An early 11-2 deficit combined with miscues on the offensive end proved to be too much for Sierra on Thursday night, as the Timberwolves lost their Valley Oak League opener to visiting Patterson, 51-36.

The Timberwolves (0-1 VOL, 5-10 overall) fell behind early after consistent full-court pressure from the visiting Tigers created turnovers and easy baskets on the other end.

“We kind of shot ourselves in the foot tonight,” Sierra coach Eddie Morales said. “Turnovers have been our Achilles’ heel the entire season. We need to limit turnovers, and that starts with our guards.”

The Tigers (1-0, 6-8) forced five of their 13 steals in the first quarter, leading to easy baskets on the other end. Jace Johnson capitalized on the miscues by Sierra and tallied 10 of his team high 19 points in the first quarter. Johnson had 11 rebounds and three blocks to fill the stat sheet.

“Jace is a double-double machine, said Patterson coach Dwight Jones. “He’s a great athlete, starting tight end on the football team and has helped us out all season long.”

The Timberwolves coach acknowledged the presence that the sophomore forward was for Patterson.

“We were trying to be physical with him tonight,” Morales said, “but I think the turnovers they were able to create helped them get him (Johnson) into the game.”

Down 27-13 at the half, the Timberwolves came out of the break energized. An 11-6 run highlighted by combination play from Collins Schluer and Colby Veuve helped cut the Patterson lead to 33-24 midway through the third quarter.

“I told our team at the half that now was the time for the run, and we’d be in the game at the end,” Morales said.

Schluer led the Timberwolves with 16 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks on the night, while Veuve tallied eight points and 10 rebounds.

After cutting it to a nine-point game, costly turnovers from Sierra led to easy buckets on the other end for Patterson, a theme on the night. The game would never get back to single digits.

“We were sped up all night, and did a lot of damage to ourselves,” Morales said. “We have young guards learning to play at the varsity level, and I am confident they will get there.”

Things do not get any easier for the young Timberwolves, as they travel to Oakdale next Wednesday.

“Oakdale is looking really good,” said Morales. “This league is tough, and we are fortunate to have some help coming in the form of a transfer (Romeo Callender from Modesto Christian) that can hopefully change the game for us.”

Junior Varsity

Sierra 53, Patterson 28

Sierra capitalized on a full-court press that helped them pull away in the second half. The Timberwolves were led on offense by Isaac Revives, who scored 13 points.

Freshman

Sierra 44, Patterson 37

Down 12-3 after the first quarter, Sierra outscored the Tigers the rest of the way.

The Timberwolves featured a balanced scoring attack and were led by Jack Taylor, who hit two 3-pointers and finished with 10 points.

Sam Taylor and Kiral Tran contributed nine points each, while Cayden Hughes scored eight points for the Timberwolves.