Saturday, February 28, 2015

CS Stanislaus 84, CS Monterey Bay 78

Chris (Ohlone College/Castro Valley High) Read's 22 point carried Cal State Stanislaus to an 84-78 win over Cal State Monterey Bay in Turlock last night. Sea Otter Patrick (Los Medanos College/Mt. Diablo High) Lefiti tallied nine points on 3-4 shooting from long range and led the visitors with five assists.

Brian VanderBeek game reports.

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Two more game reports

Doug Benton/Nor Cal Preps game reports the Serra win over Half Moon Bay plus the Mitty takedown of Palma.

Nor Cal JC matchups for Saturday

Here are today's games involving northern California JC teams:

* Skyline College @ College of Marin

* Foothill College @ Fresno City College

* College of the Sequoias @ San Jose City College

* Sierra College @ City College of San Francisco

High School Roundup

Below are scores and more from various Friday prep contests:

* Sheldon High 63, Oak Ridge High 47 Joe Davidson game reports.

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* Montgomery High 59, Northgate High 49 Peter Fournier game reports.

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* Cosumnes Oaks High 85, Beyer High 82 2 OT Brian VanderBeek game reports.

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* Modesto Christian High 79, Elk Grove High 47 Joe Cortez game reports.

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* Sacred Heart Prep 56, Riordan High 51 Glenn Reeves/Ray Hacke game report and other WCAL team outcomes are also included.

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* Mesa Verde High 50, Marysville High 49 Jimmy Graben game reports.

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* Archbishop Mitty 63, Palma High 55''

The Monterey Herald: "The Palma High basketball team did all it could to hang with Mitty (San Jose) in its Central Coast Section Open Division quarterfinal matchup on Friday, but the Chieftains fell short with a 63-55 loss at Wilcox High in Santa Clara. No. 6 Palma (21-4) trailed most of the game, but kept No. 3 Mitty within striking distance. Jack Brusa cut the deficit to four when he drained a 3-pointer with two minutes left, but the Monarchs managed to hang on.

Brusa led the Chieftains with 12 points, while Wyatt Maker added 11. Josh Keselicka scored nine points. Ben Kone, the West Catholic Athletic League MVP, scored 30 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for Mitty."

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* Ray Hacke tweeted: "Serra 66, Half Moon Bay 29." SJMN Preps: "...Jr. F Jake Killingsworth led the Padres (20-5) with 16 points (4 3s)..."

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* Drake High 66, Encinal High 49 Ian Ross game reports.

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* Jimmy Durkin: "Monte Vista holds off Castro Valley 59-52 in overtime."

Durkin game reports plus scores and mini-reports of other area games are detailed.

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* Vanden High 77, Vista Del Lago 47 Brian Arnold game reports.

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* Sacramento area scores

Nor Cal JC roundup from Friday

Below are the outcomes and more from Friday's games in the northern California JC ranks:

* CaƱada College 79 - Diablo Valley College 75 box (@ DVC)

For CC: 20 points, seven boards, five steals from Rohndell (West High) Goodwin, Israel (Palo Alto High) Hakim scored 15 points and Manny Martin just missed doubling up via 12 points plus nine rebounds.

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* Merritt College 70 - Lassen College 64 (@ Merritt)

For MC: Rodney (Freedom High) Pope was in front with 16 points followed by 12 apiece from Jovontae (El Cerrito High) Carleton and Travon King and Jamelle (Castlemont High) Corbino added 11. King grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double.

For LC: Marvin White led with 22 points and Murshid (Central High) Randle contributed 11.

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* San Joaquin Delta College 70 @ Chabot College 65 (@ Chabot) box

For SJDC: Dwayne (Bear Creek High) Lee paced the victors with 26 points (6-13 from long range) followed by Troy (Armijo High) Anderson's 23. Anderson double-doubled with 11 rebounds. Point (Lodi High) dozened up with 12 points and an equal number of assists as SJDC earned 20 assists on 23 baskets.

Chabot Men's Basketball: "...Chabot was up 8 points early in the 2nd half but missed opportunities caught up with them late in the game as they would fall behind by 4 points with under a minute. The Gladiators came within 1 point with a few seconds remaining but fell short of a miraculous finish. Chabot falls 65-70 to Delta. Raymond Baldwin 27, Yasin Omar 9 (three 3-pointers), Khalil James 9 (two 3-pointers),Shanquel Watson 8, Kellen Sweetwyne 8, DeCarlos Frank 4..."

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* Cosumnes River College 69 - Butte College 60 box (@ CRC)

For CRC: David (Burbank High) Straughter 17 points and six boards, Daylon (Edison High) Potts 16 and 11, Phil (Edison High) Randles 17 points (4-8 from beyond the arc).

The ChicoER:

"The Butte College men’s basketball team fell 69-60 to Cosumnes River on Friday night in the first round of the Northern California Regional playoffs.

Michael Shoemaker scored 16 points to lead 11th-seeded Butte (18-9). Matt McGregor and Nikolas Petruk had 10 points apiece. Golden Valley Conference most valuable player Arthur Caldwell was limited with foul trouble as he finished with eight points.

Butte led 30-24 before the sixth-seeded Sacramento school went on an 11-1 run to end the half ahead 35-31.

Cosumnes River (23-8) later led 57-49, and Butte was unable to close the gap. The Roadrunners committed 19 turnovers on the night, and the Hawks made eight 3-pointers."

Chico St. 76, CS Monterey Bay 66

Robert (Air Force Prep Academy/Granite Bay High) Duncan's 20 points led Chico State to a 76-66 victory over visiting Cal State Monterey Bay last night. He shot 7-7 from the floor. Jordan (Arcata High) Semple supplied 11 points and eight boards to the cause.

Travis Souders game reports.

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Cal St. Stanislaus 77, Cal St. East Bay 63

Host Cal State Stanislaus turned away Cal State East Bay 77-63 Friday night despite the latter getting 26 points from Jacari (St. Joseph Notre Dame) Whitfield plus a 14 point, 10 board double-double from Cody (Humboldt State/Rocklin High) Kale. Chris (Ohlone College/Castro Valley High) Read, on 8-11 overall shooting, paced the victors with 19 points.

The Modesto Bee game reports.

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CS Dominguez Hills 69, Sonoma St. 64

Down in Carson, Cal State Dominguez Hills bested Sonoma State University 69-64 in overtime on Friday. For the Seawolves, James (College of the Redwoods/Ferndale High) Slade shot 8-9 on the night and finished with 18 points while teammate J.J. (Colorado State-Pueblo/Bradshaw Christian High) MIna tallied 13 points plus eight rebounds.

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Meet Clayton Ladine

Mitch Stephens serves up a feature on Clayton Ladine, the leading high school scorer in California this season -- he's out of San Francisco.

Chris Bene featured

Vytas Myzeika profiles Sequoia High senior Chris Bene who is a primary component for this season's successful record.

O'Neal and Burdeaux and FCC

Anthony Galaviz writes of Fresno City College's matchup with Foothill College but with a focus on two Ram guards from the Bay Area being called the best in the state by their head coach.

Sac State and the Big Sky championship

Mike McGough writes about Sacramento State being in the running for the Big Sky Conference championship.

On Delon Wright after Utah pasted Arizona St. on Thursday

Delon Wright's big night

"It's going to be tough to choose.

The off-the-glass block. The steal-and-dunk. The block-and-dish. The no-look-assist. Other plays that require hyphens.

Which one do you put at the front of the highlight reel?

It was only 21 minutes for Wright, but memorable at that. On the same day Utah revealed a "Swipe Wright" campaign for the senior guard fronted by a cartoon caricature of his face, he reminded a crowd of 14,185 why he's worth campaigning for. Finishing with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks, one wonders what he might've accomplished had he been competing all game long in a tight one.

Larry Krystkowiak stopped short of saying Wright is the best player in the Pac-12 — "that's a standard I think other people will determine," he said — but wasn't shy about putting out a little praise as well.

"We’ve known what we had for a couple of years," he said. "He is not concerned whether he is perceived as the best player in the conference. He is doing things the right way."

Ali honored

Antelope Valley College sophomore guard Ismail (San Leandro High) Ali has been selected as a First Team Western State Conference South honoree. He averaged 8.6 points and 6.4 assists a game this season shooting 45%, 44% and 61% respectively.

Friday, February 27, 2015

The De Anza College coaching opening mixup

Here's the bottom line: Foothill College is now in the process of moving the head coach position for men's basketball from a temporary status to a permanent position.

This has nothing to do with De Anza College men's basketball and the coach there.

So John Murphy's latest: "Foothill College is seeking a men's basketball coach" is accurate in one sense but...

Big weekend of games for Prolific Prep

Here is the final home game series schedule this weekend (February 27 - March 1) for Prolific Prep at Napa Valley College.  

The Golden State Warriors "Flying Dubs" Dunk team will be performing at halftime and during timeouts in the Saturday night contest. Also, the Golden State
Warriors dance team will be signing photo cards and autographs during the game
in the lobby. It should be great entertainment for kids.  

 The Schedule

Friday February 27: (2 Games)

 7:00 p.m. - Prolific Prep vs. Trinity Prep

8:30 p.m. - Elite Educational Academy vs. Hillcrest
Academy 


Saturday February 28: (3 Games)

3:00 p.m. - Reno International vs. Hillcrest Academy

5:00 p.m. - Trinity Prep vs. Elite Educational
Academy 

7:00 p.m. - Prolific Prep vs. Hillcrest Academy

 * Golden State Warriors Halftime Entertainment


Sunday March 1:  (2 Games)

11:00 a.m. - Reno International vs. Trinity Prep

1:00 p.m. - Elite Educational Academy vs. Prolific Prep Academy

Lloyd passes

Richard Goldstein reports on the passing of Earl Lloyd, the first black player to take the court in the National Basketball Association. Just imagine, if one can, what he endured from those on the wrong side of morality and humanity.

News on Nuno

From Brad Winton: "Rico Nuno (6'8/F/2015) from Diablo Valley College (CA) will take an official visit to Eastern Washington this weekend."

IHC wins again

Indian Hills College bested Marshalltown CC 96-91 last night due to a major boost from Gary Williams. The 6-foot-5 sophomore shot 11-11 from the foul line -- four in the last 17 seconds -- and finished with 23 points.

Hawaii 78, LB St. 59

Over in the islands, Hawaii handled Long Beach State 78-59 last night. Roderick Bobbitt went for 15 points, five assists, four rebounds and a trio of steals. In 18 minutes of play, Quincy Smith tallied five points, five boards, two assists and two steals.

Friday's JC matchups

Below are the games scheduled for Friday in the northern California JC ranks:

CaƱada College @ Diablo Valley College

* Lassen College @ Merritt College (these two teams met in early November in the San Jose City College tourney with Lassen winning 86-80)

* San Joaquin Delta College @ Chabot College

* Butte College @ Cosumnes River College

Free basketball clinic at UC Santa Cruz

Slug Hoops will be hosting a Free Youth Basketball Clinic Saturday, March 7, 2015 at UC Santa Cruz Westfield House from 11:00 a.m. to noon.

The one hour camp will be open to boys and girls ages 8-14. Skills developed will be age appropriate, divided into categories and will teach the functional movements of basketball and the games most critical fundamentals.
The camp will be conducted by Kyle Bossier, Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at UC Santa Cruz (noted for his skill-training experience with players from the NBA down to youth AAU) with assistance from UC Santa Cruz student-athletes.

Slug Hoops will also offer a weekly Skill Training basketball class, which will teach a deeper understanding of the principles covered in the free basketball camp. Cost is $150 for four week and eight training sessions.

To RSVP for the Slug Hoops Free Youth Basketball Clinic, email kbossier@ucsc.edu. To or enroll in a Slug Hoops spring skill training class, visit Slug Basketball Camps.

The SCVAL De Anza Division honorees

The All-De Anza Division honorees of the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League are:

MVP

Mo Abdulrasul Fremont,

First team

Jake Burris, Fremont
Drew Krulevitch, Los Gatos
Christian Mejia, Milpitas
Kevin Mullin Palo Alto
Daniel Rosenbaum, Los Altos
Jay Slaney, Homestead
Colin Spence, Homestead
Jase Wycliffe, Wilcox

Second team

Dylan Belquist, Los Gatos
DeAngelo Blackwel, Homestead
Duane Jones, Milpitas
Patrick McColl, Los Altos
Johnny Rajahn, Palo Alto
Aditya Reddy, Homestead
Jason Scrampos, Milpitas
Omar Shorab, Fremont

Honorable Mention

Thomas Kelleher, Los Altos
Kia Naderi, Homestead
Harsharanveer Singh, Wilcox

CPP 60, San Bernardino 36

Cal Poly Pomona put a whomping on Cal State San Bernardino last night winning 60-36. Barry (McClymonds High) Bell finished with 11 points and eight boards for the victors.

Gavilan's Collins honored

From Gavilan Basketball: "Guard RJ Collins was selected as All Conference Honorable Mention. Only 3 Frosh were selected as All Conf. 16.4ppg 5.2 Rb 48% from 3 pts."

Opening at Regis -- Harris involved

From HoopDirt: "The search to replace the retiring Lonnie Porter at Regis University (Colorado) is moving quickly. According to a great source, I have heard that phone interviews have already wrapped up. It sounds like as many as eight were interviewed, and at least two (maybe more) will be brought to campus in the next few weeks. The names that I have heard that got phone interviews are: AJ Kuhle (assistant coach Denver), Booker Harris (head coach Dominican [CA]), Brady Bergeson (head coach Western Oregon), and Kevin Lubbers (head coach Colorado Christian). There were definitely more who interviewed, still digging for those names. I have heard that Kuhle and Booker may be headed to campus for interviews. I will keep you updated as I hear more."

College of Marin: defense & unselfishness

Tim Menicutch writes about the primary keys to College of Marin's big season in 2014-15.

The CalHiSports State Stats Stars of the Week

The CalHiSports State Stats Stars of the Week with a northern California address are:

* Mo Abdulrasul (Fremont, Sunnyvale)
We didn’t forget to remove him from last week’s state stat stars; he just had another 40-point game for the second week in a row. The senior guard finished with 42 points during a 65-57 win over Palo Alto.

and

* Clayton Ladine (Burton, San Francisco)
Colleague Mitch Stephens of MaxPreps and the S.F. Chronicle called twice on Thursday about Ladine, whose state-leading scoring average has now crept up to 37.8. He had 40 points last week in a 102-64 romp past Academy of Arts & Sciences. He had 56 the previous week in a 100-70 win against Stellar Prep of Hayward. Ladine’s average also is now above the San Francisco seasonal record of 36.7 set in 1996 by Winters Patterson of Balboa but is still behind the NorCal record of 38.5 set in 1975 by all-time great Bill Cartwright of Elk Grove. Patterson was reported with a scoring average of above 40 per game when he tragically died at age 19 after hitting his head in a pickup game. That total probably, however, was for league games.

and

* David Awolowo (Gunderson, San Jose)
Another Bay Area sharpshooter who has found his way here more than once this season, Awolowo pumped in 38 points during a 83-58 win over Leigh of San Jose in BVAL Mt. Hamilton action last week.

and

* Jalonni McCorey (Sunnyside, Fresno)
According to CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett, McCorey’s 707 points this season is a new school record. He had reached that total after scoring 35 points last week in a 79-64 win over Reedley.

and

* Bryson Williams (Roosevelt, Fresno)
A 6-foot-6 junior center, Williams scored a season-high of 31 points and had 27 rebounds and four blocks to lead Roosevelt over Fresno High 72-69 in overtime that enabled the Roughriders to share the North Yosemite League title with the Warriors. Teammate Brian King added 28 points.

and

* Anthony Townes (Modesto Christian, Modesto)
Another of our players of the week, he is a big reason why the Crusaders moved into the Top 20 of our state rankings as he matched his season-high with 30 points while grabbing 11 rebounds during a 82-54 win over Johansen of Modesto.

Humboldt St. 81, UC San Diego 80 OT

Host Humboldt State emerged in overtime as a one-point winner, 81-80, versus UC San Diego on Thursday evening. For the Lumberjacks, Allan Guei enjoyed 22 points as did teammate Austin Bryan.

UCD freshman Kenny (Turlock High) Fraser finished with nine points and four boards in 22 minutes.

Danny Penza game reports.

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Cal Baptist 104, Fresno Pacific 70

In the San Joaquin, Cal Baptist hammered Fresno Pacific 104-70 last night. Michael (El Camino High) Smith led the winners with 19 points and added seven rebounds plus six assists. Eric (Merritt College) Nelson shot 5-5 on his way to 11 points in 17 minutes.

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St. Mary's 84, USF 53

Jumping out to a 49-29 lead after 20 minutes, St. Mary's had no trouble with USF winning 84-53 on Thursday. Brad Waldow shot 7-8 on his way to 18 points and he added seven boards.

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Pacific 64, SC 57

Raymond Bowles tallied 11 points plus eight rebounds, Gabriel Aguirre 10 and seven and T.J. Wallace contributed 10 points in Pacific's 64-57 win over Santa Clara Thursday night in Silicon Valley.

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Irvine 63, CP 56

In SLO on Thursday, Will Davis scored 24 points alongside nine rebounds to power UC Irvine to a 63-56 victory over Cal Poly.

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UCSB 74, Davis 60

Down in Goleta, UC Santa Barbara  turned away UC Davis 74-60 on Thursday. For the victors, Michael Bryson went for 20 points, John Green 15 and Gabe Vincent hit 3-4 from long distance for nine points. Josh Fox was big for the Aggies with 16 points, five boards and three assists.

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BYU 82, Portland 69

Portland led 41-33 at halftime before falling to BYU 82-69 Thursday in the City of Roses. For the Pilots, Bryce Pressley shot 6-7 overall, 4-5 from long range to finish with 16 points.

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Stanford 75, OSU 48

It;s looking like Oregon State has hit the proverbial wall, this time with Stanford handling the Beavers 75-48 on Thursday. However, OSU led 30-28 at the half. Gary Payton II posted a line of 17 points, four assists and three steals.

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North Colorado 77, Southern Utah 67

Powered by Dominique Lee's 25 points (10-11 shooting from the floor) and 10 boards, Northern Colorado downed Southern Utah 77-67 last night.

Utah 83, Arizona St. 41

Utah led Arizona State 41-9 after 20 minutes. 41-9, your eyes are not deceiving you. Delon Wright had a modest but still stat sheet-filling night as the Utes reserves got in early and often. He finished with 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocked shots.

Cal St. Northridge 82, Cal St. Fullerton St 72

Alex Harris provided 18 points, seven assists plus six boards but Cal State Fullerton still fell 82-72 to Cal State Northridge on Thursday.

Liberty 80, Radford 69

Host Liberty University took down Radford last night 80-69 with Theo Johnson busting out for 26 points. He shot 6-10 from the floor, 14-18 at the foul line and also contributed six rebounds.

Morehead State 86, Tennessee Tech 73

Tennessee Tech fell to host Morehead State last night 86-73 despite Charles (Lassen College) Jackson compiling 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Opening at DeAnza

John Murphy tweeted: "De Anza College is seeking a men's basketball coach."

Nick Grieves

Juan Reyes writes about NIck (San Jose State University/Aptos High) Grieves and his senior season at Cal State East Bay.

High School Roundup

Below are scores and more from various Wednesday matchups involving northern California prep teams:

* Thomas Lawrence game reports the Manteca High 51-48 win over Lincoln. James Burns does likewise.

* Kevin Niendorf game reports the St. Mary's success against Rodriguez High.

* Scott Niendorf game reports the Sierra High 61-49 victory against Fairfield High. Dave Campbell does the same.

* The Modesto Bee reports on Modesto Christian's 78-65 takedown of Ponderosa High as well as a number of other matchups.

* Jonamar Jacinto game reports Weston Ranch's 65-53 defeat of Central Valley High.

* Matt O'Donnell game reports the Vallejo High besting of Florin High 81-79.

* Thomas Gase game reports the Tavian Henderson-powered St. Patrick St. Vincent thumping of Gateway 86-62.

* Ian Ross game reports Kyle Roach's 53 points carrying Marin Academy over Clear Lake High.

* Dante Geoffrey game reports Arcata High's getting by John F. Kennedy 74-62.

* Andy Arrenquin game reports the Marysville High 69-51 bopping of Ripon High.

* Joe Davidson game reports the Kennedy High 65-58 topping of Monterey Trail.

Nor Cal JC scores from Wednesday

Below are the Wednesday night scores from the two games involving Nor Cal JC teams:

* College of the Sequoias 76 - Las Positas College 67

The score was tied at 55 with 6:45 remaining.

From COS Athletics: "...Derek Check and Chris Smith paced the Giants with 15 points each. Brantley Bynum had 14."

From LPC Men's Basketball

"he Hawks battled giants Wednesday night, and the result was a first-round exit from the Northern California Regional playoffs.

Bigger and stronger inside, the College of the Sequoias Giants dominated the interior in the second half and pulled away with a 76-67 victory over the Hawks in Livermore.

Sequoias (17-12), the regional's #18 seed, advanced to Saturday's second round against #2 San Jose City College. LPC, meanwhile, which entered as the #15 seed, ends a successful season with a 16-13 record.

For a half, at least, it appeared that it might be the Hawks who would be advancing. Drilling shots from all over the court, LPC led by as many as 14 points in the first half. A late Sequoias run cut the Hawks' lead to 40-30 at halftime.

The teams traded two baskets each to begin the second half before LPC went ice cold. Sequoias then exploited its advantage inside at both ends of the court to the tune of a 17-0 run, giving the Giants a 51-44 lead.

A jumper by Rashad Brackeen finally stopped the bleeding with 11:20 remaining. Trailing 55-47 four minutes later, the Hawks rallied to score 7 consecutive points, on a three by Brackeen and layups by Cameron Moses and Marti Fonolla, to pull even at 55-55 at the 6:46 mark.

Despite an excited crowd exhorting on LPC, Sequoias proceeded to effectively put the game away by scoring 13 of the game's next 15 points, going up 68-57 with 2:05 left. The Hawks never got closer than six points the rest of the game.

Moses led LPC with 16 points, while Brackeen and Fonolla added 14 points each."

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* Foothill College 78 - American River College 67

The WCAL 2014-15 honorees

Here are the West Catholic Athletic League basketball honorees:

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Ben Kone, Archbishop Mitty – Junior

First Team

Eddie Stansberry, Archbishop Riordan, Junior
Jimmy Wohrer, Junipero Serra, Senior
Trevor Brown, Junipero Serra, Senior
Curtis Witt, Saint Francis, Junior
Noah Stapes, Saint Francis, Junior
David Parsons, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Senior
Angelo Athens, Bellarmine, Sophomore

Second Team

Alfred Hollins, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Sophomore
Kyle Owens, Bellarmine, Senior
Giuseppe Benedetti, Saint Francis, Junior
Peter Hewitt, Saint Francis, Junior
Dakari Monroe, Archbishop Mitty, Senior
Will Emery, Saint Ignatius, Junior
Jake Killingsworth, Junipero Serra, Junior

Honorable Mention

Dom Burke, Saint Ignatius, Senior
Cameron Korb, Archbishop Mitty, Senior
Masa Swain, Bellarmine, Senior
Paul Smoot, Junipero Serra, Senior
Jeremiah Testa, Junipero Serra, Junior
Frank Lemos, Junipero Serra, Senior
Joseph Mihanovic, Saint Francis, Senior
Elias Haile, Valley Christian, Senior
Max Randall, Archbishop Riordan, Senior

The CVC goes all out with honorees

The Central Valley Conference doesn't just offer a selection of First Team All League honorees and a few runners-up:

MVP: James O'Neal, Fresno City

All Conference

• Brantley Bynum, COS
• Dejon Burdeaux, Fresno City
• Tyrone Hall, Porterville
• Marquell Hubbard, Columbia
• Walter Orr, Reedley
• Chris Ross, COS
• Justin Senou, West Hills
• Chris Smith, COS
• Ryan Swain, Fresno City
• Deonta Woodard, Merced

Honorable Mention

• Darren Buckles, West Hills
• Jermaine Crowder, Merced
• Kyle Ingram, Fresno City
• Micheal Meserole, Columbia
• Allston Moore, Reedley
• Tony Williams, Columbia

All Freshmen Team

• MVP: Marquell Hubbard, Columbia
• Anthony Ballestero, Fresno City
• Davy Baltus, Porterville
• Steven Coulanges, West Hills
• Nick Hilton, Fresno City
• Robert Martinez, Merced
• Micheal Meserole, Columbia
• Shakor Major, Reedley
• BJ Shelton, Fresno City
• Khayri Washington, West Hills
• Deonte Woodard, Merced

All Defensive Team

• Co-MVPs: Dejon Burdeaux, Fresno/Chad Clark, COS
• Rosendo Amayawood, Columbia
• Adam Armstead, Porterville
• Marvin Cyrus, Porterville
• Nick Hilton, Fresno City
• Kyle Ingram, Fresno City
• Ian Merzwinski, Columbia
• Walter Orr, Reedley
• Deonte Woodard, Merced

Oregon 80, Cal 69

Oregon is on a bit of a roll now and took down California, in Berkeley, 80-69 on Wednesday. Jabari Bird posted a 22 point, six rebound line for the Bears.

UCLA 88, Washington 66

A 46-25 first half at Pauley Pavilion propelled UCLA to an 88-66 victory over Washington on Wednesday. Darin Johnson played 25 minutes for the Huskies and scored 11 points.

Colgate 95, Lafayette 83

Colgate got by Lafayette 95-83 last night with a couple of northern California talents in action. In 11 minutes for the victors, sophomore frontcourter John Fenton supplied five points and three rebounds in a reserve role while senior Lafayette guard Bryce Scott played 38 minutes, scoring 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. He shot 5-8 overall, 3-5 from long distance.

Contra Costa College's Tajai Johnson honored


G Tajai Johnson was named 1st team All Bay Valley Conference for his standout season. The aggressive southpaw finished 5th in the Bay Valley Conference in scoring at 16.7 points per game shooting an efficient 47% for the season, and despite being a guard still grabbed 5.0 rebounds a game. Tajai also proved to be explosive throughout the season cracking the 20 point barrier 7 times this year.

Contra Costa College's Justin Johnson honored


Sophomore F Justin Johnson was selected all Bay-Valley Conference honorable mention after a solid season. A slashing forward, Johnson was the teams third leading scorer at 11.3 points per game, and the teams 2nd leading rebounder, grabbing 5.0 boards per game.

Contra Costa College's Dawson Johnson honored


Sophomore G Dawson Johnson was selected all Bay-Valley Conference honorable mention after a solid 2014-2015 season. The sharpshooting combo guard averaged 14 points per game to go along with a team leading 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals (2nd in the Bay Valley Conference).

Awolowo now a senior star

Darren Sabedra writes about a Gunderson High player, David Awolowo, who chose to remain a member of the team as a freshman and where the young man stands today.


Eugene Crockett and Mark Giorgi: a match made in .....

Matthew Peirson profiles ARC's 'grandfather' Eugene Crockett and his relationship with Coach Mark Giorgi.

Rico Nuno honored

Diablo Valley College Men's Basketball: "Congrats to Rico Nuno, freshman from Half Moon Bay, for being named First Team All-Big 8 Conference."

Getting to know Delon Wright

Delon Wright on video:

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Big weekend of games for Prolific Prep

Here is the final home game series schedule this weekend (February 27 - March 1) for Prolific Prep at Napa Valley College.  

The Golden State Warriors "Flying Dubs" Dunk team will be performing at halftime and during timeouts in the Saturday night contest. Also, the Golden State
Warriors dance team will be signing photo cards and autographs during the game
in the lobby. It should be great entertainment for kids.  

 The Schedule

* Friday February 27: (2 Games)

 7:00 p.m. - Prolific Prep vs. Trinity Prep

8:30 p.m. - Elite Educational Academy vs. Hillcrest
Academy 


* Saturday February 28: (3 Games)

3:00 p.m. - Reno International vs. Hillcrest Academy

5:00 p.m. - Trinity Prep vs. Elite Educational
Academy 

7:00 p.m. - Prolific Prep vs. Hillcrest Academy

 * Golden State Warriors Halftime Entertainment


* Sunday March 1:  (2 Games)

11:00 a.m. - Reno International vs. Trinity Prep

1:00 p.m. - Elite Educational Academy vs. Prolific Prep Academy

Second Nor Cal JC game tonight - Foothill versus ARC

Foothill College travels to American River College in the other Nor Cal JC contest tonight.

Matthew Peirson previews the matchup.

Nor Cal JC game tonight - LPC versus COS

From LPC Basketball:

"The turnaround has been completed.

Two years removed from a 6-21 season, LPC is back in the playoffs. The California Community College Athletic Association released the Northern California Regional bracket Monday, and the Hawks, seeded 15th, will take on College of the Sequoias in a 7 p.m. first-round game Wednesday in Livermore.

The postseason appearance will be the fourth in LPC's nine-year history and its first since 2012. That was the year of the Hawks' only postseason victory when they defeated Sierra in their only postseason home game.

LPC's quick turnaround from that dismal season two years ago coincides with Coach Lon Rork's second season. In Rork's first season, the Hawks finished 11-16. He leads this season's 16-12 team into the playoffs with just one sophomore, while the rest of his players are freshmen.

The Hawks won four of their last five games and finished tied for fourth place in the Coast Conference North Division with Skyline and Foothill. Both Skyline and Foothill, along with conference champion City College of San Francisco, second-place Chabot, and third-place CaƱada, will participate in the regional.

Sequoias, meanwhile, is the regional's 18th, and final. The Giants are also 16-12, and they finished 9-3, good for second place in the Central Valley Conference. Sequoias has been on a roll lately, winning each of their past four games and nine of their last 10.

The Giants and LPC have only two common opponents this season. Sequoias defeated a Butte team that beat the Hawks early in the season and lost to CaƱada, which split two games with LPC."

High School Roundup

Below are scores from various Tuesday night games involving northern California high school teams:

* Monte Vista High 69 - Antioch High 63

6-foot-1 MVH senior Stefan Mitu went for 40 points with nine of his 10 baskets being three-pointers.

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* Berkeley High 56 - College Park High 49

Phil Jensen game reports. In the loss, 6-foot-5 senior Steven Daily totaled 20 points plus 17 rebounds.

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*San Marin High 59 - Windsor High 31

Tim Menicutch game reports.

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* Drake High 72 - Sonoma Valley High 33


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* De La Salle High 61 - Liberty 26

6-foot-4 junior Jordan Ratinho scored 23 points including four treys and grabbed six boards.

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* San Ramon Valley High 72 - Dougherty Valley High 48

6-foot senior Keith Smith led SRVH with 18 points.

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* San Leandro High 70 - Granada High 44

6-foot-4 senior Osi Nwachukwu paced SLH with 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.

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*El Cerrito High 67 - Washington 38

6-foot-4 junior Carlos Johnson's 22 points paced EC.

Cornelius re-started the YC program

Jimmy Graben features Doug Cornelius, the basketball coach at Yuba College and how he has transformed the 49er basketball program.

Brad Waldow and the NBA

Ed Isaacson breaks down Brad Waldow's game vis-a-vis the next level.

The 2014-15 Coast Conference South honorees

2015 Coast Conference South All‐Conference Teams

CO‐MVP
* Allen Wilcher Cabrillo So. 6'3" 190 G Lew Wallace H.S. Gary, IN
* Chris Sterling SJCC So. 6'4" 200 F Delano H.S. Bakersfield, CA

FIRST TEAM

* Maurice Joiner SJCC So 6'7" 190 F Leo H.S. Chicago, IL
* Junior Anderson SJCC So 6'2" 180 G Windsor H.S. Hartford, CT
* Latrell Wilson Cabrillo So 6'2" 180 G Arcata H.S. Arcata, CA
* DJ Rodriguez DeAnza So 6'2" 185 G Oak Grove H.S. San Jose, CA
* Larenzo Graham WVC So 6'1" 180 G West Valley H.S. Fairbanks, AK

SECOND TEAM

* Stevinaire Young SJCC So 6'4" 190 F Mt. Eden H.S. Hayward, CA
* Zavon Jackson Cabrillo So 6'5" 230 F/C Westlake H.S. Salt Lake City, UT
* Nate Rohrer WVC Fr 6'7" 205 F Leland H.S. San Jose, CA
* Isaac Clark MPC Fr 6'1" 180 G Independence H.S. Bakersfield, CA
* Devin Koeplin MPC So. 5'8" 165 G Dublin H.S. Dublin, CA

HONORABLE MENTION

* Devonne Nolan SJCC So 6' 165 G New Britton H.S. New Britton, CT
* Will Burkett MPC So 6'6" 180 F/G St. Francis H.S. Watsonville, CA
* Hiram Miskin Hartnell Fr 6'3" 170 F San Benito H.S. Hollister, CA
* RJ Collins Gavilan Fr 6'3" 170 F San Benito H.S. Hollister, CA

Butte College honorees in the Golden Valley Conference

From the ChicoER:

"...[Arthur] Caldwell was again named the most valuable player for the GVC after averaging 20 points per game, best among Butte. The sophomore forward with a varied offensive game was the MVP last year as a freshman. He was an all-state selection as well.

Joining Caldwell on the all-GVC team were guard Jud Sailsbery and forward Michael Shoemaker. The two area standouts used to battle at the high school level. They then found it pretty easy to succeed together at Butte. Sailsbery was a four-year standout at Orland High while Shoemaker was the same for Corning High. The sophomore Sailsbery led Butte in 3-pointers and assists. Shoemaker, a freshman, teamed with Caldwell to give the Roadrunners more talent up front than their foes could handle and led the team in blocks.

Nikolas Petruk, who played through injuries for much of the season but still gave Butte a versatile player, made the all-GVC second team..."

Utah St. 83, UNLV 65

At home, Utah State used a strong second half to handle UNLV on Tuesday winning 83-65 as Chris Smith paved the way via 20 points, five rebounds and five assists. The Running Rebels led 38-35 at halftime.

Box

Taylor's solid game not enough

In Morgantown, Texas fell to West Virginia (how are these two teams in the same conference?) 71-64 despite Isaiah Taylor providing 13 points, six assists and four rebounds for the Longhorns.

Meet the Ritcharts

Bill Paterson profiles the First Family of Forest Lakes Christian High basketball.

Football centric but applicable to us all

Tim Baffoe provides a very thoughtful and thought-provoking piece on the different reactions to the transgressions of Johnny Manziel and Josh Gordon. Hmmm.

Beyer is big

Brian VanderBeek writes about the Beyer High basketball squad working its way to a 23-4 record.

Faster than a speeding train..Frank Hall

Will Reisman features Mission High's Frank Hall, a blur on the court who is averaging 18.2 points per contest.

Solano County Athletic Conference & Monticello Empire League honorees

From The Daily Republic:

The Vanden High boys basketball team was rewarded for its Solano County Athletic Conference  winning season this time around.

The Vikings’ DeMarre Walker was named Player of the Year in the SCAC, while coach Michael Holloway was named as Coach of the Year, Monday at the league meeting.

Senior Jihad Woods and Junior Thomas Avent were also named to the all-league team for the Vikings, while Fairfield’s Anthony Bryant was the other local all-league selection.

“For (Woods, Avent and Walker) to get on there, says a lot about how far they’ve come as players,” Holloway said. “It says a lot about the consistency at which they played and for Thomas (Avent), the consistency of making it as a sophomore and a junior.”

American Canyon’s Gamon Howard, Vallejo’s Delvon Burrell and Bethel’s Gabriel Martinez and Dakarria Peterson were the other selections to the All-SCAC team.

Fairfield and Vanden’s honorable mentions were Uriah Benning and Jansen Smith, respectively.

and

The Rodriguez boys basketball team not only took home the Monticello Empire League title, but a few awards will now be added to the list of achievements this season.

The Mustangs’ Kyle Williams was named MEL player of the year, while coach Nate Rankin was selected as Coach of the Year, Monday.

“Kyle has not only been a three-year varsity player, but a 3.8-4.0 student with honors classes all four years,” Rankin said. “He’s one of the three captains with Kesean (Graham) and Courtlund (Mclean) and he really earned it. To see other MEL coaches recognize him is an honor.”

The awards didn’t stop there for the Mustangs as Graham was also named to the All-MEL team, along with honorable mentions Mclean, Jourdan Skillman, Marcel Gibson and Zavier Lucero.

Armijo’s Jordan Allen was also put on the All-MEL team, while D’Mario Johnson and Victor Caldwell were honorable mentions.


Other all-league selections were Vintage’s Connor Bacci and Ian Miller, Napa’s Tom Salsman and Vacaville’s Jake Perlstein and RJ Louis.

Townes honored

Cal-Hi Sports Northern California Boys Basketball Player of the Week is:

Anthony Townes (Modesto Christian) Sr.

Averaging a double-double this season, Anthony matched his season-high with 30 points while grabbing 11 rebounds during a 82-54 win over Johansen of Modesto to end the regular season. A 6-foot-5 senior power forward, he is averaging 20.1 points and 10.2 rebounds for the Crusaders, who are the No. 2 seed in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs and just broke into the overall State Top 20 this week. Many in the section are highly anticipating a D2 final between Modesto Christian and Sacramento.

Next season, Townes will be playing right down the street from our Stockton office as he will be one of three players from Modesto Christian on the University of the Pacific’s men’s basketball team.

James Harden for MVP

Lee Jenkins has an article up titled "James Harden, the NBA's unlikely MVP."

Never enough of Bill Walton

Count me in as a dues-paying member of the Bill Walton Fan Club -- Richard Deitsch offers an interview.

Shaka Smart speaking truth

Michael Litos covers VCU Coach Shaka Smart talking about talent, focus, interest versus commitment and more. Very interesting.

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Bailey carries Jesuit

Joe Davidson provides some deserving press for Jesuit's Isaiah Bailey.

Williams aids another Indian Hills win

Last Saturday, Indian Hills Community College turned back Northeast 109-105 to nab the conference title. Gary Williams Jr. tallied 11 points plus seven assists in the victory.

The Nor Cal JC playoffs are set

The matchups for the various northern California community college teams are out:

February 27

* Chabot (17-12) and San Joaquin Delta College (15-13)

* Merritt College (22-6) and Lassen College (22-7)

* Diablo Valley College (17-12) and CaƱada College (21-6)

* Cosumnes River College (22-7) and Butte College 18-8

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* Las Positas College (16-12) - College of the Sequoias (16-12) are participating in a play-in contest in Livermore on February 25.

* American River College (15-10) and Foothill College (12-16) are participating in a play-in contest on February 25.

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February 28

* The LPC - COS winner gets to visit #1 San Jose City College (25-3)

* The ARC - FC winner gets to trip to #1 Fresno City College (28-3)

* City College of San Francisco (20-8) hosts Sierra College (15-13)

* College of Marin (24-3) - Skyline College (17-9)

Featuring Spoiled, Immature and Petulant as they were in 2002

With a tip o' the hat to San Francisco Bay Area Pro Am, here's a fascinating look at what could have been in Dallas when Jason Kidd, Jim Jackson and Jamal Mashburn were the big three. The article was written in 2002.

Crum named PacWest Conference PoW

Player of the Week – Joshua Crum (Holy Names)
G, Jr., Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd High

Crum averaged 23.5 points on 64 percent shooting (16-25) for the Hawks on the Week. He scored a season-high 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and had four assists in the narrow loss to Fresno Pacific. He then scored 17 points against Chaminade. Crum has notched five 20-point performances this season and is 18th in the PacWest in scoring (12.7 ppg).

Press for JBrown

Mitch Stephens profiles Woodcreek High freshman Jordan Brown.

It's mighty positive at 6000 J Street

Victor Contreras writes about "The Nest" at Sacramento State and Hornet Coach Brian Katz.

The All-Peninsula prep honorees

Glenn Reeves has the details on the various All-Peninsula honorees with Co-MVPs in the PAL North.

Walberg to the Kings

Vance Walberg, the heralded former Clovis West High and Fresno City College head coach, is now an assistant for George Karl of the Sacramento Kings.

Don Verlin and Idaho

This was institutionally embarrassing -- so Idaho had to do something and finally did. It's sickening when a coach, supposedly the ultimate role model, abuses his authority just because he can.

Start here.

The latest.

Not to link these two but this link popped up today. Do read the entire article -- a key section:

"...Deford quotes Pete Newell, the former Cal coach and a mentor to Knight, as saying: “There are times Bobby comes so close to self-destructing.” Which echoed the sentiments of Edwin Cady, a professor who chaired the committee that recommended Knight’s hiring at Indiana in 1971. Cady told Deford: “He’s in a race now between overcoming immaturity and disaster.”

Medrano to showcase

From Gavilan Basketball: "Congratulations to Albert Medrano for being chosen to play in the Sophomore showcase March 14th at LA Southwest College."

A 6-foot-1 sophomore, Medrano averaged 9.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in 2014-15.

Pouncey's double-double not enough

Willamette University downed Pacific (OR) 70-63 on Saturday despite Devon (Diablo Valley College/Rodriguez High) Pouncey totaling 12 points and 10 boards in 25 minutes for the latter.

Kinney's big game aid NN

Erik (Cal State Bakersfield/Sacramento High) Kinney posted a line of 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists in Northwest Nazarene's 100-93 win in overtime on Saturday against Alaska Anchorage.

WW 90, St. Martin's 79

On Saturday, Western Washington got the better of St. Martin's 90-79 with two fine performances by Bay Area-connected talents.

For victorious WWU, sophomore Jeffrey Salesian High) Parker tallied 23 points and grabbed five rebounds. He shot 9-14 overall, 5-8 from three-point range.

Tyler (Merritt College/Rodriguez High) Idowu enjoyed 24 points on 12-17 shooting and he corralled six boards for SM.

Monday, February 23, 2015

Carter honored as MVP

6-foot-4 College of Marin sophomore guard Pierre Carter has been named the Bay Valley Conference Most Valuable Player for the 2014-15 season. He averaged 13.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game.

Golson named MVP

5-foot-8 City College of San Francisco sophomore guard Vincent (Skyline High) Golson has been named the Coast Conference North Most Valuable Player. He averaged 13.8 points, 3.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game this season.

O'Neal named MVP

6-foot-3 Fresno City College sophomore guard James (Freedom High) O'Neal is the 2014-15 Central Valley Conference Player of the Year. He averaged 11.5 points, 5.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game this season.

SJCC guys earning honors

San Jose City College basketball is enjoying having a number of its players earning honors:

* Chris (Delano High) Sterling, sophomore, Coast Conference South Co-MVP, 15.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game

Junior Anderson, sophomore, Coast Conference South First Team, 11.8 points pr game

* Maurice Joiner, sophomore, Coast Conference South First Team, 11.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game

* Stevenaire (Mt. Eden High) Young, sophomore, Coast Conference South Second Team, 9.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game

* Devonne Nolan, sophomore, Coast Conference South Honorable Mention, 9.0 points and 5.2 assists per game

Getting inside on Kyle Wiltjer

Jordan Ritter Conn provides such an informational backstory on Kyle Wiltjer. You know you're in for a treat when an article begins:

"It’s been 14 hours and Gonzaga forward Kyle Wiltjer is still grinning. It’s a Friday morning in Spokane, and he’s in line at a bagel shop and he can’t help himself — this is big. Last night, for the first time, Wiltjer made the SportsCenter Top 10. It’s been a lifelong goal, the kind many athletes set but few achieve. Especially weak-hipped, stone-footed, hunch-shouldered stretch 4s. And that, for most of Wiltjer’s career, is exactly how he’s been described. Big, but slow. Skilled, but immobile. A scorer, but a defensive cipher..."

Love honored

From CRC Hawks: "Mitchell Love has been named MVP of the Big 8 Conference and First Team All State."

13.6 points, 3.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds per game.

Giacomazzi honored

From CRC Hawks: "James Giacomazzi (Cosumnes River) has been named 2014-15 Big 8 Conference Coach of the Year."

High School playoff schedules

* Here's the CCS Boys Basketball pairings for this week. Friday's Palma versus Archbishop Mitty and Half Moon Bay taking on Serra look like games to catch.

* Here's the NCS Redwood Empire playoff schedule -- games begin Tuesday.

* Here's the NCS playoff schedule primarily for Marin County teams but some others too.

* Here's the San Joaquin Section playoffs.

Washington 87, Washington St. 84

In Pullman on Sunday, Washington got by Washington State 87-84. For the Huskies, Darin Johnson finished with seven points, five assists and four rebounds. Cougar Ike Iroegbu provided nine points, five rebounds and four assists.

Oakland 81, UIC 56

In Rochester, Michigan, Oakland has no trouble topping UIC on Sunday 81-56. Max Hooper tallied 10 points powered by 6-10 shooting from three-point range.

Oregon 69, Utah 58

In Eugene on Sunday, Oregon bested Utah 69-58. Delon Wright paced the Utes with 20 points plus five assists and he shot 4-7 from beyond the arc.

DVC hoops

Missed this Matt Schwab article which was posted on Thursday: "Diablo Valley's basketball team is 'maturing' behind a strong defense"

Coates with an offer

From Jerina: "Sac native Yuba JC PG Jalen Coates receives offer from Simon Fraser Univ. Avg 11pts 6ast 3 steals."

What's Bob Thomason doing nowadays?

Bob Highfill writes about Bob Thomason's post-coaching life which still involves basketball.

Artis speaking with SHCP squad

Personal Development Magazine has the details of Dom Artis speaking with the Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep team.

An interesting look at Mark Few

Myron Medcalf features Gonzaga Coach Mark Few who works to keep his life in balance. What he has done with the Zags program is phenomenal regardless of the absence of Final Four appearances. If that's the measurement of a good coach then there's a lot of people who don't fit into that category.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Nor Cal JC game scores from Saturday

Below are the scores and more from Saturday games involving northern California junior college teams:

* San Jose City College 80 - West Valley College 66 box

For SJCC: Junior Anderson was in front with 21 points, Stevenaire (Mt. Eden High) Young supplied 13 points plus seven boards, Devonne Nolan just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine assists and Chris (Delano High) Sterling's 12 rebounds led the Jags.

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* Fresno City College 95 - Merced College 55

Fresno Bee:

"Fresno City’s state top-ranked men’s basketball team completed an unbeaten CVC season, rolling to a 95-55 victory over Merced as Liam O’Reilly scored 16 points.

The Rams (28-3, 12-0), winners of 19 straight, went on a 19-0 run in the first half to put the game away. James O’Neal scored 14 for Fresno City, which will get a look at its postseason path Monday when regional men’s and women’s seedings and pairings are announced."