oming off a second half-surge against North Valley’s to propel them into the second round of the Whitney Holiday Classic; the Wildcats looked to continue that trend in hopes of reaching the championship game Saturday night.

And the Wildcats didn’t have a letdown. They defeated Natomas 71-68 Friday in a thriller to advance and set up a chance to keep the tournament crown at home.

Whitney will go up against Del Oro (11-1), a team that defeated Center 60-51 Friday to also make it to the championship game. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m.

Coming off a slow first half, Whitney had several chances to take the lead, but could only come within one of it. The play was aggressive and physical, leading to the Nighthawks losing their cool.

With 4:49 showing on the clock in the third quarter, the game reached a breaking point when a technical foul was called on Natomas head coach Brian Hamilton. The call helped give the Wildcats their first lead of the half 44-43, but it didn’t end there.

A moment later, Natomas’ Jermarrio Lollis punched Whitney’s Collin Hawkins and Loolis was ejected.

 Whitney’s Daniel Jones hit a three to give the Wildcats a 51-49, but the Nighthawks would answer with a buzzer-beater to tie the score going into the fourth quarter.

Free throws became crucial as the game remained close. ‘Cats senior Cameron Ripple then made a 3-point shot to give his club a 64-60 lead at the 3:23 mark.

After Kyle Creighton and Jones made big defensive plays, Creighton grabbed a rebound and came down the floor to connect on his fourth 3-point shot of the night. The senior finished the game with 14 points.

After Ripple extended Whitney’s lead to five on free throws, Natomas was again hit with a technical foul when James Kling’s nose was bloodied, taking an elbow to the face. Josh Jackson came in cold off the bench to hit the free throws and seal the victory for Whitney.

“I’m proud of how our team responded as we searched for our identity,” said head coach Nick French, “This is first time that we found that. We played hard, played smart and we adapted to the game.”

Whitney will hope to slow the Golden Eagles, who have been dominant in the tournament. Del Oro won by 20 over Vallejo and 12 over Center.

“I’m looking forward to it, they blew us out every time we played them last year,” said Creighton, “so I’m looking forward to trying to return the favor.”

In other games, Buhach Colony plays North Valleys at 3:30 p.m., Vallejo plays Argonaut at 5 and Center plays Natomas for third place at 6:30.

Source: http://www.placerherald.com/article/whitney-takes-del-oro-holiday-classic-championship