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HOOPS ROUNDUP: Local teams see seasons end in opening rounds
Pitman boys basketball 1
Avery Sanchez ended his high school career with a double-double with a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds in the Pride’s playoff matchup with Modesto Christian (COLBY GOMES/The Journal).

Following Wednesday’s slate of local high school basketball games, no teams from the Turlock Journal’s coverage area remained alive in their respective playoff brackets.

After their dominant play-in victories on Tuesday night, which followed their dramatic race in the Central California Athletic League standings to end the regular season, Turlock and Pitman were on the wrong ends of Wednesday night blowouts against the top two seeds in Division I. 

Up the freeway from Turlock, the No. 16 Pride suffered a 74-35 loss to top-seeded, three-time defending champion Modesto Christian. The No. 15 Bulldogs, meanwhile, took a much longer road trip to Sacramento, where they fell 81-33 to No. 2 Inderkum. Pitman finished their season with a 24-6 overall record, while Turlock’s season ended at 14-15.

On Sisk Road in Modesto, it was a fairly close contest after the first eight minutes, with the Crusaders holding a 20-10 lead over the Pride. But it was off to races after that, as Gavin Sykes and Myles Jones combined for 30 points and seven other Crusaders were in the scoring column to build on their 38-19 halftime lead and eventually secure their victory.

Avery Sanchez, in his last game wearing a Pitman uniform, ended his high school career with a double-double with a game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Junior Cole Martin had 11 points.

At Inderkum, the Tigers had three players score in double figures, led by 14 from Jaeden Goodman. Accounting for more than three-quarters of Turlock’s points was senior Ross Widemon, who poured in 25 points.

Over in the Division V bracket, No.18 Denair fell to No. 15 Summerville 57-36 in their play-in game on Wednesday night.

The Coyotes  – who tied for second in the Southern League – trailed 30-15 at halftime on a cold-shooting night. They finished their campaign with a 15-12 record.

In girls’ action, Turlock Christian narrowly lost their Division VI first-round game on Tuesday to Foresthill by a 34-28 score. The No. 10 Eagles (10-16) received a 14-point performance from sophomore Claire Betts and another eight from senior Faith Hayes to five the No. 7 Wildfires (18-10) a run for their money, but it just wasn’t quite enough.