STOCKTON -- Even before the season began, Turlock High boys basketball coach Doug Cornfoot had a simple idea to get his team motivated and perhaps do something that no other Bulldogs team had done in 17 years. He had a couple words printed on the team’s practice jerseys.
“Defense” on one side.
“Arco” on the other side.
The boys wore their jerseys every day to practice not knowing if those two words would ever mean anything. On Tuesday night, it meant the world as the No. 4 Bulldogs knocked off No. 5 Rodriguez High of Fairfield in a 78-68 win — with a stingy defense, 31 points from star guard Travis Souza and a good free-throw shooting night — in the quarterfinal game of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs at Spanos Center at the University of Pacific.
It also meant a trip to Arco Arena in Sacramento at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday to play either Franklin High of Elk Grove or Pleasant Grove High, with the two teams playing the nightcap of the quarterfinal matches Tuesday.
Turlock’s win also secured a spot in the CIF State Basketball Tournament for the first time in school history, in addition to reaching the semifinals for the first time since 1993. How did all this happen?
“I don’t know if it was the shirts or not,” Cornfoot said, referring to the practice jerseys.
After the game, the Bulldogs were too busy celebrating to care, especially after they were able to contain an athletic Rodriguez team. The Mustangs also struggled from the foul line, missing 16 of 31 free throws.
Souza outdid the Fairfield players in that category, going 18-for-19 from the line.
The Bulldogs were going back-and-forth with the Mustangs in the first half and settled for a 33-33 halftime score. And then the Turlock players began to drive more, with Anthony Hubbard (12 points) making a big push. Eric Wetzel dropped 12 points, with two 3-pointers. And center Connor Pearson (10 points) found himself on the foul line often after the Bulldogs had a 67-63 lead with 3 minutes left.
Cornfoot also had his players apply a 1-2-2 defense, making it tougher for the Rodriguez players to score on the wing. It all affected the play of the Mustangs, an uptempo team known for struggling at the line.
As the game winded down, the Turlock cheering section starting shouting “Arco! Arco! Arco!” The players leaped into the air and pumped their fists, celebrating a moment they had hoped for ever since they first donned those practice jerseys.
“Our goal all along was to make it to Arco,” Souza said. “I can’t explain it. It feels great.”
To contact Chhun Sun, e-mail at csun@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2041.