Chico State keeps on rolling

Luke Reid has the latest on Chico State basketball, now a 23-6 squad after beating Cal State Dominguez Hills.

The Bay Valley Athletic League honorees

2012 All-BVAL boys basketball

Co-MVPs

Marcus Lee, (Deer Valley)
Kendall Smith (Deer Valley)

First Team

Marcus Lee (Deer Valley)
Kendall Smith (Deer Valley)
James O’Neal (Freedom)
Brandon White (Liberty)
Shon Briggs (Heritage).

Second Team

Olajuwon Garner (Deer Valley)
Elliot Smith (Freedom)
Juwan Blakely (Liberty)
Dwayne Burns (Liberty)
Jelani Hardaway (Freedom)
Noah LaBonte (Deer Valley)

Honorable Mention

Andrew Cones (Antioch)
Pierre Carter (Heritage)
Wayne Engelstad (Heritage)

The Diablo Valley Athletic League honorees

2012 All-DVAL

Co-MVPs

Michael Daily (College Park) Sr.
Mikey Eggleton (College Park) Jr.

First Team

Tyler Charrette (Berean Christian) Sr.
Jonny Crosthwaite (Northgate) Sr.
Tylek Farley (Concord) Jr.
Craig Ihle (Clayton Valley) Sr.
Marcus Walton (Concord) Sr.

Second Team

Mike Adams (Concord) Sr.
John Daily (College Park) Sr.
A.J. Newell (Berean Christian) Jr.
Conner Jean (Northgate) Sr.
Brandon Silva (Clayton Valley) Sr.

Honorable Mention

Spencer Clark (Mt. Diablo) So.
Tim Dizon (Mt. Diablo) Jr.
R.J. Franco (Clayton Valley) Jr.
Chad Henry (Concord) Sr.
Jordan Koyama (Ygnacio Valley) Sr.
Garrett Lemos (CV) Sr.
Justin Smith (College Park) Sr.
aniel Solis (Concord) So

Mitty and Serra win -- will meet Friday

Glenn Reeves was on press row and offers the details of the triumphs of Archbishop Mitty High and Serra High. The two teams now have a matchup on Friday.

Jimmy Durkin on East Bay hoops

Jimmy Durkin takes a look at East Bay basketball, especially zeroing on on McClymonds High.

Half Moon Bay 49, Palma 42

Mark Foyer and John Devine have the details of Half Moon Bay's seven-point victory over Palma High.

Keelhaulers romp

89-69 was the score as Cal Maritime punished Holy Names to gain entry into the national NAIA tourney -- Jose San Mateo game reports.

Yuba and Las Positas tangle tonight

The Appeal-Democrat has a pre-game look at the Yuba College - Las Positas College pairing taking place tonight.

It's Santa Rosa versus Cosumnes River tonight

Howard Senzell previews tonight's Santa Rosa Junior College - Cosumnes River College pairing.

Sonoma State wins playoff game

Richard J. Marcus reports on Sonoma State's big win against Cal State San Bernardino, a matchup that featured a storming of the court at game's end.

It's Big Wen on Wednesday

Chris Murray of the Reno Gazette-Journal has made his Most Valuable Player selection in the Western Athletic Conference:

Wendell McKines, NMSU: It’s a tough call between McKines and Nevada’s Deonte Burton, but we’ll side with McKines. He leads the WAC in scoring (18.4) and rebounding (10.5), ranks second in advanced metrics like player efficiency rating (24.7) and win shares (4.4) and is a better defender than Burton.

Montana handles Weber State

It was Montana 66-51 over Weber State last night as Will Cherry led the Grizzlies with 23 points plus four assists. Damian Lillard was off a bit in his shooting but he finished with with 19 points plus three steals.

Big Sky Basketball has the coverage.

Congrats to Brian Stafford

Brian Stafford was named to the All Sun Belt Conference Second Team.

Jones & Caloiaro honored

Congrats to Rob Jones and Angelo Caloiaro for being named to the WCC All Conference team, plus a shout out to Brad Waldow for garnering a spot on the All-Conference Freshman squad.

Detroit's Eli Holman honored

Eli Holman has been honored as the Horizon League 6th Man of the Year.

DRinCA on the playoff matchups for Thursday

DRinCA offers a preview on each Thursday community college playoff game (the NorCal contests are in the second half of the piece).

Meet Eric Merrida

You have to admire those who carve out a place for themselves in the world, especially those maximizing their potential. Eric Merrida would love to be quarterbacking an NFL team or intercepting Eli Manning passes but, despite maximum physical and mental effort, the necessary genes just weren't there. But rather than give up and collect his mail at the 'woe is me' address, he has become a mentor, one with plans.

Not so way back when, Merrida was a four sport athlete at St. Mary's High in Berkeley. Besides lining up as a quarterback for the Panthers, he also played basketball, ran track and took to the golf links. He graduated in 2006.

Life was good, the path to success ahead. He would be the first in his generation of family to attend college.

So it was across the bay to College of San Mateo (CSM), in order to defray some of the costs of college. Along with that came a switch from running the offense to defensive back. After making the Dean's List academically for three straight semesters, Merrida departed CSM in December 2007 for Greeneville,Tennessee, Tusculum University of the South Atlantic Conference in particular.

As Merrida said, "The experience was great but I didn't like it out there."

His next stop was to be the University of Maryland, where he compiled a 3.4 grade point average but incurred $11,000 in tuition costs as an out-of-state student.

Entering into further debt was ultimately unsustainable so Merrida had to map out a different road to success.

He moved on to Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

That became his home away from home, majoring in Business Marketing and playing defensive back.

Merrida graduated last December 16 and returned to the Bay Area.

Those are map points and particulars of the past.

Now Merrida wants to put what he has learned and received to use in aiding others. He has joined up with the Advanced Sports Training Institute (ASTI) and his focus will be working with footballers, a giving back of sorts.

"I'm from Richmond so [attending] St. Mary's was a life-changing experience  for me," he explained. "There were so many people caring about you, it really helped in succeeding."

"I used to help some of the other guys I played with and against and I convinced a number of them to attend College of San Mateo with me, to go there and handle business on the field and in the classroom as well. Even when I was training with Anthony Eggleton (founder and co-owner of ASTI), I'd try and help the other guys and they would tell me 'you're going to be a coach someday.'"

I convinced a number of football players from other high schools to attend college of San Mateo with me, to go there and handle business on the field and in the class room as well.

He added, "With ASTI, I want to give guys the proper coaching so that they can work to pull away from the competition."

Merrida sees his even keel temperament  as a lifelong plus and something beneficial for down the road. "I can be patient or aggressive, it's situational. I played quarterback and cornerback because I wanted the responsibility. Winning or losing was on me and if I didn't do my assignment, no one was behind me to help."

What he learned early on was that knowledge is king. "It comes from studying film, knowing your opponent and the schemes of the coaches. Like what the opponent will do if outside the numbers, that they could run one of three routes. Even doing opposition research on opponents is helpful like what they like to eat, where they are from because sometimes you can distract them."

Even at his tender age, he's already displaying his maturity and making his mark.

"With some of the high school and college guys I played with, I put together film on them and contacted scouts, former pro players, agents and coaches in the United Football League and the Canadian Football League and I helped them land jobs."

Minus an ounce of bravado, stating reality, Merrida offered, "I understand the game. I know talent."

The National Football League should be keeping a watchful eye.

Here's video of Merrida putting his charges through their paces.

The BSAL honorees

Bay Shore Athletic League (BSAL)

Here are the Bay Shore Athletic League honorees:

MVP -- Jabari Bird (Salesian), Jr.

First Team

* Mario Dunn (Salesian), Jr.
* Temidayo Yussuf (St. Joseph Notre Dame), So.
* Max Elliott (Piedmont), Sr.
* Jeremy Dennis (St. Mary’s), Jr.

Second Team

* Jalen Canty (St. Patrick-St. Vincent), So.
* Jason Webster (St. Patrick-St. Vincent), Jr.
* Matt Ching (Piedmont), Jr.
* Gemeny Givens (St. Joseph Notre Dame), Sr.
* Jermaine Edmonds (Salesian), Jr.

Honorable Mention

* Davion Mize (Salesian), Sr.
* Jeffrey Parker (Salesian), Sr.;
* Justin Brown (St. Joseph Notre Dame), Jr.
* Nick Lacy (St. Joseph Notre Dame), Sr.
* Adam Wuebbens (Piedmont), Jr.
* Dylan James-Kavanaugh (Piedmont), Jr.
* Trent Rojas (St. Patrick-St. Vincent), Sr.
* Ethan Weinstein (St. Mary's), Sr.
* Kenny Greenwood (St. Mary's), Jr.
* Byron Buckley (Encinal), Sr.
* Elijah Coker (Encinal), Sr.
* Alvarho Guzman (Albany), Sr.

The EBAL honorees

Here are the East Bay Athletic League honorees:

MVP -- Amadi Udenyi (De La Salle), Sr.

First Team

* Elliott Pitts (De La Salle), Jr
* Remington White (De La Salle), Sr.
* Natt Bussani (Foothill), Sr.
* Tyler Pagett (Granada), Sr.
* McKayle Harnell (Livermore), Sr.
* Dan Gallagher (Monte Vista), Sr.

Second Team

* Tyler Lawrence (Amador Valley), Sr.
* Noel Frazier (California), Sr.
* Jeremy Gunder (De La Salle), Sr.
* Steven Patrick (Foothill), Jr.
* Logan Louks (San Ramon Valley), Sr.

Honorable Mention

* Zac Liu (Amador Valley), Sr.
* Ryan Hyrn (California)
* Nick Sullivan (De la Salle), Sr.
* Jake Salinas (Granada), So.
* Collin Sommerhauser (Granada), Jr.
* Chad Wilkinson (Livermore), Jr.
* Stevie Oliveira (Monte Vista)
* Griffen Kapulica (San Ramon Valley), Sr.

The MVAL honorees

Here are the All-Mission Valley Athletic League honorees:

MVP -- Casey Norris (Newark Memorial)

First team

* David Chukwu (American)
* Jalen Ponco (American)
* Joey Frenchwood (Newark Memorial)
* Paramvir Singh (Newark Memorial)
* Matt Songponnopachon (Washington)
* Pierce Romero (Washington)
* Clarence Kaye (James Logan)
* Divine Mundeke (James Logan)
* Param Bhatter (Mission San Jose)

Honorable mention
* Lamont Young (American)
* Jaskarn Majwa (Irvington)
* David Trujillo (Irvington)
* Damien Banford (Newark Memorial)
* Harmon Sra (Washington)
* Jermiah Agbayani (James Logan)
* Inderpreet Dhahan (James Logan)
* Jacob DePerio (James Logan)
* Vishal Shea (Mission San Jose)

Oakland Athletic League honorees

Oakland Athletic League All-City selections:

MVP - Paris Davis (Skyline)

First team

* Lawrence Otis (McClymonds) Sr.
* Delvin Oliver (Castlemont) Sr.
* Leo Smith (Oakland Tech) Jr.
* Vincent Golson (Skyline) Sr.
* Jamil Brown (Oakland) Sr.

Second team

* KD Evans (Castlemont) Jr.
* Denzel Bellot (Oakland Tech) Jr.
* Eric Love (Fremont) Jr.
* Dalvin Guy (McClymonds) Jr.
* Dulani Robinson (McClymonds) Sr.

Honorable mention

* Jamele Carbino (Castlemont) Sr.
* Rod Adams (Skyline) Sr.
* Benny Lyons (Oakland Tech) Sr.
* Willie Williams (McClymonds) Sr.
* Donnell Wheat (Fremont) Sr.
* Samaj Horace (Oakland) Jr.

Josh Ritchart named Big West POW

UC Davis frontcourter Josh Ritchart has been named the Big West Conference Player of the Week.

The Mission Trail Athletic League honorees

From George Watkins/Salinas Californian comes the top MTAL talents:

"Devin Pearson was named Offensive Player of the Year in football, and the Carmel High senior followed that by being named the Mission Trail Athletic League MVP in basketball, it was announced Monday.

Pearson, who averaged nearly 13 points per game, was also named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year ..."

SanFranPreps looks at last year's top talents

Jeremy Balan/SanFranPreps checks in with how some of last year's top prep basketball players are already contributing to their respective college teams.

Weber St. and Montana on Tuesday night

It's Weber State and Montana for the Big Sky Conference championship on Tuesday night, meaning the on-court paths of Damian Lillard and Will Cherry will be intersecting quite a bit.

All the implications are covered at the Big Sky Basketball site.

The CCSF - CCC boxscore

CCSF 95, Contra Costa 60

City College San Francisco (27-2)

Thomas Cooper 6 2-2 15
Stuart Wesonga 5 2-2 12
Delon Wright 3 6-6 12
Raysean Hairston 3 5-5 11
Myron Respress 4 2-3 10

Contra Costa College (21-10)

Kenonte Ramsey 7 6-7 23 (three treys)

Rob Jones is this writer's choice

Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune makes Rob Jones his pick for West Coast Conference Player of the Year:

"... Again, teammate Matthew Dellavedova is probably going to win. But Jones was dynamite, too, and one of the big reasons SMC went 3-1 against BYU and Gonzaga. Jones led the league in rebounding by more than two rebounds a game (over Pepperdine's Corbin Moore) and was No. 4 in scoring at 14.8 ppg ..."

Drew also offers his other selections and some involve northern California players and coaches.

Reeves Nelson MIA

Wendell Maxey looks at the descent of Reeves Nelson.

Orlando Johnson top scoring Gaucho

Orlando Johnson now owns the career-scoring record at UC Santa Barbara.

UC Davis offers Cody McDavis

Hey, it ought to be a cinch to land a player whose surname contains the name of the college offering him, right?

Per Alex Kline/The Recruit Scoop: "2012 PF Cody McDavis picked up an offer from Northern Colorado today, per his coach. UC Davis has also offered"

Here's a this-month article on McDavis, who is 6-foot-8, 220 and out of Phoenix.

Here's one from January.

Here's some video.

This is big In more than one way for UC Davis

The UC Davis basketball team has the necessary backcourters and wings, including three new ones coming in, to be successful. Now, a frontcourter has been added or at least offered a verbal: 

Josh Gershon tweet: "U.C. Davis picked up a commitment from 6-8 fwd Clint Bozner of LA Trade Tech College, per a source. Has three years of eligibility remaining"

Bozner, who is listed at 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds, originally signed with Northern Arizona but had just a brief stay (thankfully considering the mess there) due to a medical condition. 

Jucorecruiting has a writeup from last July: "Bozner committed to Northern Arizona out of high school and was expected to get significant minutes as a freshman. He ended up leaving the program early and headed to LA Trade Tech. Bozner is a very mobile big with good hands. He has solid back to the basket moves and finishes above the rim" 

Here's something from January. 

Here's a high school highlight tape.

Having a School of Medicine @ UC Davis had to have helped.

SRJC 86, Feather River 81

Santa Rosa Junior College 86, Feather River 81 OT

Sama Taku finished with 35 points for the Bear Cubs in a game that was close throughout.

Here's a six minute video of the matchup.

Diablo Valley College takes care of Chabot

Damin Esper serves up the game report of Diablo Valley College's 74-48 triumph over Chabot College. A second half run ended a tie and broke open the game.

Damin also has details on City College of San Francisco's 95-60 victory over Contra Costa College.

Yuba College rolls

Bryan DeMain was on press row for Yuba College's 98-58 home blowout of West Hill.

Cameron Schott on Central Coast Section game outcomes

Cameron Schott/Nor Cal Preps was at Foothill College, taking in the Central Coast Section D-II contests and has scores, reports and player analysis.

Douglas Benton covering the CCS contests

Douglas Benton/Nor Cal Preps provides scores, game reports and player analysis featuring the Central Coast Section squads.

Mitch Stephens and the WCAL

Mitch Stephens is all over the WCAL teams' contests plus word on El Camino High's triumph.

SI romps

Sr. Ignatius had zero trouble, handling Aptos High 74-40 -- Jeremy Balan/SanFranPreps offers the details.

SHC wins another

Bonta Hill/SanFranPreps has the game report of Sacred Heart Cathedral's handling of Burlingame High -- this despite being Fox-less.

Cal Maritime continues to roll

Cal Maritime won again last night, besting Simpson 70-60 -- the Times Herald has the details.

Dominican wins over Hawaii Hilo

Powered by Xander McNally's late game heroics, Dominican University took down Hawaii Hil 69-64 tonight. McNally totaled 11 points, seven steals and five rebounds -- Dave Albee provides the game report here.

Valley Christian 64, Mills 55

In the CCS Quarterfinals and at Saint Ignatius High, Valley Christian proved to be nine points better than Mills at 64-55.

Valley Christian High

Nick McGrew 6-4-20 (four treys)

Jay MacIntyre 5-5-19 (four treys)

Mills High 

Joseph Worku 7-0-16

Matt Wong 4-6-15

New Mexico State 79, San Jose State 68

On Senior Night in Las Cruces, Wendell McKines totaled a fitting double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds in closing out his Aggie home game career.

LMU 68, SC 65

Loyola Marymount was a trey better than Santa Clara tonight -- Niyi Harrison posted nine points and 11 rebounds for the visiting Broncos.

St. Mary's 67, USF 60

Led by Rob Jones 14/14 double-double plus Brad Waldow's own 10/12 double-double, the visiting Gaels proved to be seven points better than the Dons tonight. Angelo Caloiaro posted a line of 12 points, right rebounds and five assists, the latter two numbers the best on the USF team for the night.

Irvine 95, Northridge 84

It was UC Irvine 95-84 over Cal State Northridge Saturday night as Chris McNealy posted 21 points, five assists and a trio of rebounds and frosh Will Davis rejected eight Matador shots along with scoring nine points and grabbing six caroms in 26 minutes of action.

UC SB 68, Cal Poly 60

James Nunnally enjoyed 20 points plus six boards while Orlando Johnson contributed 16 points, four rebounds and four assists in host Santa Barbara's 68-60 victory over Cal Poly tonight.

Lehigh gets by Army

Former Mitty talent John Adams, now a senior at Lehigh University, started yet again and totaled 11 points, three blocked shots and two rebounds in Lehigh's 74-72 victory over Army tonight.

Sac State by three

Sacramento State took a 70-67 win over host Idaho State Saturday night. John Dickson aided the cause with 10 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.

Montana by 10 over rival Montana State

Will Cherry put together 13 points, four boards, three assists and a pair of steals in boosting Montana over Montana State 57-47 on Saturday evening.

Harvard falls short

Oliver McNally totaled six points, five rebounds and four assists but Harvard fell at home to Penn 55-54 on Saturday night.

Davis tops Fullerton by a trey

UC Davis handled visiting Cal State Fullerton tonight 78-75 behind Eddie Miller's 17/12 double-double plus 20 and eight from Josh Ritchart. Freshman JT Adenrele added six points and six boards in 20 minutes of action. DJ Seeley produced 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Titans.

More press for Yuba College hoops

Yuba Coach Doug Cornelius and the 49er squad are featured in Joe Davidson's Sacramento Bee profile.

Cabrillo gets by Foothill

Andrew Matheson reports on Cabrillo College's two point overtime win against Foothill College, plus has the boxscore.

Cosumnes River College 82, Ohlone College 62

Cosumnes River College

James Tillman 7 9-12 24
Tony Gill 6 7-11 22 (three treys)
Tony Baldocchi 4 2-2 14 (four treys)

Ohlone College

Mikhael McKinney 9 4-4 23

NorCal Regionals Second round Las Positas 71, Sierra 67, OT

Las Positas College (22-7)

Jarred Jourdan 11 3-3 25
Damaar Eagles 4 3-6 12
Devonae Leach 2 7-12 12

Sierra College (16-12)

Markus Moore 6 7-8 19
Jamie Ball 4 2-3 12
Drew Brandon 4 2-2 12
Julian Ball 4 2-3 11

Bill Paterson on Sacto area prep hoops

Bill Paterson is here and here and here and here with all the scores and game reports from the Sacramento area high school ranks.

Las Lomas handles Dublin

Ben Enos checks in with the scoop on Las Lomas High getting by Dublin High 58-53.

Deer Valley by one

Ken Silman reports on Deer Valley High's single digit win versus San Leandro High.

FCC romps

Fresno City College had no trouble with Modesto Junior College to the tune of 102-61.

From the Fresno Bee:

"Marcus Hall made seven 3-pointers en route to scoring 30 points as fifth-seeded Fresno City College opened its Northern California men's basketball playoff run with a 102-61 win over No. 12 Modesto on Friday.

The Rams (29-3), who had a first-round bye, made 17 3-pointers overall and received scoring contributions from 11 players. Alex Perez had 14 , Erwin Hammock 12 and Thomas Sanchez 10.

Fresno City advances to the third round, where on Wednesday it will face the winner of tonight's game between No. 4 Diablo Valley and No. 13 Chabot."

From the Modesto Bee:

"For the Modesto Junior College men's basketball team, drawing old Central Valley Conference opponent Fresno City in the first round of Northern California playoffs was tough enough.

Losing a starter to foul trouble in the first half made it that much worse.

The No. 5 Rams beat No. 12 Modesto 102-61 Friday night. Key Pirates' performer Austin Keaton got two quick offensive fouls in the first six minutes and finished with just four points.

"There were two bad calls," MJC coach Paul Brogan said. "And then Fresno played great. They hit 3s — they might never shoot that well again."

Fresno burned Modesto for 17 3-pointers. Marcus Hall hit seven and totaled 30 points for the Rams (29-3). The Pirates (18-12) were led by Julius Brazzel's 20 points. Desi Barmore added 17. It was Modesto's first playoff appearance in five years.

"I don't want this to take away from the season we had," Brogan said. "We had a great season and got the program back on track."

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/02/24/2735627/sports-briefs-fresno-city-men.html#storylink=cpy

Richard Longrus named Cal-Hi Sports State Athlete of the Week

Bishop O'Dowd's Richard Longrus has been honored as the Cal-Hi Sports State Athlete of the Week -- Harold Abend has the announcement.

Bethel wins against Oak Ridge

Jose San Mateo has the details of Bethel High's 74-59 victory over Oak Ridge High.

Miramonte tops Analy

In two overtimes, Miramonte High beat Analy High 98-87 as Eric Wittmershaus reports.

Windsor over Maria Carrillo

Michael Coit has the game report of Windsor High's 62-46 triumph over Maria Carrillo High.

McNally aids Harvard's win over Princeton

Now 24-3 Harvard took down Princeton 67-64 as Oliver McNally scored 13 points, going 6-6 at the foul line, including 4-4 in the last 30 seconds.

More on Brian Barbour

Columbia fell to Yale 75-67 last night despite Brian Barbour's 21 point and eight assist contribution.

Chico State wins game and regular season championship

A 73-54 homecourt victory over Cal State Monterey Bay, powered by Jay Flores' near triple-double, provided Chico State with the win that was needed for the Wildcats to clinch the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship. Luke Reid has the specifics.

Montana handles Northern Arizona

Behind the Will Cherry all-around line of 11 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists, Montana drubbed Northern Arizona 78-60.

Cal State East Bay drops one to Cal State Stanislaus

Cal State East Bay came up a trey short on the road to Cal State Stanislaus 86-83. Here's the game report.

Cal Maritime basketball honors

Cal Maritime Coach Bryan Rooney plus players Josh Greenwell, Isaiah Moore and Keven Campbell are all honored for their individual and collective basketball achievements this year -- here are the details.

Press for Austin Keaton

Modesto Junior College's Austin Keaton is the subject of a feature writeup by Ron Agostini, and deservedly so.

Dominican downed by Hawaii Pacific

Dave Albee has the latest as host Dominican University came up seven points short to Hawaii Pacific.

This week's Cal-Hi Sports Boys State Stat Stars

Here are the northern California honorees of the latest Cal-Hi Sports Boys State Stat Stars:

* Jamir Andrews (Dublin)
The Gaels’ junior guard scored 32 points in a North Coast Section D2 opening-round 85-64 win over Rohnert Park Rancho Cotate.

* Armani Collins (Stuart Hall, San Francisco)
He’s only a freshman, but at 6-foot-4 we may be hearing more about him in the future. For now, in a 47-40 win over Petaluma St. Vincent de Paul, Armani made like the Italian fashion guru, designing a double-double 19-point, 13-rebound performance.

* Ryan Diew (Head-Royce, Oakland)
The Jayhawks’ junior had 30 points in an North Coast Section D5 opening-round 72-61 victory over Bay School of San Francisco.

* Aaron Gordon (Archbishop Mitty, San Jose)
You pretty much have to figure the 6-foot-8 junior phenom will be in this feature almost every week. He had 24 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks in a 54-48 West Catholic Athletic League semifinal victory over cross-town Bellarmine. Then, he took over in the fourth quarter of the playoff championship final against Sacred Heart Cathedral, scoring nine of his game-high 24 points and grabbing four of his 11 rebounds in the final quarter of a 50-47 victory. 

* Liam Hunt (Drake, San Anselmo)
The 6-foot-6 Australian-born junior makes another appearance in this feature after recording a triple-double 14 points, 18 rebounds and 10 blocks in an North Coast Section Division III opening-round 77-52 win over visiting Richmond De Anza.

* Cole McConnell (Sacred Heart Prep, Atherton)
The 6-foot-5 senior poured in a season-high 32 points with six 3-pointers in a 69-63 victory over host San Jose Harker. 

* Eli Morris (Branson, Ross)
Last week, the 6-foot-4 senior had double-doubles of 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 65-59 win over Novato, and 10 points and 12 rebounds in a low-scoring 34-32 win over Marin Catholic of Kentfield. He only had nine points and eight rebounds in the Marin County Athletic League playoff championship game, but it was enough to lead the Bulls to a 44-40 victory.

* A.J. Newell (Berean Christian, Walnut Creek)
The junior guard deposited a season-high of 30 points in a 71-69 win over College Park of Pleasant Hill. He already has 22 points this week in a 67-49 win over Fortuna in the North Coast Section Div. IV playoffs.

* Trevor Peterson (Leigh, San Jose)
It was a fat sandwich for the Longhorns’ guard in three games last week in the Blossom Valley Athletic League playoffs. The 6-foot-4 senior started the week with 26 points in a 63-20 win over San Jose Lincoln. He followed that up with a 46-point effort in an 83-78 win over Santa Teresa (San Jose) that included 11 makes on 3-point shots, a number that falls just short of making the state record book. Finally, in a 50-37 playoff title-game victory over a Piedmont Hills of San Jose team that the Longhorns had lost to twice during the regular season, Peterson deposited 23 points to give him 95 points total for the three games. 

* Chris Swartz-Edmisten (Sacramento Waldorf, Fair Oaks)
The state's top reported scorer who is averaging 34.6 points per game poured in 41 points as the Waves ended the regular season with a 74-67 win over Victory Christian of Carmichael.

Last bucket does it for Fullerton

Fullerton proved one point better (59-58) than host Pacific last night as D.J. Seeley went for 15 and eight. Kwame Vaughn totaled 10 points.

Jagdip Dhillon serves up a game report.

Arizona has no trouble with USC

Josiah Turner posted 15 points and six assists (no turnovers) in Arizona's 70-54 triumph over USC.

SC drops another one

Santa Clara fell again, this time to Pepperdine 63-57 despite 11 points and nine rebounds from Niyi Harrison.

Weber takes down Northern Colorado

Damian Lillard-powered Weber State (30 points plus eight assists) handled Northern Colorado last night.

St. Mary's wallops Portland

St. Mary's had zero trouble with Portland to the tune of 70-43 as Rob Jones post a 12/13 double-double.

Sac State falls to P St.

John Dickson score 26 points in Sacramento State's 94-88 loss to Portland State.

CCC 78, Mendocino 72

Contra Costa College kept it rolling with a 78-72 victory over Mendocino College last night. Now it's on to facing City College of San Francisco.

Bill Paterson & Joe Davidson with the Sacto area prep report

Bill Paterson serves up the game reports and scores from the Sacramento area.

Joe Davidson has more.

Yuba High 74, Del Campo High 65

Jimmy Graben reports on Matt Hayes securing Yuba High's victory over Del Campo High.

Bill Paterson offers his game report. 

Bethel handles Granite Bay

Matt O'Donnell offers the details of Bethel High's victory over Granite Bay High, as well as other scores from the area.

Press for D.J. Seeley

Jason Anderson profiles D.J. Seeley, now a senior at Cal State Fullerton.

West Hills 66, Sac City 60

It went into overtime and West Hill College scored 10 points to Sacramento City College's four and that was the difference. 6-foot-7 sophomore Zach (Rosemont High) Bartley scored 21 points but no other Panther reached double figures. Sac City is now out of the state playoffs.

Sonoma State falls to Cal State San Bernardino

It was close but host Sonoma State lost 77-70 tonight to Cal State San Bernardino -- here's the game report. Justin Herold went for a 19/13 double-double, Sterling Arterberry enjoyed 17 points and five boards while Patrick Scott totaled 13 markers.

Mark Samuels Named CCAA Player of the Week

Cal State East Bay guard Mark (Berkeley High) Samuels has been named the California Collegiate Athletic Association's (CCAA) men's basketball Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 13-19.

Humboldt State tops UC San Diego

Here's the game report from Humboldt athletics.

Justin (Bishop O'Dowd High) Brue went for 18 points plus seven boards for the Tritons.

Barbour making an impression

Taking a look at Ivy League statistics, Columbia's Brian Barbour, formerly of Monte Vista High, ranks fourth in scoring at 15.2 points per game, fifth in assists with 4.0 a contest and first in free throw percentage, standing at 90%. Barbour is also third in minutes played, averaging just over 35 minutes a go for Coach Kyle Smith's club.

A John Adams update

John Adams, ex-of Archbishop Mitty High, started again (fourth straight time) for 22-7 Lehigh University in the 58-41 Mountain Hawks victory over host Navy. Adams didn't score in 19 minutes but did grab six rebounds. On the season, he is averaging 4.8 points and 3.6 boards a contest while shooting 50% overall, 49% on three-point attempts.

San Diego St. 67. Wyoming 58

Host San Diego State got back to its winning ways tonight in beating Wyoming by nine points. Xavier Thames posted nine points and six assists while Chase Tapley scored 10 in an off-shooting night.

A Brian Stafford update

Former Las Lomas High star Brian Stafford is finishing up his senior season at Denver and he's the second-leading scorer at 14.3 points per game. Stafford is shooting 51% overall, 47% on trey attempts.

DU is 20-8 so far in 2011-12, 10-5 and in second place of the Sun Belt Conference West Division.

Every season he has been a Pioneer has seen his scoring average elevate: 11.4 as a frosh, 12.4 as a sophomore and 12.9 points per contest last year. Every season has seen him on the court for 32-33 minutes a go.

LB State over UC Santa Barbara

Long Beach State is just too much this season for the other Big West Conference members and that was proven again tonight as The Beach topped UC Santa Barbara 70-58. Orlando Johnson went for 20 points plus seven boards for the Gauchos and James Nunnally contributed a 13/12 double-double.

Las Positas 71, Ohlone 66

Missed this Matt Schwab game report of the Las Positas College victory over Ohlone College.

The Coast-North All-Conference selections

Here are the honorees for the Coast-North All-Conference squad:

Coach of the Year: Justin Labagh, San Francisco

MVP: Delon Wright, San Francisco

All- Conference:

* Raysean Hairston, San Francisco
* Mikhael McKinney, Ohlone
* Ivan Dorsey, San Francisco
* Dylan Heath, Las Positas
* Brett McConnell, Foothill
* Damarius Jones, Chabot
* Lauri Toivonen, Ohlone
* Jarred Jourdan, Las Positas
* Kyle Wong, Skyline
* Thomas Cooper, San Francisco
* David Fullinwiley, Foothill
* Chris Read, Ohlone

Honorable Mention:

* Jameal York, Chabot
* James Osorio, Canada
* Damarr Eagles, Las Positas
* Myron Respress, San Francisco

Looking at two of the JC playoff pairings

DRinCA looks at a pair of the community college matchups up here in northern California -- Sacramento City College v West Hills College and Contra Costa College v Mendocino College.

Checking in on society playing itself out in the world of prep sports

Nathan Mollat looks at the player/coach/parent/school administrator crucible and isn't liking what he see brewing.

Chris Schwartz-Edmisten is no longer a secret

Chris Schwartz-Edmisten plays up in Sacramento at an obscure school but luckily we now know about the leading scorer in the state thanks to a profile from Joe Davidson.

Four To Be Inducted into Hall of Fame

From Richard Schmidt comes word of four community college basketball participants (three from northern CA) to be inducted into the CCCMBCA Hall of Fame.

The final community college basketball poll

The playoffs and tourney will decide the 'real' final rankings but here's the latest:

State Poll (notice how every other team is from northern CA)

1.  San Francisco
2.  Citrus
3.  Yuba
4.  Mt. San Antonio
5.  Santa Rosa
6.  Mt. San Jacinto
7.  Diablo Valley
8.  San Bernardino Valley
9.  Fresno
10. Antelope Valley
11. Ohlone
12. LA Southwest
13. Las Positas
14. Saddleback
15. Cabrillo
16. Chaffey
17. Foothill
18. Cuesta
19. Sierra
20. Irvine Valley

and

Northern California

1.  San Francisco
2.  Yuba
3.  Santa Rosa
4.  Diablo Valley
5.  Fresno
6.  Ohlone
7.  Las Positas
8.  Cabrillo
9.  Foothill
10. Sierra
11. Cosumnes River
12. Modesto
13. Chabot
14. Feather River
15. Sacramento City

The Coast South Conference All Conference selections

Below are the honorees from the Coast South Conference.

MVP—Tyler Velasquez, Cabrillo College

Coach of the Year — Tony Marcopulos (Cabrillo)

1st Team:

* Aaron Short (Cabrillo)
* Andrew Young (Monterey)
* Fabian Sebastian (San Jose)
* Keith Martin (San Jose)
* Chris Murry (West Valley)

2nd Team:

* Frank Rogers (Cabrillo)
* Michael Salazar (Hartnell)
* Mike Beltramo (West Valley)
* Shayn Perryman (Monterey)
* Denzel Copeland (De Anza)

Honorable Mention:

* Thomas Pierce (Cabrillo)
* Don Washington (De Anza)
* Anthony Hubbard (West Valley)
* Jordan Ramirez (Gavilan)
* Conor Byrne (Monterey)
* Relius Thomas (Hartnell)

The Big 8 All-Conference selections

Here's the Big 8 All-Conference selections:

MVP

Sama Taku, Santa Rosa

COACH OF THE YEAR

Craig McMillan Santa Rosa

* Kevin Aronis, Santa Rosa
* Ronnie Baker, Diablo Valley
* Jamie Ball. Sierra
* Zach Bartley, Sacramento City
* Tony Gill, Cosumnes River
* Brian Goins, Diablo Valley
* Austin Keaton, Modesto
* Markus Moore, Sierra
* Jordan Salley, Santa Rosa
* James Tillman, Cosumnes River

St. Mary's basketball and the Australia link

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Gabriel Baumgaertner profiles the connection St. Mary's has to Australia hoops plus how bond that might be threatened.

Davis falls 73-59

Sophomore Josh Ritchart post a 16/12 double-double but UC Davis still fell on the road to Seattle. Senior Eddie Miller contributed 10 points and frosh JT Adenrele posted a line of eight points and five boards. 22 turnovers did in the Aggies.

A look at Yuba College hoops

Jimmy Graben provides a good look at Yuba College's season and the 49er prospects for the upcoming playoffs.

SanFranPreps' weekly Top 10 teams

SanFranPreps is out with its weekly Top 10 teams in The City -- Sacred Heart Cathedral is on top.

Rodney Cook named MVP

Bethel High's Rodney Cook has been honored as the Most Valuable Player in the Solano County Athletic league.

Cal Maritime's Isaiah Moore named POW

Cal Maritime's Isaiah Moore was selected as the California Pacific Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week.

2012 NBL all-league boys basketball team

Eric Wittmershaus provides the names of the various basketball honorees in the North Bay League.

Orlando Johnson Big West POW

UC Santa Barbara senior guard Orlando Johnson was named Big West Player of the Week on Monday.  Last week, Johnson paced the Gauchos to road wins at UC Irvine and Utah State.

The Player of the Week award is the sixth of Johnson's career, tying him with Long Beach State's Casper Ware and Larry Anderson for the third most in Big West history.

"Orlando really came alive last week," said UCSB head coach Bob Williams.  "He played with great energy and showed the type of aggressiveness that has made him the great player that he is."

In the Gauchos' game at UC Irvine on Feb. 15, Johnson had 25 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and one steal.  It was his fifth double-double of the season and it was one of his most efficient games of the year.  Johnson played 28 minutes, made 9-of-11 shots overall, including both of his three-point attempts, and hit 5-of-6 free throws.  

On Saturday, Feb. 18, in a Sears BracketBuster match-up at Utah State, he had 22 points, five rebounds and three steals.  Johnson made 7-of-12 shots from the field, including a season-high four three-point baskets.  In the end, UCSB handed the Aggies just their sixth home loss in 101 games, 72-64.

In the two games combined, the native of Seaside, Calif., averaged 23.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.  He hit 16-of-23 field goals overall, 69.6%, and 6-of-9 from three-point territory, 66.7%.  

The 47 points scored by Johnson last week pushes his UCSB career total to 1,674 and puts him just 13 points behind Carrick DeHart (1986-90) for second on the school's all-time list and just 22 shy of Alex Harris' (2004-08) all-time school record of 1,696.  DeHart and Harris each hit their marks in four seasons while Johnson is in the midst of his third year overall.  If his freshman season at Loyola Marymount is factored in, he has now scored 2,057 career points.

The community college basketball pairings are announced

Here's a link to the CCCAA Mens Basketball Northern California Regional.

Joe Davidson writes about some of the pairings.

Justin Standley honored

Former McClymonds High backcourter Justin Standley, now at San Bernardino Valley College, has been named to the All Foothill Conference Honorable Mention team.

The Central Valley Conference honorees

From Robert Schmidt: 

Co-Players of the Year: Tomas Sanchez (Fresno) and Marcus Hall (Fresno)

Co-Freshmen of the Year: Alex Perez (Fresno) and Bill Borekambi (Sequoias)

Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Hall (Fresno)

All-CVC First Team

Tomas Sanchez (Fresno)
Marcus Hall (Fresno)
Alex Perez (Fresno)
Kennis White (West Hills)
Darius Gordon (West Hills)
Bill Borekambi (Sequoias)
Keith Robinson (Columbia)
Jason Carmichael (Porterville)
Delvon Henderson (Reedley)
Anthony Hidalgo (Porterville)
Joshua Tatum (Merced)
Kris Collins (Reedley)
Chris Dixon (Sequoias)

Honorable Mention

DeAndre Medlock (Fresno)
Alston Friday (Columbia)
Andre Matson (Merced)
Troy Norris (Sequoias)
Donald Lee (Porterville)
Derek Walters (Reedley)
Jarron Crump (Columbia)
Trek Fayerweather (Columbia)

All-CVC Freshmen

Alex Perez (Fresno)
Bill Borekambi (Sequoias)
Thomas Jordan (Fresno)
Mike Balogun (West Hills)
Tyler Davis (West Hills)
Troy Norris (Sequoias)
Miguel Perez (Porterville)
Derek Walters (Reedley)
Tony Williams (Columbia)
Ashton Richardson (Columbia)
Trek Fayerweather (Merced)

All-CVC Defensive Team

Marcus Hall (Fresno)
Ahmir Bailey (West Hills)
Chris Dixon (Sequoias)
Kameron Hoyt (Porterville)
Delvon Henderson (Reedley)
Jalen Bourbon (Columbia)
Frank Burns (Merced)

Nick Collison has it figured out

Former Kansas star Nick Collison is no NBA superstar -- he realizes and accepts that and has devised ways -- understanding what value is and then creating it on the floor -- which will afford him a long professional career. This is a must-read article and the takeaway is that what he writes is applicable at all levels.

JC games from Saturday

Here are some scores plus player point totals from Saturday:

Cosumnes River 90, Santa Rosa 64

Cosumnes River College

Tony Baldocchi 9 0-0 24 (six treys)
Tony Gill 7 7-8 21
Ryan Salmonson 3 4-4 10
JJ Mina 5 0-0 12

Santa Rosa Junior College

Kevin Aronis 7 1-1 21 (six treys)
Sama Taku 5 0-0 12

+++++

Sierra 85, MJC 82

Sierra College

Drew Brandon 5 5-6 18 (three treys)
Jamie Ball 6 2-2 17 (three treys)
Markus Moore 8 1-3 17
Julius Ball 7 1-3 15
Devin Murphy 5 0-2 10

Modesto Junior College

Desi Barmore 7 1-2 15
Ernie Pimentel 6 0-0 14
Matt Ratto 4 0-0 11
Julius Bazzel 4 2-2 10
Austin Keaton 3 4-6 10

+++++

Sac City 79, SJDC 66

Sacramento City College

Zach Bartley 9 1-2 19
Xavier Williford 7 5-7 21
DeSean Atkins 5 0-0 11

San Joaquin Delta College

Theo Wofford 8 5-5 22
Marcus Beaird 6 0-0 16 (four treys)

Remember David Andoh?

Here's an update on David Andoh, now at the IMG Academy in Florida.

Multi-year college scholarships

So who will get them and who won't? Will it be put in writing or just verbally? How will coaches deal with this divide among team members?

Multiyear scholarships to be allowed

The 2011-12 WCAL honorees

2012 WCAL All League Boys Basketball Teams

PLAYER OF THE YEAR – AARON GORDON – ARCHBISHOP MITTY - JUNIOR

First Team

* Josh Fox, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Senior
* Taylor Johns, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Senior
* Henry Caruso, Junipero Serra, Junior
* Thomas Peters, Archbishop Mitty, Senior
* Drew Dickey, Saint Francis, Senior
* Trevor Dunbar, Saint Ignatius, Sophomore
* Stephen Domingo, Saint Ignatius, Junior

Second Team

* Neil Vranicar, Archbishop Mitty, Senior
* Jason Barsocchini, Junipero Serra, Senior
* Grant Vermeer, Bellarmine, Junior
* Jack Fordyce, Bellarmine, Senior
* Cameron Stewart, Valley Christian, Senior
* Khalid Johnson, Saint Francis, Junior
* D.J. Harvey, Archbishop Riordan, Senior

Honorable Mention

* Stephen Grosey, Junipero Serra, Senior
* Vika Jimenez, Junipero Serra, Senior
* Griffin Goudreau, Bellarmine, Senior
* Jimmy Frazier, Saint Francis, Senior
* Brandon Abajelo, Archbishop Mitty, Junior
* Nick Johnson, Saint Ignatius, Senior
* Herman Pratt IV, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Junior
* Nick McGrew, Valley Christian, Senior
* Jay MacIntyre, Valley Christian, Sophomore
* Geru Mabrey, Archbishop Riordan, Junior

Irvine 78, EW 73

Collin Chiverton led Eastern Washington with 20 points (in 26 minutes) but host UC Irvine still prevailed by five. For the Anteaters, Chris McNealy scored 15 points and added seven assists, Mike Best provided 12 points, six boards and four blocked shots in 15 minutes of court time and Will Davis contributed six rebounds, four points and four blocks also in 15 minutes of play.

USF topples Gonzaga

Here's the game report of USF's 66-65 nailbiter against visiting Gonzaga. Angelo Caloiaro had 10 points. The steals differential: the Don had 14 to two for the Zags.

UC Davis over Northern Arizona

The Aggies came from way down in the first 20 minutes to pull out a 70-65 win over Northern Arizona. JT Adenrele produced seven points and three rebounds in 20 minutes, Eddie Miller totaled six and six and Josh Ritchart had five points plus four boards.

Mitty gets by SHC

Jeremy Balan leads off the coverage of Archbishop Mitty's 60-57 win against Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Douglas Benton was present and accounted for.

Mitch Stephens serves up his game report.

Bay Preps offer video on the matchup.

Branson tops Drake

Dave Curtis was on press row for Branson's 44-40 victory over Drake.

Analy tops Windsor

Richard Marcus has the details of Analy High's down-to-the-last shot win over Windsor High.

Cal State East Bay tops UC San Diego

Here's the game report of Cal Srare East Bay's 83-71 homecourt success over UC San Diego. Roshun Wynne and Mark Samuels paced the Pioneers with 20 and 18 points respectively.

Sonoma handles SF State

Here's the game report of Sonoma State's 77-61 triumph over host San Francisco State. Justin Herold scored 17 points with Patrick Scott adding 14 for the victors. Nefi Perdomo topped the Gators with 17 points while James Albright and Max Fodor each contributed 10.

Chico State wins again

Luke Reid checks in with Chico's State's 20th win of the season, a 66-57 victory over Cal State Dominguez Hills powered by 14 three-pointers. Damario Sims and Amir Carraway each scored 16.

Humboldt falls to Pomona

IT was a 64-47 final and visiting Humboldt State lost to Pomona -- here's the game report. Backcourter Scott Clark led the Jacks with 16 points.

Dominican wins again

It was Dominican University over Hawaii Hilo 66-61 as Connor Haysbert produced eight points and seven rebounds and Xander McNally posted a line of nine rebounds, seven points and a trio of steals.

Fullerton handles Montana State

Cal State Fullerton took down Montana State 80-66 as Kwame Vaughn totaled 13 points, six boards and five assists.

Barbour does well but Columbia loses

Brian Barbour put up a line of eight assists, six points and five rebounds in Columbia's 61-59 loss to Penn tonight.

Nunnally and Johnson too much for Utah State

The tag team of James Nunnally (24 points/ 11 rebounds) and Orlando Johnson 22 points powered UC Santa Barbara to a 72-64 victory over host Utah State.

Lillard leads Weber

Damian Lillard's all-around game of 17 points, seven assists and seven rebounds paced Weber State to a 72-70 victory over Texas-Arlington tonight.

Cherry leads Montana over Hawaii

Montana welcomed Hawaii into Missoula and then sacked the Rainbow Warriors 94-79 as Will Cherry had 24 points and five steals.

Welch leads Gophers in scoring

Minnesota fell 64-53 to Northwestern but it was for lack of production from Julian Welch. The junior scored 21 points (5-10 from three-point range) plus grabbed five rebounds and passed for five assists.

Gordon leads New Mexico over UNLV

Drew Gordon's doubled double-double, consisting of 27 points and 20 rebounds, powered New Mexico to a commanding 65-45 victory over visiting UNLV tonight.

AF takes down San Diego State

San Diego State surprisingly fell to Air Force tonight 58-56 in Colorado Springs. Chase Tapley totaled a near double/double of 17 points and nine rebounds while Xavier Thames contributed nine points and five assists.

Santa Clara loses to BYU

Niyi Harrison went for 19 points and six boards tonight but host Santa Clara couldn't keep up with BYU and fell 82-67.

Cabrillo 77, MPC 58

CABRILLO FINISHES PERFECT WITH 77-58 WIN AT MPC

The Cabrillo College Seahawks made Cabrillo College basketball history tonight with an impressive 77-58 win over Monterey Peninsula College in Monterey. Cabrillo (22-3, 12-0) finished Coast Conference South play undefeated for the first time in school history. The Seahawks jumped all over MPC (13-14, 7-5) tonight behind nine three-point baskets. Cabrillo went in at the half up 41-25.

In the second half, MPC came out on fire hitting their first six shots and cut into the lead. The Seahawks came back with a run of their own and pushed the lead to as many as 20 midway thru the second half. The lead was never threatened after that point.

Aaron Short lead all scorers with 20 points. Tyler Velasquez scored 19 and four other scored 8 points (Frank Rogers, Dalton Noble, Joe Saarem and Thomas Pierce).

Next, the Seahawks will take their 14 game winning streak into the NorCal Community College State Tournament. The bracket will be announced Monday (Feb. 20) in the afternoon.

More community college basketball scores

On the 16th, Cosumnes River College put up 90 points while holding Santa Rosa Junior College to 64.

* Sacramento City College 79, San Joaquin Delta College 66

==========

* On the 17th, City College of San Francisco put up 105 points to Skyline College's 52

* It was Chabot College 77 to 64 for Foothill College

SJCC gets by DeAnza

San Jose City 52, De Anza 50

San Jose City College

Stephan Hester 6 5-7 18
Fabian Sebastian 5 3-3 13

De Anza College

Don Washington 3 4-8 10

West Valley takes down Gavilan

West Valley 72, Gavilan 64

West Valley College

Mike Beltramo 6 3-3 19 (four treys)
Chris Murry 6 2-5 18 (four treys)
Cameron Faison 5 0-0 11

Gavilan College

Zack Smith 5 1-4 12
Jordan Ramirez 4 3-4 14 (three treys)
Matt Johnson 3 1-4 10 (three treys)
Scott Taylor 4 0-0 10

Mitty six better than Bellarmine

Archbishop Mitty 54, Bellarmine College Prep 48

Archbishop Mitty High

Aaron Gordon 7-10-24
Thomas Peters 3-4-10

Bellarmine College Preparatory High

Blair Mendy 4-3-12
Nick McCue 3-4-11

Yuba over CCC

Jimmy Graben has the scoop as Yuba College stayed unbeaten in the Bay Valley Conference with a hard-fought 80-67 win over Contra Costa College. 49er Spencer Butterfield post a 22/10 double-double.

Leigh takes care of PH

Glenn Reeves reports on the Leigh High 50-37 victory over Piedmont Hills.

Sheldon handles Pleasant Grove

Eli Sean-Smith/Nor Cal Preps has the details of Sheldon High's victory over Pleasant Grove.

SHC by four over Serra

Jeremy Balan/SanFranPreps was on press row covering Sacred Heart Cathedral's 58-54 triumph over host Serra. He offers print and photos on the matchup.

BayPreps serves up print and video.

Butterfield featured in Auburn Journal

Todd Mordhurst offers a feature on Yuba College's Spencer Butterfield.

Butterfield is offered

Tony Jones/Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that Utah State has offered a scholarship to Yuba College's Spencer Butterfield.

Brian Goins on film

This is a just short of nine minutes highlight reel featuring point Brian Goins and the Diablo Valley College Vikings this season. The footage is from a forthcoming documentary all about Goins, who should be named the Player of the Year in the California community college ranks, produced by Wire to Wire Sports (Santa Barbara) for Prospect Hill Productions.

Catch this documentary

Jon Gold posts a note about a documentary from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar about an unknown segment of our basketball history. It sounds both educational and interesting.

Damian Lillard deserves your vote

It's not for public office but you have the chance to pump up Damian Lillard's vote totals and get him on-the-radar as Jonathan Reed reports. As is practiced in certain parts of this country, vote early and often.

St. Mary's backcourt is ailing

Jeff Goodman reports on two Gael backcourters sporting injuries. Let's see who, if anyone, seizes the opportunity.

Marcus Lee is a wanted man

An Alex Schwartz tweet: "I'm told that Texas offered 6'9 2013 PF Marcus Lee of Deer Valley (CA) last night"

Sierra by a trey over MJC

Ron Agostini game reports the Sierra College 85-82 victory over Modesto Junior College. It was a trey with less than a second remaining that did the job.

DVC handles American River

DVC 67, American River 58

Diablo Valley College

Brian Goins 8 6-9 25 (three treys)
Tyerelle Phillips 6 4-5 16

American River College

Mardell Thompson 6 2-3 16
Chris Carvin 3 4-4 11

Cal Maritime wins twice

Behind Isaiah Moore's 19/13 double-double, Cal Maritime won both the game against Menlo College 64-43 last night but also the California Pacific Conference regular season title as the Keelhaulers are an unblemished 12-0 in league play, 19-9 overall. Congrats to Coach Bryan Rooney and his squad on the achievement.

Leigh tops Santa Teresa in a wild one

Leigh High 83, Santa Teresa High 78

Leigh High

Trevor Peterson 15-5-46 (11 treys)
Scotty Guyon 3-5-12
Kimo Francisco 3-5-11

Santa Teresa High

Trevor Priest 13-4-34 (four treys)
Christian Paolinetti 5-2-12
Jason Garabetian 5-2-12
Derek King 2-6-11

Drake tops Redwood

Dave Curtis has the details of Drake High's 59-53 win over Redwood High, this despite 31 points and 10 boards for Matt Mareno.

Cal-Hi Sports Boys State Stat Stars for this week

The Cal-Hi Sports site is out with this week's Boys State Stat Stars and here are the northern California entries:

* Jamir Andrews (Dublin)

The 6-foot-2 junior went for a season-high 34 points in a 66-63 win over Martinez Alhambra.
 
* Isiah Brown (Richmond)

He has had higher totals than the 35 points he scored against De Anza of Richmond, but it had to feel the best as the Oilers won for the first time this season by a 77-76 final score.

* Paris Davis (Skyline, Oakland)

There was no European vacation for Paris in his team's battle for first place in a Oakland Athletic League game with Oakland Tech. The 6-foot-3 senior posted a double-double with 29 points and 12 rebounds, and the Titans needed all of it in a 67-65 victory. 

* Ali Faruqbey (San Lorenzo)

The junior was a Rebel with a cause in a 73-54 win over Moreau Catholic of Hayward. He had a huge double-double of 33 points and 19 rebounds.

* Jordan Franklin (Trinity Prep, Napa)

Battling his way to a 32-point per game scoring average, this sophomore guard scored 34 points in a 52-34 win over Freedom Christian before scoring 34 points in a 63-44 loss to Global Youth Charter and 34 points in a 62-49 loss to New Life Christian.

* Olajuwon Garner (Deer Valley, Antioch)

The senior guard was 6-of-9 from beyond the arc and scored 25 of his game-high 34 points in the second and third quarter of a 90-84 win over BVAL rival Freedom of Oakley.

* Aaron Gordon (Archbishop Mitty, San Jose)

The 6-foot-8 junior did it again. Points number 27 and 28 and rebound No. 16 came on a tip-in with four seconds left in overtime to seal a 60-58 win over host Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco.

* Tajai Johnson (Vallejo)

A senior guard headed to UC Riverside, Johnson matched his season-high with 34 points but this time it came in a winning effort as the Apaches defeated Rodriguez of Fairfield 88-79.

* Richard Longrus (Bishop O'Dowd, Oakland)

The 6-foot-7, 210-pound Washington State-bound power forward flexed his muscles with a double-double 25 points and 15 rebounds (six blocks) in a 74-31 drubbing of Hayward Tennyson. Longrus has become the star for the 19-5 Dragons this year in his third varsity season. 

* Josh Mooney (Monte Vista Christian, Watsonville)

Mooney’s number didn’t quite reach the Moon his past two games, but he returns to this feature with stratospheric numbers. First he had 39 points, eight rebounds and seven assists an 82-63 win over Christopher of Gilroy. Then he came back this week with 34 points (seven 3-pointers), nine assists, six steals and five rebounds in a 70-58 Monterey Bay League playoff win over a Christopher team that would like to see Moon orbit a different planet.

* Daniel Selsor (Archbishop Riordan, San Francisco)

Despite averaging less than seven points per game, the senior guard came up huge in a 68-59 upset of St. Francis of Mountain View. Selsor had a lot of fizz after finishing with 26 points, three rebounds and two steals in the victory. According to WCAL stat man Pat Segurson, Selsor also tied a Riordan school record with six 3-pointers.

* Kiran Shastri (Miramonte, Orinda)

He makes another appearance after going for 30-plus points for the fourth time this season. Shastri did it by scoring 30 in a 80-66 win over Walnut Creek Las Lomas.   

* Chris Swartz-Edmisten (Sacramento Waldorf, Fair Oaks)

He outscored Foresthill on his own in a 62-37 win as he finished with 43 points for the second time in three games. On the year, he is averaging 34.6 points a game.

* Justin Woody (Folsom)

In a narrow 69-65 Delta River League win over Ponderosa of Shingle Springs, Woody lit up the scoreboard for 47 points to lead the Bulldogs. His season-high before this explosion was just 29 and he didn’t reach double figures in his three previous outings.

Stanford five better than OSU

It was Stanford 87-82 over visiting Oregon State although Jared Cunningham went for 22 points and nabbed three steals.

USF loses by one

USF fell 85-84 to visiting BYU but Angelo Caloiaro had another big night for the Dons with 23 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals and a pair of blocked shots.

It was inevitable

A tweet from Jonathan Givony/Draft Express:

"The number of fathers/uncles/spiritual advisers contacting me the past week claiming to know "the next Jeremy Lin" is up approximately 337%"

Weber State wins again

Jonathan Reed/Big Sky Basketball has the game report on Weber State's 79-70 victory over Montana State. Damian Lillard scored 17 points and Jordan Richardson led the Wildcats with four assists.

Las Positas handles Chabot

Los Positas 85, Chabot 67

Las Positas College

Roy Rissas 9 2-2 20
Dylan Heath 6 1-1 18 (five treys)
Julian Redmon 7 0-0 17  (three treys)
Devonae Leach 4 3-4 11

Chabot College

Damarius Jones 10 0-0 25 (five treys)
Terrell Gates 7 3-4 23 (six treys)

West Valley upends DeAnza

West Valley 73, De Anza 64

West Valley College

Mike Beltramo 5 9-9 22 (three treys)
Anthony Hubbard 7 3-5 17
Chris Murry 3 2-2 11 (three treys)

De Anza College

Don Washington 7 2-2 16
Frank Small 5 2-2 12

Skyline five better than Cañada

Skyline 89, Canada 84 (OT)

Skyline College

Kyle Wong 5 7-8 18
Joe Scott 5 6-10 17
Anthony Smith 6 3-4 15

Cañada College

Ethan Peper 8 1-2 21 (five treys)
Colin Wan 3 6-7 13
Joanthan Tuason 5 4-4 16

Yuba wins again

Brian DeMain reports on host Yuba College's takedown of Merritt College. A matchup with Contra Costa College is next for the 49ers.

MPC 66, Hartnell 61

George Watkins has the details of the Monterey Peninsula College triumph over host Hartnell last night. Andrew Young led MPC with a 15/10 double-double despite missing time with an ankle sprain.

Here's Bill Paterson with his HS report

Bill Paterson relays the scores and highlights emanating from the Sacramento prep basketball ranks last night.

BOD takes HAAL title

Jimmy Durkin reports on the win that carried Bishop O'Dowd to the title of the Hayward Area Athletic league.

Portland State handles Sac State

Portland State had little difficulty taking down Sacramento State 85-67. Jackson Carbajal, out of the Fresno area, scored 19 for the Hornets.

New Mexico 10 better than SDSU

New Mexico came to California and beat San Diego State 77-67 as Drew Gordon posted a very unique double-double of 17 points and the same number of rebounds. Xavier Thames had nine points and four assists for the Aztecs.

Northridge over Cal Poly

Vinnie McGhee's 19 points (5-8 from three-point range) plus seven assists contributed mightily in host Cal State Northridge's 94-81 takedown of Cal Poly.

Eastern Washington 79, Northern Colorado 76

Collin Chiverton had 19 points in aiding Eastern Washington's close win over Northern Colorado.

Fullerton 77, Riverside 64

Visiting Cal State Fullerton led from the start in downing UC Riverside 77-64. It was an off-shooting night for D.J. Seeley (nine points) and Kwame Vaughn (eight points0 but the latter did pass for six assists. Kareem Nitoto scored 11 points for the Highlanders.

St. Mary's falls to LMU

St. Mary's got whomped at home by Loyola Marymount to the tune of 75-60 -- this despite 25 points and 15 boards from Rob Jones. 

USC falls to UCLA

Former Eureka High star Greg Allen scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds in USC's 64-54 loss to UCLA last night.

UCSB 85, Irvine 62

UC Santa Barbara had no trouble with UC Irvine 85-62 last night as Orlando Johnson went for a 25/10 double-double, along with four assists. James Nunnally contributed seven points, six rebounds and three assists. Freshman T.J. Taylor has been in the starting lineup for several games now. For the Anteaters, Will Davis scored 12 points (6-7 shooting) and fellow freshman Mike Best totaled eight points and three boards in 16 minutes of play.

FCC keeps on rolling

From the Fresno Bee:

"Fresno City College's men's basketball team won its 13th straight to stay undefeated in the Central Valley Conference with a 74-65 victory against West Hills on Wednesday.

Thomas Hammock hit six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points. The Northern California fifth-ranked Rams (27-3, 11-0), who already had clinched an 11th straight CVC title, haven't lost since a 65-64 loss to Bakersfield on December 28."

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/02/15/2724194/local-sports-briefs-fresno-city.html#storylink=cpy

Support the “Zoe Inciong So Things Don’t Suck” fund + Ohlone College basketball

Dear Friends, Family and Ohlone College fans:

Every year, college basketball coaches around the country show their support in the fight against cancer by hosting “Coaches vs. Cancer” Nights.

Typically these events involve a “White Out” (everyone in white shirts), with the money going to cancer research. This Saturday, the men's and women's basketball teams at Ohlone will be participating for the first time, and our aim is twofold.

We have elected to "adopt" the Inciong family, and in particular their daughter Zoe. Zoe is a 15 year old sophomore at James Logan High School, a member of the water polo and basketball teams, and she happens to have a very rare form of bone cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma.

Her initial diagnosis in September was stage 4, and she is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments twice a month at Oakland Kaiser hospital to help reduce the tumors in her pelvic and back areas. The proceeds from the gate for both games will go towards the fund established by her parents in Zoe's name to help defray the costs of medical expenses.

Secondly, we are trying to set an attendance record for both teams.  Capacity in our gym is 1,700 and we hope to fill every seat, hopefully with everyone wearing white. The more people we have, the more money we can raise.

The men's team is currently ranked 14th in the state and hosts the 20th ranked Las Positas College Hawks at 1 p.m., and the women are ranked 8th in the state and host Mission College at 3 p.m. It is the final regular season home game for both teams, and hopefully both will host a home playoff game the weekend of the 24th. Both groups of student-athletes work extremely hard on and off the court, and they deserve to play in front of a sold out crowd at some point in their junior college careers.

We would also like to ask that you pass this email on to as many people as possible (school groups, yahoo groups, Twitter, Facebook, youth sports groups/teams). We think this is a great opportunity to not only see some high quality college basketball but to also reach out as a community to help one of our own.

Ticket prices are $10 for adults (12 and over) and $5 for kids under 12 and students (high school or college). Season passes will be honored, but we ask that you kindly make a donation at the door. Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you and your family this weekend!

If you can’t make it to either game but would like to make a contribution, please make a check payable to the “Zoe Inciong So Things Don’t Suck” fund. It can be sent to John Peterson, Ohlone College, 43600 Mission Blvd, Fremont, CA 94539.

Thanks for your support!

John Peterson
Head Men’s Basketball Coach

Julia Allender
Head Women’s Basketball Coach

West Valley Basketball Club training

On behalf of our dedicated staff of coaches and volunteers at the West Valley Basketball Club, we are excited to announce our very popular and well attended Spring Skills Camp.

This camp is a great springboard for players completing their year of high school basketball and also preparing for their Spring and Summer evaluation periods.

 True basketballers know that the game of hoops goes from March 1 to March 1. There are no days off for those dedicated to developing their skills.

That is exactly what we do in this intense two weekend opportunity.  Each camper not only will receive up close and personal attention, they will also go home with work to be performed during the week to enhance the following weekends efforts. No time wasted for those committed few that want to see a true improvement in their game.

This year, we are offering Team Discounts for schools, clubs of 8 or more.  Please be sure to contact bigdogwvbc@gmailfor more information.

Bobby Bramlett
(650) 451-8141
bigdogwvbc@gmail.com

Bay Area connections

Jeremy Russotti sent this along -- a couple of 'our' guys, Josh Akognon and Jeremy Lin, meeting up in China of all places.

One of the keys coming out of the meetup:

A question that began to form for Akognon: Did Lin want to succeed more than he was afraid to fail?

More JC scores from last night

* Contra Costa College 60, Los Medanos College 56

* Sacramento City College 76, Cosumnes River College 74

* American River College 72, Sierra College 71

Dom Lee receiving some press

Former St. Mary's High star Dominique Lee is at Casper College in Wyoming this season and starting to make some noise. Here's an excerpt from this article:

“There’s no doubt that we’re a better team with Jerrold [Brooks] and Dominique [Lee] in the lineup,” [Casper College Coach Joel] Davidson said. “But it all comes down to what we do on the defensive end of the floor.”

Brooks and Lee sat out the first semester, but both have been key contributors off the bench since joining the rotation ...

... Lee, a 6-5 freshman wing, averages 6.5 ppg. He’s one of 10 players averaging at least five points per game for the T-Birds.

Will Cherry named Big Sky Conference POW

Montana's Will Cherry has been named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week, this per Jonathan Reed/Big Sky Basketball.

UC Davis 73, Pacific 64

Host UC Davis proved to be six points better than Pacific last night as Josh Ritchart and Eddie Miller both just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine boards each. JT Adenrele added six points and six rebounds.

Bells 10 better than St. Francis

Bellarmine 60, St. Francis 50

Bellarmine College Prep

Grant Vermeer 3-7-15
Nick McCue 4-2-11
Griffin Goudreau 4-2-10

St. Francis High

Drew Dickey 9-1-19
Jarod Diaz 3-2-10
Abu Tratter 4-2-10

Mitty takes care of VC

Archbishop Mitty 74, Valley Christian 59

Archbishop Mitty High

Aaron Gordon 9-1-20
Thomas Peters 6-0-13
Neil Vranicar 4-2-12

Valley Christian High

Jay MacIntyre 5-9-21
Cameron Stewart 5-2-12
Nick McGrew 4-2-11

Another high school basketball mystery

Glenn Reeves reports that Capuchino High Coach Doug Fountain has been let go. There's obviously a lot more to be learned about the background.

Bill Paterson's Sacto prep report

Bill Paterson, as usual, has the game scores and highlights of last night's high school action in and around Sacramento.

Deer Valley handles Freedom

BayPreps offers print and video of the 90-84 Deer Valley High victory over Freedom High.

Jimmy Durkin also provides a lengthy game report.

Yuba takes care of COA

The Appeal-Democrat has posted the news of Yuba College's 102-86 win over College of Alameda. Yuba and Merritt meet next.

SHC over SI

Jeremy Balan has the scoop of Sacred Heart Cathedral's 57-45 triumph over St. Ignatius.

Redwood handles Justin-Sienna

Matt Mareno's 20 points buttressed Redwood High's 62-55 victory of Justin-Sienna last night.

Merritt over College of Marin

Merritt College proved too tough for College of Marin last night, winning 78-61.

Merritt College

Tyler Idowu 7 5-5 19
Nick Capiti 6 4-6 17
Joshua Amey 5 4-5 14
Eric Nelson 4 5-6 13
Kareem Ransom 2 6-6 12
 
College of Marin

Joey Rodriguez 4 3-4 12
Garland Duhe 4 0-2 11
Julian Willamson 4 3-4 11

SPSV tops St. Mary's

Jose San Mateo reports it was St. Patrick St. Vincent over St. Mary's last night.

Bethel handles Vallejo

Rodney Cook's 31 points paced Bethel High to a 101-79 win over Vallejo High.

MJC 66, DVC 65

Ron Agostini reports it was Keeton-time as host Modesto Junior College upended Diablo Valley College 66-65.

Modesto Junior College

Austin Keaton 8 2-4 21
Mike Hill 5 2-2 14
Nate Jackson 4 1-2 10 

Diablo Valley College

Brian Goins 11 3-5 27
Tyerelle Phillips 6 6-7 18
Ronnie Baker 4 1-2 11