It’s good, so good, for Clovis West boys, who slip into Modesto semifinal vs. Memorial

Did he or didn’t he? Clovis West High freshman Cole Anderson got the vote of the only people that mattered Thursday afternoon.

Anderson’s last-second shot was ruled by referees to have beaten the buzzer as the Golden Eagles edged Lincoln-Stockton 68-66 to advance to the semifinals of the 18th annual Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic.

Next up for Clovis West is crosstown rival Memorial, a 76-63 winner over San Leandro.

Anderson, who as a first-year prep already has offers from Fresno State, San Diego State and San Francisco, scored 25 points to lead the Golden Eagles (14-1).

Given that he already had 23, it was no surprise that the ball was in his hands to start the game-ending play. But after crossing the halfcourt line, Anderson passed to Josiah De La Cerda near the top of the key.

De La Cerda shot a fall-away jumper from about the free-throw line that fell right into the hands of a curling Anderson, who flipped it in as the buzzer sounded.

The basket was ruled good and Clovis West had the win.

Twitter, as it is known to do, found support for both sides of the argument.

Those who believed Anderson’s shot came too late even had an image to support their belief.

But video from another angle appeared to show referees made the right call.

That second look provides a cleaner look at Anderson.

On to the semifinals, where a rematch with Memorial awaits. Just a couple of weeks ago, Clovis West beat Memorial 79-73 in a semifinal of the Eagles’ Nike Invitational. Clovis West led 61-43 in that one after three quarters.

That started a four-game slide for the Panthers (8-4), who have bounced back to win four in a row.

Jalen Green scored 20 points in the first half as Memorial built a 39-29 lead on San Leandro. And no Panthers game seems complete without the requisite Green slam dunks.

This story was originally published December 28, 2017 at 11:23 PM with the headline "It’s good, so good, for Clovis West boys, who slip into Modesto semifinal vs. Memorial."