WARDSVILLE - Despite never getting the shots to fall last Tuesday against Blair Oaks, California had a window to really push the Falcons late in the game.
After having trailed by double digits for much of the second half, the Pintos made a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to cut it to a six-point game.
But even though California had momentum on its side stemming from that crucial run, fortune never came to the Pintos' aid, and when a missed 3-pointer led to a transition dunk for Blair Oaks' Jason Rackers on the other end, the window was slammed shut, and the Falcons hung on for a 66-57 win.
"We had chances, didn't take advantage of some situations, got beat up on the boards a little bit, didn't finish a few plays, but overall it's something you can build off of," California coach Matt Moulder said. "The kids played hard and competed well. Blair Oaks is a very good team who's state-ranked for a reason."
California came out with an aggressive mindset in the early going, forcing turnovers by jumping into passing lanes and getting some scoring via the offensive rebounding of Jacob Wolken.
Although Blair Oaks was unable to attack inside, the Falcons kept up offensively via the 3-ball. Blair Oaks' first three made field goals were 3's, two of which came from senior Thomas Verslues, who had 11 points in the game.
"We weren't ready to play," Blair Oaks coach Ryan Fick said. "It continued for much of the first quarter. We weren't focused. I thought California moved the ball extremely well. We didn't do a very good job at talking on screens and we didn't communicate very well."
Blair Oaks (20-4, ranked eighth in Class 3) started to flex its muscle when Rackers closed the first quarter with five consecutive points. The 6-foot-6 senior continued scoring throughout the second frame, particularly from the midrange.
Despite California's best efforts to shield the post passes, Rackers consistently burned the Pintos with a deluge of of 15-foot jumpers for 17 points at the break. Rackers also keyed an 11-3 Falcons run to start the second half when he found more success on the block. He led all scorers with 34 points.
"(Rackers) is one heck of a player and we knew that," Moulder said. "It's difficult to guard him because he just jumps over you and shoots over the top of you. We don't have anybody with the size to handle that. He had a big night, he was on fire and there wasn't a whole lot we did to handle him."
Wolken led California (9-14, 2-5 Tri-County Conference) with 18 points. Sophomore Isaac Ash scored 11 while seniors Wyatt Bestgen and Luke Freeman had 10 and nine points, respectively.
While turnovers on both ends made for an at-times frenetic game, the Pintos made a conscious effort to slow things down when the game allowed for it.
"We knew that if we got into a track meet with them, we'd be in trouble," Moulder said. "We had to grind it a little bit and execute halfcourt offense and get great shots every time down. We didn't shoot it tremendously well. Although we played well, we needed some hot shooting to kind of open some things up inside."