Oakdale High School’s varsity boys basketball program has been riding a wave of emotions this season. A promising preseason, including a championship run in their own holiday tournament then took a turn when the team started the regular season with a pair of losses. However, the Mustangs have now won five straight Valley Oak League games, including a pair this past week.
They capped it off with a big Friday night victory, 66-43, for Homecoming against Patterson. This was a rematch of the season opener where the Tigers came away with a 57-51 win. Things got off to a rocky start for Oakdale as Patterson took a 14-4 lead late in the first quarter. At the end of the quarter Oakdale was down 18-8.
As the second quarter unfolded, Gavin Wyatt dished an assist to Griffin Galuppi, and Oakdale was down 22-15 with 3:58 remaining in the half. Bryce Busam hit a deep three to bring Oakdale to within two with 2:06 left in the half. A Beau Kesterson layup with 58.3 seconds remaining in the half tied the game at 24, a score that would hold up going into halftime.
Kesterson picked up where he left off in the second quarter as he hit a jumper to give Oakdale a 26-24 advantage less than 20 seconds into the third quarter. Kesterson got the home crowd roaring when he hit a corner three to make it a 37-29 Oakdale lead with 4:30 left in the third, resulting in a time out by Patterson. With 0.5 seconds left in the third quarter, Kesterson missed a free throw attempt but Charles Benninger quickly got into the lane and tipped the ball in at the buzzer to give Oakdale a 44-34 lead.
With 5:44 left to play Kesterson’s big night continued when he broke free for a fast break layup to put Oakdale up 53-38. Wyatt hit a deep three to go up 61-38 with 3:15 to play.
Kesterson finished the game with 14 points.
“As a team we knew how important this game was. We knew that if we lost tonight, that our season would be in question, the VOL is that tough,” said Kesterson.
Coach Kelly Power also commented on how important the win was: “You know, Patterson really knows how to play ball. They match up with us very well, gives us problems and that showed in the first half. When we fell behind early our boys and staff did a great job not breaking down and carried on.”
Earlier in the week, the varsity squad defeated Mountain House at home. Heading into the game, Mountain House was unbeaten in league play but Oakdale came away with a 59-50 victory. Four players scored in double figures for Oakdale in the win including Charles Benninger, Gavin Wyatt, Niki Jones and Bryce Busam.
Oakdale had a seven-point lead at the half but Mountain House went on a third quarter run and the host Mustangs had just a one-point lead entering the final frame.
The fourth quarter was a nail bitter for both teams and it was Oakdale who continued to hit from long distance and made their free throws down the stretch. Oakdale connected on 11 free throws in the win and Jones hit a three pointer at the top of the key with 1:18 remaining in the game and sank a pair of free throws to put the game away.
“This win is huge, and the boys played well,” said Power. “Huge win for our program.”
Oakdale’s JV boys were also winners against Patterson, 87-50, but fell to Mountain House, 48-44.
WRESTLING
In a busy and successful weekend, the wrestling Mustangs brought home some hardware from Morro Bay. The team had 16 wrestlers participate in the Sam Boyd California Invitational Tournament and put nine grapplers on the podium, including three that claimed gold medal honors.
Oakdale, with its strong performance, came away as the championship team from the tournament.
Taking first place medals were Xander Birakos, 190 pounds; Wes Burford, 215 pounds; and Matthew Cooley, 285 pounds. Second place finishers were Jesse Meza, 157 pounds and Cody Soares, 175 pounds. In sixth was Ezekiel Hernandez, 115 pounds; with Israel Mercado seventh, 157; Grant Dixon at 106 and Zeke Meza at 150 both took eighth place honors.
Oakdale coaches said it was a “strong way to close out the regular season” as the wrestlers prepare for postseason competition.
GIRLS SOCCER
Keeping their season rolling along, the varsity Lady Mustangs soccer squad went on the road and secured a pair of victories. They edged Manteca, 1-0, on Jan. 23 with a goal from Layla Garcia-Gonzalez.
On Jan. 26, they scored two goals in the first half and one more in the second, taking a 3-0 win over host Sierra. Shelby Mitchell had two goals in the game; Dakota Burford added a goal and an assist; notching assists were Kaia Cox and Layla Garcia-Gonzalez.
BOYS SOCCER
It was another couple of tough outings for the varsity soccer Mustangs, as the boys were on the road for a pair of Valley Oak League contests and lost both. They were shut out by East Union, 4-0, on Jan. 20 and then fell in a hard-fought match to Manteca on Jan. 22, losing 2-1. The JV boys forged a 2-2 tie with Manteca.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Splitting their games for the week, the Oakdale varsity Lady Mustangs won at Mountain House on Jan. 20, 39-37, using a 15-3 run in the final frame to get past the host team. At Patterson on Jan. 22, the varsity fell by a 48-29 decision. The JV hoop girls fell in both their games, losing to Patterson and Mountain House.
Editor Marg Jackson contributed to this report.
