49ers’ run of 8 straight BVC titles comes to an end, Marin takes it
Winning Bay Valley Conference championships has become a tradition with the Yuba College men's basketball team.
After absorbing a head-scratching loss to Napa Valley College last Friday, the 49ers knew this week's final slate of BVC games would make or break their season.
To hoist a ninth straight conference banner, the 49ers needed to beat both Merritt on Wednesday and BVC co-leader Marin on Friday. Considering those games were on their home court in Linda, coach Doug Cornelius liked his team's chances.
That's why he was completely numb when he left the locker room on Wednesday night following one of the most heartbreaking losses in his tenure.
Merritt defeated Yuba 109-98 to end the 49ers' chances at winning a ninth straight conference championship and also put the 49ers in danger of missing the playoffs all together for the first time in Cornelius' 14-year run as coach.
Marin (14-1 BVC record) defeated Mendocino on Wednesday to clinch the title and Yuba (15-9 overall, 12-3 BVC) hosts the Mariners on Friday. Cornelius said his team will likely have to win that game to have a chance at reaching the playoffs.
Another lengthy streak ended on Wednesday for the 49ers. Yuba had not lost a BVC home game since Jan. 10, 2009, when the Niners fell in overtime to Napa Valley 74-67. Yuba entered Wednesday's matchup on a 50-game home conference winning streak.
"We had the home-court advantage down the stretch and all we had to do was take care of business at home, and to put that kind of an effort out there at home is embarrassing," Cornelius said. "That was probably one of my most embarrassing losses since I've been at Yuba."
Cornelius is referencing his team's deplorable defensive effort as the 49ers allowed Merritt to shoot 68 percent from the field. That high percentage was the result of wide-open shots in the paint allowed by Yuba's defense.
Merritt went on a 21-2 run early in the game to open up a 22-6 lead on Yuba. The majority of those points came on open lay-ins and dunks.
Yuba trailed 56-47 at halftime, but despite the Niners' poor play, stayed in the ballgame for the majority of the second half.
The 49ers pulled to within five points with just under 6 minutes remaining in regulation. Trailing 82-77, Yuba had an opportunity to pull ahead of Merritt, but along with porous defense, the 49ers had ball control issues, totaling 25 turnovers.
One of those turnovers came at the most inopportune time. Yuba fought back to make it 101-96 with a little more than a minute left, but a turnover gave the ball to Merritt and the Thunderbirds made their free throws down the stretch. Merritt made 20 of 23 free throws for the game.
Yuba was also handled on the glass as many of Merritt's buckets came on second-chance opportunities due to offensive rebounds.
"The defensive intensity was just awful tonight," Cornelius said. "With everything that was on the line tonight, I just don't get it. I really don't know what else to say except that it was embarrassing."
Yuba shooting guard Jojo Zamora led all scorers with 26 points and Vasilije Saraba added 21 points for the 49ers. Barry Ogalue tacked on 14 points and Davit Saghatelynn was strong off the bench with 10 points.
Merritt received a balanced scoring effort from Denzel Bellot (24 points), Rodney Pope (23) and D.J. Kennedy (22). Six Thunderbirds scored in double figures.
After eight years of winning conference championships, the harsh reality of not hoisting a banner hasn't quite set in for Cornelius, but he's more concerned with his team qualifying for the postseason and avoiding a similar result against Marin on Friday.
Yuba hasn't missed the playoffs since the 1999-2000 season.
"You can have all the talent in the world, but if those guys don't play together, don't play with heart and don't play with toughness, then it doesn't matter," Cornelius said. "They've got one more opportunity to win and try to get into the playoffs."
photo by Kirk Barron/Appeal-Democrat