Epic comeback! What Clovis West is saying after rallying for section basketball title
Clovis West High boys basketball coach Vance Walberg sat on the bench after watching his Golden Eagles storm back from 20 points to pull out a 72-63 overtime victory over St. Joseph in the Central Section Open Division championship.
Tired and amazed, Walberg took it all in as the Golden Eagles won their 13 section titles, according to historian Bob Barnett. Walberg also reached 500 wins after Saturday’s win, the fourth coach in section history to reach the milestone, Barnett said.
“They just find a way,” he said. “When we get down, we find a way. Amazing and awesome. So happy for them and proud of them.”
Leading the charge was Issac Martinez, who had a quiet first half but picked it up in the second half, including eight points in the fourth quarter. He scored seven points in overtime to lead his team to the victory.
“I felt like I had to step up,” said Martinez, who finished with 18 points. “When the fourth quarter and overtime came, I had to take over. “
The Golden Eagles are no strangers from facing a big deficit.
Clovis West fell behind by 17 points to Clovis North on Dec. 11 and won 102-94 in triple overtime.
On Feb. 1, Clovis West trailed Central by 22 points in the fourth quarter and won 97-87 in overtime.
This time, the Golden Eagles were down 47-27 after a 3-pointer by St. Joseph with 6:26 left in the third quarter.
Walberg called a timeout to help Clovis West regroup.
The Golden Eagles responded with an 11-0 run that cut the deficit to 49-44 entering the fourth quarter.
The Knights later took a 60-58 lead with 21 seconds when Tounde Yessoufou drove down the lane for a basket.
But Martinez countered with a layup with 14 seconds left to tie the game at 60.
St. Joseph had a chance to win the game, but Clovis West forced a turnover with 1.3 seconds remaining. The Golden Eagles couldn’t get anything going on their possession, turning the ball over and Yessoufou shot a desperation shot beyond half court that came up short to send the game to overtime.
The Golden Eagles finished the game by outcoring St Joseph 7-0.
Jackson Young also led the charge for Clovis West when he had a team-high 23 points that included seven 3-pointers.
Clovis West’s Tyus Parrish-Tillman, who finished with 16 points, said a pep talk from the coaches is also what got the team going.
“We got yelled at a little bit, but we said it wasn’t over,” he said. “We came out here and finished it.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 9:45 PM.
