in place. So we will try to shock a few people. One below, we had four others for our goal. “
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
