For the first time since 1999, host Oakdale High School has won the Oakdale Rotary Club Holiday Classic. The Mustang varsity boys basketball team won all three of their tournament games to take the title at the 54th annual event.
“This means so much to us as a program; it was one of our goals for the season and tonight is very special for us,” said first year varsity head coach Kelly Power following the Monday night championship contest, Dec. 29.
To accomplish the goal, Oakdale defeated Johansen in the opening round 80-78 on Friday night, Dec. 26. Saturday night the Mustangs advanced to the finals when they defeated Sonora 67-59. Monday night, Oakdale cemented their tournament championship when they defeated Bella Vista, 67-61, in front of a large crowd in the Mustang gym.
In the opening round Oakdale faced off against Johansen. Four Mustang players scored in double digits in the win. Bryce Busam (18); Griffin Galuppi (14); Gavin Wyatt (13) and Niki Jones (11) helped power the way for Oakdale. The Mustangs trailed 19-18 after the first quarter but took a 43-42 lead into the locker room. With 5:47 left in the third quarter, Wyatt stole the ball and scored on a layup to go up 52-46. Later in the quarter, Wyatt was fouled in the act of shooting and completed the three-point play at the free throw line to extend the Mustangs’ advantage to 63-59. In the fourth quarter Johansen tied the game at 78 with 16.8 seconds left. Galuppi hit the game winner with 9.2 seconds remaining on a reverse layup.
In the second round, Oakdale faced former Valley Oak League rival Sonora. The host Mustangs were up by double digits in the first half; having a 10-point lead after the first quarter and leading 37-21 at halftime. That lead, however, evaporated in the third quarter as the Wildcats clawed their way back into the game and tied the game at 46 with three seconds left in the third quarter. Sonora took a three-point lead with 7:11 left in regulation. Midway through the fourth quarter, Busam connected on a long distance three-pointer to give Oakdale a 55-53 advantage. Niki Jones gave Oakdale a 58-55 lead with 3:16 left to play.
In the finals, Oakdale and Bella Vista were close throughout the night. Bella Vista led 20-14 after the first quarter. Wyatt hit a deep three from the top of the key to bring Oakdale to within five points with less than two minutes left in the half. With less than 15 seconds remaining in the half, Wyatt gave Oakdale a 32-30 lead. The battle continued in the third quarter as Oakdale took a 44-42 lead with 2:19 left in the third quarter forcing a time out by Bella Vista. In the fourth quarter Donavyn Hernandez hit a pair of free throws to give Oakdale a 59-55 lead with 5:08 left to play. Galuppi dished the ball to Charles Benninger for an assist to extend the lead to 62-59 with 2:18 left to play. With 26.7 seconds left to play in the game, Bella Vista turned the ball over down 64-61. With a 67-61 lead, Busam then blocked a shot with six seconds left in the game to close out the night. Busam scored a total of 65 points in the tournament and was named Most Valuable Player in the tourney.
“It is a huge honor. I could not have done it without my teammates,” Busam noted. “This tournament has been fun and a great way for us to prepare for the regular season.”
Wyatt earned All-Tournament Team honors.
The varsity team improved to a 15-1 overall record for the preseason with the trio of tourney wins.
Oakdale’s JV boys were also tournament winners, taking the championship contest by a 58-40 decision against Escalon in the afternoon title game on Monday, Dec. 29. Earlier, they had defeated Denair 90-41 in the Dec. 26 opening round and took down Chavez by a lopsided 88-51 final on Dec. 27. The JV boys have compiled a 13-2 record during the preseason.
