Woodcreek tops Sheldon for Nor Cal Open Division title

Nor Cal Open Division Regional Championship:

Woodcreek Timberwolves 66, Sheldon Huskies 59

By Gerry Freitas

SANTA CLARA - The Woodcreek Timberwolves overcame a 13-point deficit late in the third quarter and used a 28-11 fourth quarter run to defeat the Sheldon Huskies 66-59 Saturday evening at Santa Clara University for the Northern California Open Division championship.

Woodcreek (32-2) will face Southern California champion Bishop Montgomery next Saturday at the Golden Center in Sacramento for the state championship. This was their second Nor Cal title in five appearances.

Sheldon ends the year at 30-4 and is now 1-3 in Nor Cal final games.

No surprise that the Timberwolves were led by their all-everything junior postman Jordan Brown who finished with 31 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks. And Brown did not get in foul trouble (only one in the game) which is usually not the case.

Woodcreek head coach Paul Hayes spoke about Brown’s impact on the game. “On defense he makes it hard [for opponents] to finish and he alters shots. On offense he’s just a handful,” said Hayes.

Brown said his team was not worried when they were down 13 in the third period. “We just fought back,” said Brown.

The Timberwolves comeback did not surprise Hayes. “We’ve been resilient all year,” said the coach. “They (his team) don’t want to be denied.”

Brown said that Bishop Montgomery was “obviously a very strong Southern California team.” But he had a message about the Timberwolves in regards to Saturday’s game. “We are just gonna bring it.”

Scoring Totals:

Woodcreek (66): Chris Cagle 5, Jordan Brown 31, Tyrell Roberts 17, Jackson Hughes 8, Delis Boggs-Smith 5

Sheldon (59): LJ Williams 13, Elishja Duplechan 31, Isaiah Duplechan 4, Dale Curry 8, Dom Johnson 3