On Feb. 12 in the Los Banos Tigers gym, the Tigers varsity boys basketball squad claimed a victory in their 2025 Central California Conference (CCC) hoop schedule with a 56–47 win over Buhach Colony Thunder.
But on Feb. 15, the Tigers (12–11 overall, 1–9 CCC) dropped their final game of the season to the El Capitan Gauchos, 76–54.
In the game with the Thunder, the Tigers deviated from their habitual multiple 3-point shooting offense with a more traditional offense of attacking the paint, dropping in 14 layups and forcing 17 foul shots on the much larger Thunder squad.
With six layups and 10 free throws, junior guard Eric Ramos (25 points) led the Tigers’ offense.
Senior Yahir Zuniga completed his high school basketball career with another fine performance (13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists), and Jack Goodger (10 points, three rebounds) aided the victory for Los Banos.
On Friday night in Merced, the Tigers faced the Gauchos and reverted to their previous offensive play, hitting 29 percent (4 of 14) of 3-point shots.
Their 2-point percentage was much better: they made 47 percent (17 of 36) of the shots. The Tigers also made 45 percent (5 of 11) of their 2-pointers from the free-throw line. However, they couldn’t overcome the Gauchos’ press defense, resulting in 23 turnovers.
The Gauchos controlled the boards and outrebounded the Tigers 30–23. Zuniga led the Tigers with six grabs, followed by Ramos and Goodger with four boards each.
