Below are game results and highlights from the Tarkanian Classic held in Las Vegas.

Game 1: Coeur d’Alene beat Weston Ranch 73-69. WR led 38-36 at halftime, and Coeur d’Alene tied it at 53 heading to the 4th quarter. However, the Vikings outscored the Cougars 20-17 in the final quarter to pull ahead and secure the win. Elijah Mobley led the Cougars with 26 points and six rebounds; Richard Banks chipped in 11 points, had five assists, and five steals; Darion Lilly finished with 11 points. WR finished 8-13 from the free throw line and 7-18 from the 3-point line. Cougs collected 20 assists and used them to shoot 61% from the floor. Defensively, WR had 21 steals but only 13 rebounds in loss to the Vikings.

Game 2: Timpview raced out to an early 17-11 first-quarter lead and did not look back. The Thunderbirds built a 35-23 halftime lead and used a 28-point 4th quarter outburst to bury the Cougars en route to their 83-62 win. Elijah Mobley led the Cougars with 22 points; Richard Banks had 14 points; Khristian Holmes finished with eight points. Weston Ranch was 3-12 from the free throw line and 5-18 from the 3-point stripe. WR had 21 assists, 28 rebounds, and 12 steals. In addition to the cold free throw and 3-point shooting, WR shot 48% from the floor en route to its 21-point loss.

Game 3: Redondo Union beat Weston Ranch in overtime, 68-62. The Cougars seemed to put the Timpview loss behind them, had a solid first-half performance, and led the Seahawks 29-27 at halftime. However, a sluggish 3rd quarter ensued for both teams. WR scored 11 points, RU tossed in 13, and the schools entered the 4th quarter tied at 40. Both schools scored 13 points in the 4th quarter, ended in a 53-53 tie, and they went to overtime. Redondo Union scored 15 and held Weston Ranch to nine to get the 68-62 overtime win. Elijah Mobley led the Cougars with 30 points, bringing his 3-game total to 78. Elliot Mobley and Richard Banks each added 10 points. Weston Ranch was 10-16 from the free throw line and 4-16 from the 3-point line. The Cougars collected 20 assists, grabbed 26 rebounds, and had 15 steals. However, WR shot 44% (20-45) from the floor, which ended up being the problem for the Cougars in a game they could have won with a better night of shooting the basketball.

Game 4: In the final game for the Cougars, Coral Glades beat Weston Ranch in an overtime thriller 58-57. Both teams entered the contest 0-3 in the tournament, and neither team gave up on getting that elusive first tournament win. The Cougars and Jaguars were tied after every quarter (14-14, 28-28, 38-38, and 49-49), and the OT period was a back-and-forth nail-biter. However, the Jaguars won as they outscored the Cougars 9-8 en route to the 58-57 final. Khristian Holmes had his best game of the tournament, leading WR in scoring with 23 points, collecting six rebounds, and dishing out four assists. Coral Glades held hot-shooting Elijah Mobley to eight points. Elliot Mobley finished third in scoring with seven points. WR was 6-9 from the free throw line and 9-18 from the 3-point line, led by Holmes’ blistering 6-8 performance. The Cougars dished out 18 assists, grabbed a healthy 30 rebounds, and tacked on 12 steals in the loss. 

Elijah Mobley tossed in 86 points over the four games; Holmes had 45; Richard Banks finished third in scoring with 40. 

Looking forward…

Heading into Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic, WR needs to improve shooting the basketball. Through its first six games, the Cougars are shooting 46% from the floor, 58% from the free throw line, and 35% from the three-point line, averaging 64 points per game, far below their 77-point average from a year ago. 

Defensively, WR averages 17 rebounds and 14 steals per game. Those are good numbers for their high-pressure style and close to their 2021-2022 averages of 21 rebounds and 16 steals. 

“We will review these areas over the next few practices, do some reteaching, and hopefully improve,” head coach Nicholas Podesta stated. “Again, that’s the reason we wanted to face the best possible competition. We continue to identify areas we need to improve for the Modesto Tournament and before we enter SJAA play.”

Weston Ranch plays Bullard High School of Fresno on December 27th at 4 pm.