Cagers lose to Westview in overtime
The Bulldog’s boys varsity basketball team lost to Westview and San Marcos in two Valley League games to end the season with a 14-12 record overall.
The Dawgs went 7-5 in the Valley League and finished in second place. Westview and San Marcos were the league’s co-champs with 10-2 records.
The Bulldogs took Westview to overtime before dropping an exciting 53-50 decision. The Dawgs led 16-10 after one period and took a 25-20 lead into the locker room at intermission.
Westview went on a 13-4 run in the third period and took a 36-32 advantage into the final eight minutes.
“We put on a full-court press to slow down their offense and we slowed them down and forced some turnovers and took their momentum away,” said Ken Scheib, Ramona’s head coach.
Ramona regained the momentum and outscored the Wolverines 13-9 in the final period to force overtime. Andrew Alcaraz drove the length of the court with 35 seconds left in the game to tie the score. Westview had a chance to win the game with a final shot, but the Dawg defense held.
Westview had beaten Ramona 63-42 in the first round of league play and the Dawgs were underdogs in the rematch.
“We played zone most of the game but when we went to a man-to-man defense late in regulation, Bryson Garcia shut down their best shooter. It was a great high school basketball game,” said Scheib. It was a tough loss, but a great game,” said Scheib.
The game was tied at 50 in overtime when Westview scored a field goal with eight seconds left on the clock. The Wolverines hit an insurance field goal with 2.5 seconds left and Ramona missed a desperation shot at the buzzer.
Alcaraz scored 14 points to lead Ramona in scoring. Kwayde Miller came off the bench to score 10 points and grab six rebounds.
Bryson Garcia got in early foul trouble but scored 8 points and grabbed a team high nine rebounds for the Dawgs. Zach Windes scored 8 points and hauled down five boards. Keith Scheib (6) and Jared Engler (4) also scored for the Dawgs.
San Marcos entered the final game of the regular season and Valley League action leading the CIF in 3-point goals.
The Knights took advantage of their long-range shooting and hit eight 3-pointers to Ramona’s one. Five Knights hit shots from behind the arch. That stat was the difference in the game as the Knights won 66-59.
Alcaraz and Jared Engler shared scoring honors with McPherson of San Marcos with 19 points apiece. Garcia also tallied in double figures with 11 points. Scheib (5), Stevens (3) and Miller (2) also scored for the Dawgs.
Ramona enters the CIF Division II playoffs with an away game at Helix High School. The Dawgs are the 10th seeded team in Division II.