Mount Shasta boys beat Weed at buzzer, Cougar girls win big

Another night of Mount Shasta vs. Weed; another buzzer beating shot and joyous celebration in a jam-packed gymnasium.

Mount Shasta sophomore point guard Cesar Gonzalez put in the winner Tuesday night in Weed just before the clock reached 0:00 to lift the Bears to a 56-54 victory.

Weed's Noah Traylor made two free throws with 0:06 to play, then Gonzalez made a mad dash toward the basket, pulled up for a jumper in front of Traylor, and was mobbed by happy teammates as soon as it went through the hoop.

The win got the Bears even with Weed at 4-1 in the Shasta Cascade League standings, half a game behind 4-0 Modoc, which is Mount Shasta's next challenge on Friday night.

"It was huge," Mount Shasta coach Cliff Blakely said of the win. "Now we go back to work tomorrow and hopefully get another one Friday."

The Bears lost to Modoc on their home court 45-43 on Jan. 15.

Weed led after the first quarter 12-8, and it was tied at the half, 20-20.

The Cougars built a 34-27 lead in the third quarter, but the Bears whittled it down and went ahead by 1 when Dylan Padula beat the buzzer with his third 3-pointer of the quarter to make it 39-38 going into the final period.

Padula scored 6 of the Bears' next 9 points and Gonzalez sank a trey to give the visitors a 48-41 lead with 4 and half minutes to play.

Baskets by Spencer Hall and Traylor and a 3-pointer by Trevor Shaffer got the Cougars right back in it at 50-48.

"I knew that lead wasn't going to last," coach Blakely said after the game.

A pair of high arcing shots helped the Bears stay on top, one by Gonzalez from the baseline, the other by Daylon Blakely on a drive into the key for a 54-50 lead.

Then Edgar Casorla sank two free throws for Weed with less than a minute to play, and Traylor went to the line with 6 seconds showing

The Bears called timeout before both of Traylor's shots, and the student cheering sections on opposite sides of the court traded raucous "Here We Go" chants.

Padula led all scorers with 20 points, including four 3-pointers. Blakely scored 17, and Gonzalez scored 7 of his 15 in the fourth quarter.

Four Cougars hit double digits, led by Shaffer's 13, including three 3's in the second half. Casorla was 4 for 5 from the free throw line and finished with 12, Traylor scored 6 of his 12 in the final period, and Hall scored 8 of his 10 in the second half.

Weed hosts Burney Friday night, a team they beat this past Saturday in Burney, 77-57.

Then the Cougars are scheduled to play Modoc for the first time, Tuesday, Jan. 29 in Weed.

Weed varsity girls take over first place

The last time Mount Shasta played at Weed, it was the varsity girls game that ended in delirium after Kathryn Andrus made two free throws to give the Bears a one-point win and sole possession of the 2012 league championship.

Tuesday night's varsity girls game wasn't even close, and it was the host Cougars who dominated, 44-22.

That lifted Weed into sole possession of first place at 5-0, while Mount Shasta fell to 4-1.

"The girls put together a good game, offensively and defensively," said Cougar coach Bob West. "We played great team defense."

Weed led by the end of the first quarter 15-3, then held the Bears to just 8 points in the second half.

Cougar senior Karene Marshall scored 22 points and "showed why she was the MVP last year," West said. She put in a pair of 3-pointers and went 4 for 4 from the free throw line.

Sophomore Destinee Jones scored 11, and sophomore point guard Elyssa Fisher 6.

"We've got four sophomores who are starting to be varsity players," West said. "They're getting our defensive concepts down."

Senior Janelle Jaegel led the Bears with 9 points, and Sejay Sarti scored 6 on two 3-point shots in the second quarter.

JV scores

In Tuesday night's JV games, Mount Shasta's boys won big, 70-35, and Weed's girls used an 11-0 third quarter run to earn a 27-21 victory.