HAWKS MOVE ON IN STATE PLAYOFFS
Liberty Ranch advances past NorCal quarterfinals
AUBURN — Jalen Patterson and the Liberty Ranch High boys basketball team have lifted the monkey off their backs.
The Hawk sophomore guard delivered — again — in the California Interscholastic Federation NorCal quarterfinal game against Placer. After multiple lead changes in the fourth quarter, Patterson broke a 78-78 tie that helped No. 12 Liberty Ranch post an 85-80 win over No. 5 Placer inside Earl Crabbe Gym on Saturday night. Patterson finished with a team-high 28 points.
The win is also the first time in the Liberty Ranch boys basketball program history that it has won a CIF NorCal quarterfinal game. The Hawks have played in the state NorCal playoffs five of the last six seasons. Galt’s second high school opened its doors in 2009.
“It feels good,” said Patterson of the Hawks winning a NorCal quarterfinal game.
Moving onto the semifi-
nals, Liberty Ranch hits the road again today. The Hawks take on No. 9 Stuart Hall of San Francisco, which knocked off top seed Santa Cruz 55-51, also on Saturday. Liberty Ranch and Stuart Hall are scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m.
Liberty Ranch and Placer traded leads throughout the fourth quarter, which Placer led 66-65 at the beginning. Then the momentum shifted toward the Hawks, coming off a missed Hillmen basket and the game tied at 78-78.
Patterson worked the ball up the court, looking for a Hawk teammate inside the paint. Finding his way to the baseline, he moved inside the paint for a bucket with 1:41 left in the game that gave Liberty Ranch (26-5) an 80-78 lead.
“An all-star performance by an all-star player when it matters most,” said Liberty Ranch coach Josh Williams. “That’s what I expect. That’s what helped get us here.”
Patterson added, “I thought I was going to miss that (shot).
Another Placer (24-9) turnover after Patterson’s go-ahead bucket led to another scoring opportunity for the Hawks. The ball found its way into the hands of junior forward Jayden Baroni, whose basket upped the Hawks’ lead to 8278.
“You’ve got to make free throws, you’ve got to play defense, you’ve got to rebound the ball at this level,” said Williams of the Hawks’ play under two minutes. “We’re doing a pretty good job of that right now.”
Placer point guard Kai Huntsberry (gamehigh 37 points) sank 2-of-2 free throws with 52.5 seconds left in the game that trimmed the Hawks’ lead to 82-80. But Liberty Ranch iced the game with three free throws from Baroni (15 points) and Patterson to notch the win.
“It was a very close game,” Patterson said. “We didn’t give up.”
But in the third quarter, Placer rallied back behind the play of Huntsberry and fellow backcourt player in Rylan Walsh, who finished with 21 points. Hunstberry scored 15 of his gamehigh points that included two 3-pointers. Walsh facilitated the ball to Hunstberry and teammates Derek Schreeve and Lucan Yamzon, both of whom accounted for the rest of the Hillmen’s points in the quarter.
Patterson nailed a half-court 3-pointer at the buzzer of the second quarter; the ball hit the top of the rim, then bounced up in the air and went through the net to complete the remarkable bucket. That cushioned the Hawks’ lead to 50-42 at halftime.
Liberty Ranch had eight to 16 points leads throughout the first and second quarters. The Hillmen never led in the first 16 minutes of the game, but forced Hawk turnovers to create scoring drives that cut down the Hawks’ lead to single-digits before halftime.
Patterson was one of five Hawks who scored in double figures. Forward Isaac Padilla, another sophomore, had 16 points, forward Jayden Baroni 15, guard Chandler Garcia 14 and Chris Fielding 11.
Tears were falling after the Hawks’ win. Less than 24 hours before the game, Patterson’s great grandmother, Ira Fields, died. Seconds after Saturday’s game ended, Patterson broke down in tears, as Williams hugged him. Williams, too, had tears streaming down his face.
In the Hawks’ 48-46 win over Albany in the NorCal playoff game opener on March 6, Patterson hit two free throws with 5.4 points left to give Liberty Ranch the victory.