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Los Banos hands Patterson first loss

Written by Mike Vanden Bosch / Patterson Irrigator /

Wednesday, 12 December 2007

“We just got careless. We’re used to going into the fourth quarter and closing it out. ... They got some breaks, and we turned the ball over.”

- Tony Lomeli Jr.
PHS boys basketball coach

Kent Foster leads a fast break upcourt. Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator

LOS BANOS — With a bigger, faster and improved squad before him this year, Patterson High boys basketball coach Tony Lomeli Jr. typically has not needed to fear close games that demand execution down the stretch.

In its quest to maintain its unbeaten preseason record, though, Patterson briefly reverted back to the team it was a year ago for one crucial and pivotal quarter Monday.

Los Banos outscored Patterson, 18-9, in the fourth quarter, capitalizing on eight Patterson turnovers in six minutes, to emerge with a come-from-behind 51-45 win.

“We just got careless,” Lomeli said. “We’re used to going into the fourth quarter and closing it out. They took the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter. That’s the first time anyone has done that to us. They got some breaks, and we turned the ball over.”

Patterson grabbed an early lead, 11-4, and held it most of the game. E.J. Rodriguez’s two 3-pointers and six interior points from slasher Robby Samano helped key a 22-17 halftime lead.

Patterson’s Justin Knuckolls drives toward the basket as Los Banos’ Rubal Sangha tries to keep up during Monday’s 51-45 loss to the Tigers. Elias Funez/Patterson Irrigator

Mitch Becerra (team-high 10 points) gave Patterson (3-1) its biggest lead of the second half, 31-24, on a driving bank shot with five minutes, 21 seconds left in the third quarter.

But Los Banos (4-2) kept hanging around and challenging Patterson, eventually overtaking the Tigers.

After Ronyea Ellington’s basket extended Patterson’s lead to 38-33 to start the fourth quarter, Los Banos used a 7-0 run on two layups and a 3-pointer to take the lead for good. Patterson also committed eight turnovers between the seven-minute and one-minute marks of the fourth quarter.

“Los Banos got some breaks, and we turned the ball over in some key situations,” Lomeli said. “That’s a bad mixture. We missed a couple layups, turned the ball over, and they capitalized. That’s the difference in the game.”

A 3-pointer by Becerra brought Patterson to within 44-42, but Los Banos relied on 5-of-8 free-throw shooting in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.

“Unfortunately, Patterson hasn’t had a whole lot of time to practice with its football players coming in,” Los Banos coach Joe Barcellos said. “Football shape isn’t basketball shape, so I think we kind of wore on them. We made some pretty clutch free throws.”

After Becerra’s team-high 10 points, Rodriguez scored nine points for the Tigers, followed by Samano’s eight points and six from Robert Krager.

Patterson plays Manteca at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Atwater Tournament, where Lomeli has high hopes of capturing the title.

“Hopefully, we learn from this and get better, because we’ve got a tournament coming up,” he said. “I think it’s a tournament we can win.”

Junior varsity
Despite three Tigers players in double figures, Los Banos exploited Patterson’s 22 turnovers to win the junior varsity game 64-53.

Ramone Ellington led Patterson (2-1) with 17 points, followed by 14 points apiece from Jake Saavedra and Gurleen Heercy.

In the end, too many turnovers and too much hot shooting from Erik Martin enabled Los Banos to pull away. Martin drained five 3-pointers for Los Banos.

“The turnovers are what hurt us,” Patterson JV coach Buzzy Wheeland said. “Otherwise, we played pretty good defense and shot 49 percent from the field. We just didn’t take care of the ball. Overall, we’re getting there. We just got a few things to work on.”

To reach Mike Vanden Bosch at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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