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Coyotes win despite scoring attack by TC guard
Denair v TC boys pic
Denair High’s Trevor Werner, right, drives on Turlock Christian’s Chase Gonzales in an 86-53 win on Tuesday night. - photo by CHHUN SUN / The Journal

DENAIR — The Denair High boys basketball players’ main objective in Tuesday night’s game against league rival Turlock Christian was this: Stop Brandon Rogers, who averages nearly 30 points.

The Coyotes did not complete this mission. And they were fine with that.

“I don’t think one person can get our team,” said senior guard Clayton McDonald.

The Coyotes survived the one-man attack to win 86-53 in the Southern League game before hosting their season’s biggest test on Friday night. Next up is Ripon Christian, last season’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division I runner-up.

But first, the Coyotes (11-5 overall, 3-0 SL) were focused on Rogers. They tried putting two guys in front of the lengthy senior guard, but he still had his way with 32 points on 11-for-27 shooting, including four 3-pointers.

“I thought we could have done a better job on Brandon,” Denair coach Curtis Wooten said. “We kind of let him run loose. You give him enough shots, he’s going to make a lot of points, which he did tonight.”

Rogers couldn’t do it alone, however.

The Coyotes were just too much, scoring most of their points in transition. McDonald capitalized on this, finishing with nine steals and nine assists to support his 28-point performance.

He wasn’t the only doing the damage, though, as Colin Sosa (18 points, nine rebounds), Colby Wooten (13 points, 10 rebounds, six assists), Jacob Wagner (nine rebounds) and Trevor Werner (12 points) all got involved.

 They held a 36-23 halftime lead before Turlock Christian issued a couple scares in the final 16 minutes. The Eagles (8-7, 0-3) cut down their disadvantage to 11 points after Micah Larson’s early bucket in the third quarter.

“When they had the run in the beginning, it kinda told us to wake up,” McDonald pointed out. “Then we turned it on after that.”

The Coyotes went on a 15-1 run and never looked back.

And these days, they’re looking unstoppable. On Friday, they beat Mariposa for the first time in 10 years — a performance Coach Wooten called his team’s “best game of the year.”

Now, the Coyotes face a Ripon Christian team that beat them by 19 earlier in the season.

“We’re 3-0 going into Friday night’s game against Ripon Christian,” Coach Wooten said. “Hopefully, we’ll keep the momentum going.”

To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.