Posted Mar. 12, 2015 at 12:01 AM

STOCKTON — When Jaelen Ragsdale nailed an NBA-range 3-pointer to close the first quarter, Weston Ranch boys basketball appeared well on its way to the NorCal quarterfinals.

Then, visiting Aptos found its form and ended the Cougars’ season.

The ninth-seeded Mariners went off for 56 points in the next 16 minutes, making their last-minute free throws to hold off No. 8 Weston Ranch 75-71 in a California Interscholastic Federation Division III first-round playoff Wednesday.

“They came out on fire, and the defense was in our face,” Aptos coach Joseph Smith said. “We just had to try to stabilize and get back to some good, fundamentally sound basketball.”

Aptos advances to play No. 1 San Anselmo-Drake, last year’s NorCal Division III champions, in a Saturday quarterfinal. Weston Ranch, meanwhile, saw the careers of seniors Jordan Tauga, Jazz Swanson and Chester Ordonez end.

Ragsdale, the Cougars’ junior point guard who scored a game-high 28 points, has a surplus of offseason motivation.

“We can build on this as a team, as a program and as a school, too,” Ragsdale said. “This is spring break, but a lot of people came out to support us. We do this for them.”

The Mariners (24-7) went on an 8-0 run early in the second quarter to start the surge, and with a wide-open bank shot from Nemo Howe on a court-length inbounds pass from Dante Gomez, Aptos flew ahead and didn’t relent.

“It was a lack of focus. It’s just us being too comfortable,” Ragsdale said. “I think it’s the home crowd, too. We were trying to be too cool.”

Aptos added another untouched, easy layup from an inbounds pass in the second half, and Cougars coach Chris Teevan lamented it afterward.

“We lose by four. Take two of those away, and it’s a tie game,” Teevan said. “It’s controllable, that’s the thing — bad communication. No excuse.”

Weston Ranch (20-12) never faded, but Gomez’s layup put the Mariners up seven with 35 seconds to go.

“Dante’s been our unsung hero this year,” Smith said. “He goes up and he grabs that ball, and once he has it, he doesn’t let it go.”

Ragsdale was fouled on a 3-point attempt and sank all three free throws and two more freebies to cut the deficit to 71-68 with 16.4 seconds left. Aptos’ Cole Rothman buried 1-and-1 free throws for a five-point lead, but Ragsdale was unfazed, sprinting up the floor and drilling a 3.

With the Mariners ahead 73-71 and 5 seconds remaining, Rothman sank two final free throws for an insurmountable four-point lead.

Behind Ragsdale, Fred Lavender scored 16 points for the Cougars, and Swanson, celebrating his 18^th birthday, scored 15 points on five 3-pointers. Ben Dorfman powered the Mariners with 22 points, and Howe added 21 points. Rothman had 11 points and Gomez had 10.

An offseason to reminisce on accomplishment — after Weston Ranch tore through to the section finals as a No. 9 seed – remains. Yet, the section championship loss to Sierra, and the blown lead against Aptos linger.

“I think the greatest players are self-motivated. But I think we have nine players on this team, that if they stick together and develop, they can be special,” Teevan said.

“They are special.”