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| Red-hot Patterson defeats Orestimba, Central Catholic |
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| Written by Marc Aceves / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 23 January 2008 | |
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NEWMAN — Attending a Patterson boys basketball game is definitely not for the faint of heart. The Tigers offer their fans a roller-coaster ride of emotions every time they take to the court. This past weekend was no exception, as the Tigers emerged unscathed from a thrilling back-to-back set against league rivals Orestimba and Central Catholic. The Tigers upended a scrappy Warriors team in Newman on Friday, 67-60. The following night, the boys returned home to narrowly defeat a strong Central Catholic squad, 60-59. The wins improved the Tigers record to 16-3 overall. Patterson also remains undefeated both at home and in Western Athletic Conference play. Patterson went into Orestimba ready to compete in one of the conference’s loudest gymnasiums. The noisy crowd might or might not have played a factor in the Tigers’ offensive struggles. It unquestionably fired up the home-team Warriors, who played hard throughout the contest. “We got a bull’s-eye on our shirts,” Patterson coach Tony Lomeli Jr. said. “This is a tough place to play. You can’t hear very much, and we just had to get used to it.” The Tigers asserted themselves early in the game. Patterson’s Ronyea Ellington capped a big opening quarter for his team when he slammed home the backend portion of an inbounds alley-oop. Teammate Justin Nuckolls floated the ball high above the rim, hitting Ellington in stride for an authoritative two-handed jam.  Justin Nuckolls explodes ato the basket between Central Catholic's Dusty Killian (left) and Matt Rios. Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator The dunk did little to deter the feisty Warriors, who settled down offensively and took a 33-30 lead going into the break. Orestimba remained aggressive throughout the late goings, matching Patterson’s intensity stride-for-stride. Eventually, the Tigers proved to be too much, taking charge in the fourth quarter and seizing the game’s momentum, and the lead, for good. Patterson once again relied on a solid second-half performance from its senior leaders. Forwards Robby Samano and Robert Krager took hold of the reins, leading their team to victory in a closely combated fourth quarter. “Robby (Samano) is not just a leader by the way he’s been playing,” Lomeli said. “It’s his effort. He’s become more vocal. Everyone looks up to him on this team, almost as a coach now.” Samano recognized the role he has assumed for the Tigers. “I know that I have a lot of responsibility on this team,” he said. “I just try to live up to my coach’s praise.” Things did not get any easier for Patterson on Saturday night.  Robert Krager gets the upper hand on pulling down a rebound. Central Catholic entered the game hot on Patterson’s heels in WAC standings, boasting an impressive 13-6 overall record of its own. Having dropped their last two meetings to the Tigers, each game decided by six points or fewer, the visiting Raiders needed little extra motivation to come out firing for this one. It took an incredible performance from Patterson senior forward Mitch Becerra, reviving his team in the game’s closing seconds, resulting in one of the Tigers’ most improbable wins of the season. “I’m really proud of Mitch,” Lomeli said. “He’s always been a key part of this team, but he hasn’t really gotten some of the attention that the other guys get. He was due for this, and today was his day.” The Tigers trailed 56-53 with 44 seconds remaining in the contest. Becerra drove strong to the hoop, drew a foul and stepped to the free-throw line, where he nailed the first two of what would eventually be five clutch free throws. Central Catholic had its opportunity to further increase its lead from the foul line. The Tigers’ hometown crowd came to life in the final seconds, creating a deafening roar and rumbling the gymnasium bleachers with a ground-shaking stomp. The ruckus caused just enough of a disturbance, intimidating the Raiders shooter into missing the front end of a one-in-one free-throw chance. Patterson pushed the ball down the court, where the Tigers were abruptly met by a stubborn, hard-pressing Central Catholic defense.  Ronyea Ellington saves a loose ball from going out of bounds. With just more than 20 seconds to play, Becerra forced his way through a narrow lane, drawing enough contact to send him flailing toward the floor. Maintaining the presence of mind to attempt a shot, Becerra flung the ball up toward the hoop, where it passed through the net and sent him to the line for a three-point opportunity. In total, Becerra hammered home his team’s final seven points of the game, and with them, secured a victory over the Raiders. “We needed to step up in the fourth in order to get back in this one,” Becerra said. “I was lucky enough to get the shot that would win it.” Becerra also realizes what this win means in the broad scope of things. “I want to take it all,” he said. “This is my last year.” Junior Varsity It took an extra eight minutes of action for the JV Tigers to pull out a pulse-pounding 79-71 win in double overtime on the road Friday against Orestimba. Emotions ran high in the closing minutes of regulation and throughout the additional periods. Patterson’s Wesley Wells finished with 15 points. Teammate Jake Saavedra added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Patterson’s JV squad prevailed over visiting Central Catholic on Saturday, 49-33. The Tigers’ Jake Saavedra scored 15 points and pulled down five rebounds, while teammate Ramone Ellington finished with six points and 11 boards. To reach Marc Aceves 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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