As the weather outside is cold and damp, inside the Oakdale Main Gym things are starting to heat up. Oakdale Mustang basketball season is underway and all three boys teams are off to early season success. Second year varsity head coach Hondo Arpoika has his team playing inspired basketball early on as the boys earned their second win of the season with a 46-38 road win over Summerville on Thursday, Dec. 8. The boys went up the hill to take on the Bears and clawed their way to the road win. Oakdale scored 34 first half points to take a 34-18 halftime lead. Nick Woody scored 15 points for Oakdale and Andrew Legan added 11 in the win. However the Mustangs fell to Buhach Colony on the road just two days prior in a heartbreaking 55-53 road loss. The Mustangs had a 38-24 halftime lead but were outscored 31-15 in the second half. The Mustangs had three players in double figures as Legan scored a team high 12, followed by Blake Whiting and Andrew Munoz with 10 each. Oakdale hosted Atwater on Monday, Dec. 12 following The Leader’s press time. Oakdale resumes play on Friday, Dec. 16 when they hit the road to take on Gregori. The Mustangs return home on Saturday, Dec. 17 to take on Merced for an early Saturday afternoon game. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The Mustang junior varsity boys split their action with a loss at Buhach Colony on a heartbreaking buzzer beater 42-40. Wyatt Waterworth tied the game at 40 on a three-point shot with eight seconds left in the game for Oakdale. Waterworth scored a team high 11 points and added six rebounds in the loss. Sam Medlin scored seven points and added 11 rebounds for the Mustangs. John Foreman added seven points for Oakdale while Luis Medrano led the team with seven assists and four steals.
“Both Luis and Sam continue their outstanding all-around game for us on both sides of the court,” said coach Don Muniz.
The boys rebounded with a 49-37 road win over Summerville on Thursday night, Dec. 8. The Mustangs were led by Medrano’s 11 points and four assists. Jensen Mauchley and John Foreman each had eight points and Sam Medlin pulled down a game high 17 rebounds, ten of which were on the offensive side allowing Oakdale to score on second chance attempts. The Mustangs will host Merced on Saturday for an 11:30 a.m. tipoff.
FRESHMEN
Steven Morris’s 16 points were not enough for Oakdale to defeat Buhach Colony on the road as Oakdale fell 55-35. However, on Thursday night the boys regrouped and won 62-41 against Summerville on the road. Morris led the team with 20 points. Trevor Smith and Michael Echavarria each scored 12 in the win.
“We are starting to understand that we need to play defense and not just win every game by outscoring the opponent. The loss on Tuesday was not the worst thing in the world,” head coach Grant Miller said. “It is early on and sometimes you need a setback to notice the forest instead of just the trees.”
Oakdale will host Merced on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
