The Oakdale varsity boys basketball team celebrated Wednesday night not just for Senior Night but with a victory over Manteca. Oakdale’s 64-54 home win over the Buffaloes was the first win over their rivals since Jan. 23, 2014 when Oakdale squeaked out a 49-48 home win.
Prior to their double-digit victory; family members, fans and basketball supporters celebrated the careers of four Oakdale seniors as they made their final home appearance on the hardwood. Oakdale’s recently named Citizen of the Year and the voice of the Mustangs, Pete Simoncini introduced Marc Dickson, Jace Krick, Drew Legan and Cesar Garcia along with their escorts to center court for senior recognition.
“It’s been a privilege playing in the program and for the community;” said Legan.
The Mustangs (11-17, 3-10) got straight to work and built up a 12-7 first quarter lead but went into halftime down 20-19. Legan scored 11 points in the first half, as did Manteca’s (11-15, 7-6) Gino Campiotti. Oakdale came out swinging in the second half, including getting a three-point field goal from Krick to tie the game at 28 in the third quarter. Krick scored all nine of his points in the second half in his final home game.
Center Sam Medlin, who is six foot six, punished the Buffaloes down low with his size. He scored nine points, and had a dozen rebounds and three blocks. Medlin’s biggest game moment came in the third quarter when he pulled down an offensive rebound and made a reverse put back to give the Mustangs a 36-30 advantage. In the fourth quarter Oakdale took a six point lead when John Foreman connected on a fade-away jumper to go up 43-37; the Mustangs led 48-43 with 3:15 remaining and built up the lead from there. Legan scored a game high 31 points to help power the Mustangs to their third win of the regular season.
“We needed this one. We did not want to lose tonight and we came together as a team to finish the job,” said Legan.
The Oakdale victory forced Manteca into a three-way tie with Sierra and Lathrop for third place in the Valley Oak League standings. Oakdale looks to play spoiler for either Manteca or Sierra if they can earn a road victory in the season finale on Wednesday, Feb. 14 against Sierra. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Sierra High School.
On Friday night, Feb. 9, the varsity boys fell to undefeated Central Catholic on the road, 55-30.
JUNIOR VARSITY
A pair of losses for the junior varsity team occurred this past week. The boys fell to Manteca 61-49 at home on Wednesday and on Friday the team’s fourth quarter rally fell short at Central Catholic. Oakdale trailed 44-30 entering the fourth quarter and outscored the Raiders 25-16 in the final frame but came up a few points short in a 60-55 final. Oakdale wraps up the season at Sierra on Wednesday, Feb. 14 with a scheduled tipoff time of 5:30 p.m.
FRESHMEN
They may be young, but the Oakdale freshman basketball team claimed the Valley Oak League championship with a 56-50 home win over Manteca on Wednesday, Feb. 7. The team was paced by Wyatt Roseberry who scored 15 points, while Zach Alosio added 13 points in the win. Friday night the team traveled to Modesto where they lost to Central Catholic 43-39. Oakdale’s season finale is Wednesday at Sierra High School with a 4 p.m. start time for the Feb. 14 contest.
