The opening tip off went to Pioneer's Ceylon Elgin-Taylor, who quickly worked for one of his typical jumpers from the top of the key. As he went up, he was fouled. The Rams sent the message that it was going to be a hard-fought physical game, that's just what it was.

In the end, Pioneer came away with a 57-49 victory, but the Mustangs knew they'd been in a battle.

"Our kids, especially our seniors, knew that if they lost, their year and their careers would be over, and they played like it," said Willow Glen coach Todd Meeker, whose Rams finished the season 18-8. "We knew we would need our best game to beat Pioneer—we would have to fight for it and be physical."

Elgin-Taylor and Mark Bundlie have been the leading offensive producers for the Mustangs all season long and the Rams were intent on trying to limit that production. Willow Glen's Max Gourd and Nick Ward were assigned to hound the two Mustangs all night long and that they did. Elgin-Taylor ended the night with 24 points, scoring consistently throughout the game, and Bundlie tossed in 10, all in the first half.

The defensive effort by the two Rams had some offensive consequences though.

"Max and Nick never got warmed up and did not get their points," said Meeker, "but they had a big responsibility defensively and put forth a lot of effort. Max is a third year varsity player and even as a sophomore he was our best defender. He just has a natural instinct for it."

Both teams were banging bodies up and down the court in the first quarter with Pioneer hanging on to a two to four point advantage until the final two minutes. Justin Ble grabbed a rebound on a missed Ram shot and put it back in as he was fouled. He converted the free throw to bring Willow Glen to within one at 12-11.

The Rams defense held again and Will Robinson came down to nail a three-pointer with 40 seconds left giving the Rams their first lead at 14-12. It was short-lived though when Joe Montelongo threw up a last-second shot from the top of the key to tie the game 14-14.

A key development in the game happened in the early part of the second quarter. Pioneer came out strong, working its offense to perfection and Willow Glen hit a cold spell. Within two and a half minutes the Mustangs had jumped to a nine-point lead. It was a lead that the Mustangs would hold throughout the rest of the game.

The Rams continued to play aggressively and fight the Mustangs at both ends of the court but just couldn't find the extra offensive punch to overcome the deficit and Pioneer held a 34-24 lead at the half. Both teams played evenly throughout the second half with Pioneer maintaining a 10-point cushion most of the time.

Robinson led the Rams, firing in 22 points mostly from outside including two three-pointers. Ble had an excellent game in the paint for Willow Glen. He dropped in 12 points from down close but made his presence felt on the boards at both ends of the court. He also blocked a couple of shots.

Gourd and senior Steve Rebagliati tossed in four points each. Ward added three in the midst of shutting out Bundlie in the second half. Heinock Habte chipped in two free throws.

"Our players gave a great effort and never gave up," added Meeker. "We were very disappointed in the loss but I was very satisfied with our effort. I couldn't have asked for more."

The Rams got to the CCS second round action by edging Jefferson earlier in the week 40-38 in a first round Division III contest.

"It was not a good first half by either team. Both teams were a little jittery and not able to find their shots," Meeker said. The result was a 14-13 lead for Jefferson at the half.

"I told the kids at halftime that as poorly as we played it was good to only be down by one," added Meeker.

The Rams battled back to outscore Jefferson 16-12 in the third quarter and take a three-point lead into the final stanza. It was a close battle back and forth and with 40 seconds left to play the score was tied 38-38 and Jefferson had the ball. But Jefferson turned the ball over with 30 seconds left.

Willow Glen called a timeout to set up a last second shot. "We set up a play for Max [Gourd] and I told them to run the clock down to 15 seconds and then run the play," Meeker said.

The Rams executed the play to perfection as Gourd received the pass in the corner, took two dribbles, and nailed the jumper with eight seconds left.

But it was not over and Jefferson had enough time left to get off one of their own. After a timeout, Jefferson's top player hurriedly dribbled the full length of the court closely guarded by Gourd. He went up for the final shot which was off the mark and Gourd grabbed the rebound as the buzzer sounded.

Rebagliati led the way with 10 points. He was closely followed by Robinson and Gourd with eight each and Ward with seven. Ble added three and Habte and Ahmed Falol chipped in two apiece.