Withstanding pressure when the game teeters precariously in the closing moments often separates the winner from the loser.
Chalk one up for the West Valley Mustangs basketball team. They turned back the gritty Norco Cougars in the last half of the fourth quarter for a hard-earned 58-47 CIF-SS Division 3AA firstround victory on Feb. 15 at West Valley High School.
After leading by as many as 15 points in the second half, the Mustangs appeared on their way to a commanding victory. But someone forgot to tell Cougars' guard Jeremiah Abdelmeesh. The senior guard burned the Mustangs for 18 fourth-quarter points, pulling them within three (48-45) after drilling a long three-pointer with 1:35 left to play.
But the Mustangs didn't panic. Guard Fabian Mendez and forward Roosevelt Adams each counterpunched Abdelmeesh with two treys of their own. Then when Norco was forced to foul in the final 48 seconds, the Mustangs calmly sank 9 of 10 free throws to finally hold off the Cougars and Abdelmeesh, who finished with a game-high 32 points.
"We kept our composure and that comes from the senior leadership of Fabian and Roosevelt," said Mustangs coach Michael Frazier.
"They stepped up and did what was expected of them. They hit those big threes, and Fabian hit those free throws (7 of 8 late in the fourth quarter) down the stretch. We stayed focused and kept our heads."
The Mustangs had eight players in the scoring column, led by Mendez with 17 points (all in the second half), Adams 14, Yulava 9, Robert Edwards 5, Brian Ellis and Robert Brooks 4 each, Oscar Quezada 3, and Mark Hall 2.
The g ame wa s int ens e throughout. Both teams pressured the ball with a full court press and then would drop back into a zone. Or attack with a half court trap. The Mustangs tried to contain Abdelmeesh with a zone – one that he said was a little surprising.
"We watched their (Mustangs) tape and didn't see a 2-3 zone," said Abdelmeesh, the only Cougar to score in double figures. "We didn't expect their zone. They're a good team and have a good point guard (Mendez). They shoot the ball well."
The game went back and forth in the first quarter, with the Mustangs holding a 13-10 advantage at the close. West Valley kept the lead in the second quarter on the sharp shooting of Adams who had seven points and Yulava with five, and went into halftime leading 27-19.
In the third quarter, the Mustangs steadily pulled away, and led 38-23 at the midway point on Mendez's long three-pointer. But from that point on, Norco (6-21, of the Big VIII League) made its long climb back. In the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, the Mustangs wrestled the momentum back, fueled by an aggressive defense targeting Abdelmeesh.
"He's a great player," Frazier said. "We wanted to make him take tough shots and not let their other guys beat us. I liked our defensive intensity. We (caused) 13 turnovers alone in the second quarter."
The win moves the Mustangs on to the second round. On Friday, they travel to El Modena in Orange (3-10 and the number seven team from the Century League) for a 7 p.m. game. El Modena defeated Rancho Alamitos 55-54 to advance.
Coach Frazier said he was pleased over all with the Mustangs performance against Norco. But a few things need improving.
"All in all it's a good effort," he said. "We forced a lot of turnovers, but we would get a turnover and then go back down and turn it over ourselves. We need to capitalize on those by taking better (offensive) opportunities. We need to be a little more precise with our shot selection because it's going to get tougher as we go on in the playoffs."
