After a dozen games, the Oakdale High School varsity boys basketball team has yet to suffer a loss.
Oakdale (12-0, 0-0) added Bret Harte (3-8) and McNair (7-6) to their latest victim list. On Tuesday night, Dec. 18 Oakdale defeated the Bullfrogs 66-56. The Mustangs opened the game on an 8-0 run and continued their high percentage shots in the paint and led 17-10 after the first quarter. Freshman guard Kobe Nunes connected on a three-point field goal to start the second quarter giving Oakdale a 20-10 advantage. Nunes scored 23 total points, 16 of them in the first half.
Senior John Foreman missed a jumper and center Sam Medlin pulled down the offensive rebound and scored the uncontested put back to go up 29-11 midway through the second quarter. Oakdale took a 35-18 halftime lead.
The third quarter Oakdale gave up 28 points and the Bullfrogs took their first lead of the night at 46-44 with 27.3 seconds left in the third quarter. Senior Jeff Crawley connected on a three-point shot at the horn to give Oakdale a 47-46 lead at the end of the third quarter.
“It just got away from us in the third,” said Foreman. “We were giving up too many three’s and allowed them to make it a game in the second half. We figured it out in the fourth quarter, though.”
With the game tied at 51, Nunes stole the ball and sprinted for the layup to give Oakdale a 53-51 advantage with 5:11 left to play. Medlin, who scored 12 points on the night, connected on a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 55-51 with 3:52 left in regulation. Foreman closed out the game connecting on a pair of three-point shots to go up 61-53 with 2:15 left. Foreman finished the game with 16 points, scoring nine in the fourth quarter.
Friday night’s game, Dec. 21, played out with little drama as Oakdale led from start to finish against McNair. The Mustangs were up 48-19 at the half and won 83-53. Ten different Mustangs scored in the contest and four players scored in double figures. Foreman had a game high 19 while Medlin, Nunes and Jonah Norman each scored 14 points in the win.
“Tonight was just a good offensive night. I think everyone had confidence in each other,” said Norman.
The Mustangs will host the Oakdale Rotary Classic beginning Wednesday, Dec. 26. This is the 49th year of the tournament. Seven teams will make the trip to Oakdale for the three-day holiday tradition. First game for the varsity Mustangs will be Wednesday night at 8 p.m. against Grace Davis (1-10).
JUNIOR VARSITY
Oakdale’s JV boys won both of their games this past week. On Tuesday the team defeated Bret Hart 54-9. In the blowout win, Oakdale only allowed one point in the second half and held the Bullfrogs scoreless in the fourth quarter. Jake Kettering scored 22 points and connected on six three-pointers. Zach Aloisio had 12 points. The boys capped off the week with a 66-44 home win over McNair. A 25-point third quarter helped power the Mustangs. Five players scored in double figures for Oakdale, including Jason Rawe (14), Aloisio (13); Kettering (11) Dominic Antinetti (11) and Johnny Whylie (10).
This week Oakdale will host the Oakdale Rotary Classic. The three-day tournament starts on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26 at 2 p.m. against Grace Davis.
FRESHMEN
The freshman team also had a successful week when they went 2-0. Oakdale defeated Bret Harte 56-47. The Mustangs trailed 13-12 after the first quarter but bounced back for the home win. Johnny Kradude scored a dozen points and Brecken Campbell scored 15 points. Friday night, Oakdale defeated McNair 48-39 behind a dozen points from Landon Nunes. Oakdale will travel to Modesto for three days as they take part in the Grace Davis tournament that begins Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 26.
