The Oakdale varsity Mustangs picked up a pair of basketball wins in Valley Oak League play this past week. On Monday, Jan. 12 Oakdale traveled to Manteca to take on Sierra and picked up a 64-55 road win. Friday night Oakdale returned home and defeated East Union in a thrilling overtime game that saw the Mustangs edge the Lancers 63-61.
In the road win Oakdale opened the game with a 4-0 run; however, Sierra countered with a 7-0 run to take a 7-4 lead with 6:36 left in the first quarter. Out of a time out, Bryce Busam hit a three pointer to tie the game at 7. The two teams continued to trade baskets though Oakdale did manage to take a 23-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. Sierra outscored the Mustangs 17-7 in the second quarter and went into the locker room up 34-30.
The third quarter continued to be a back-and-forth battle and the teams were separated by just a few points for much of the contest. Niki Jones did put the game away with 1:11 to play when he pulled down an offensive rebound and putback off the glass to give Oakdale a 64-52 lead. Jones led the team with 17 points. Griffin Galuppi scored 14 points.
Friday night, a large crowd packed the gym for an overtime classic against East Union. The Lancers led 16-15 at the end of the first quarter. With 5:01 remaining in the first half, Gavin Wyatt tied the game at 23 with a layup. Jones gave Oakdale a 26-23 lead with 3:44 to play in the half. Sierra rallied and outscored Oakdale 7-1 the rest of the half to take a 31-27 halftime lead.
The game was tied at 46 entering the fourth quarter. Donavyn Hernandez hit a jumper to give Oakdale a 52-50 lead with 4:49 remaining in regulation. Finding themselves down 58-56 with 35.2 left to play in regulation, Oakdale took a time out. With 29.8 left, Wyatt made a basket in the paint to tie the game. In overtime, Busam tied the game at 61 when he completed a three-point play after being fouled. With 39.3 left East Union turned the ball over. With 8.2 left to play, Galuppi hit the game winner with a basket off the glass.
“All glory to God. This game was intense. My teammates had just as much to do with this win, and tonight it was a Mustangs win,” said Galuppi following the win. He scored 12 points in the win. Busam and Wyatt each had 14 and Jones added a dozen.
“The VOL is so tough, any given night, any team can get a win. East Union is tough and made us battle. The first half of the year has been a true test and it has been a while since Oakdale has been in the mix so we need to keep grinding,” said first year Mustangs coach Kelly Power.
Oakdale returns to action on Wednesday night at first place Mountain House and will host Patterson for Homecoming on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
The JV boys took a 54-48 win against Sierra and fell by a 58-55 decision to East Union.
WRESTLING
Oakdale had 10 grapplers make the trip to Fountain Valley to compete in the prestigious Five Counties Wrestling Tournament on Jan. 16 and 17. Four Mustangs came home with honors, including Griffin Gerber, seventh place, 165 pounds; Cody Soares, fourth place, 175; Jake Simmons, fourth, 126; and Xander Birakos, third place, 190 pounds.
GIRLS SOCCER
The varsity Lady Mustangs were a scoring machine this past week. They shut out Mountain House 9-0 on Jan. 12 and went on the road Jan. 14 and notched a 6-0 win over East Union. Skyler Burford and Dakota Burford each had two goals and an assist in the win over Mountain House, while Layla Garcia-Gonzalez had two goals. Gonzalez had a hat trick against East Union, and Kaia Cox added two goals.
The JV girls shut out Mountain House, 11-0, but lost 2-1 to East Union.
BOYS SOCCER
A tough week for the varsity soccer boys saw them give up six goals while managing to score just one. They fell 3-0 to Patterson on Jan. 13 on the road, then lost a home game, 3-1, to Mountain House on Jan. 15. The JV boys were shut out in both their contests this week.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
On the road for a Jan. 12 basketball game at East Union, the Oakdale varsity Lady Mustangs fell by a 56-27 decision. They hosted Sierra on Jan. 13 and lost by a similar score, taking a 55-32 loss on the court. The JV girls, meanwhile, earned a 34-26 win over Sierra but fell to East Union, 39-17.
Editor Marg Jackson contributed to this report.
