Cabrillo tops Foothill by one

From the Cabrillo College men's basketball site:

SEAHAWKS HANG ON TO DEFEAT FOOTHILL 48-47...

The Cabrillo College Seahawks found a way to win tonight over the Foothill College Owls in Los Altos Hills. Cabrillo (10-3) jumped on the Owls (11-4) early in the first half 15-4 but saw that lead diminish as the half progressed. 

Cabrillo lead at the half 25-18. 

In the second 20 minutes, Foothill played and shot the ball much better and took the lead several times as the two teams went back and forth in what was a very physical hard fought game between two of the better teams in northern California. 

Cabrillo managed to take a lead with 5:23 to play behind the stellar play of Aaron Short.

Short lead the Seahawks in scoring with 17 points. Frank Rogers and Tyler Velasquez each had 11.

Next, the Seahawks open Coast Conference South play at home vs Hartnell College Wednesday night January 4 @ 7:00 p.m.

Chabot handles DeAnza

Chabot 75, De Anza 52

Chabot College 

Damarius Jones 7 2-2 20 (four treys)
Jameal York 6 0-0 15 (three treys)
J'Quon Wroten 3 2-4 10

De Anza College

Denzel Copeland 5 0-0 10

More press for Dom Artis

Mark Knight/West Coast Recruiting offers this take after watching Findlay Prep's Dominic Artis:

"He may be the smallest player on his team but he goes after the rim hard. He had a few really impressive steals that he took the distance for the lay-in. He also was draining three point shots and has a really quick first step. The Oregon Ducks walked away with a steal in Artis."

Santa Clara falls to Wagner

A last-second shot (which should have been ruled illegal) did in host Santa Clara as Wagner pulled out a 64-62 victory. Former CCSF star Jonathan Williams scored 13 points and nabbed five rebounds for the visitors while Niyi Harrison provided 10 points and nine boards for the Broncos.

Read about Jorge Gutierrez

We don't usually cover Cal and Standford hoops because they each receive the most publicity already but Ron Kroichick/San Francisco Chronicle serves up a very good human interest feature on Cal's Jorge Gutierrez.

Bill Paterson covering Sacto area prep hoops

Bill Paterson has all your Sacramento area high school basketball scores plus mini-game reports.

Marin Catholic win Bambauer

It was David Ahern four Marin Catholic (22 points, four rebounds, four assists, four steals) in the 57-46 win over Temecula Valley. The victory earned MC the championship of the Bambauer Tournament and Ahern the most valuable player honor.

Weston Ranch by two over Modesto Christian

It wasn't for the championship of the tourney but it's still noteworthy that West Ranch topped Modesto Christian 79-77 in overtime for a third place finish -- Brian VanderBeek reports.

CCSF has no trouble with Delta

Host City College of San Francisco, powered by Raysean Hairston's 19 points plus 18 from backcourter Ivan Dorsey, took care of San Joaquin Delta College 85-68.

Hey, Washington wants into this equation

Harrison Sanford writes about Arizona, the Oakland Soldiers, Aaron Gordon and Jabari Bird. Washington is mentioned but not as prominently as the Wildcats.

Marcus Lee takes top honor

More from Coach Phil Doherty on Deer Valley's Marcus Lee.

Chico State wins again

Amir Carraway and Sean Park each scored 18 points (plus 13 rebounds for Carraway) in Chico State's Thursday night road win versus Pacifica.

CCSF handles Gavilan

City College of San Francisco had no trouble against Gavilan College to the tune of 85-31. Josh Weaver of the Gilroy Dispatch has the game report.

DVC and Las Positas both post wins

Diablo Valley 77, Santa Monica 63

Diablo Valley College

Tyerelle (Monte Vista High) Phillips 6 4-8 16
Damon (St. Elizabeth High) Jones 5 3-3 17
Brian (Mt. Diablo High) Goins 6 0-1 13
Devon (Rodriguez High) Pouncey 5 3-5 13

and

Los Positas 75, De Anza 59

Los Positas College

Dylan (San Ramon High) Heath 7 0-1 18 (four treys)
Devonae (Skyline High) Leach 2 9-13 13
Jarred (James Logan High) Jourdan 5 2-2 12
Julian (Bishop O'Dowd) Redmon 4 1-2 10

De Anza College

Denzel (Santa Teresa High) Copeland 4 3-6 14 (three treys)

Cameron Schott/NCP all over the Torrey Pines Classic

Cameron Schott/Nor Cal Preps, has all the details on the latest from the Torrey Pine Classic tournament (Sheldon High, Archbishop Mitty and Newark Memorial).

Irvine takes down Northridge 71-62

In the Irvine victory, Will Davis totaled six points and six rebounds, Mike Best added five and three plus Chris McNealy, in an off-shooting night, packaged up seven points, six assists and six rebounds.

Weber State with another victory

Weber State had little trouble with Idaho State, winning 78-64 as Damian Lillard scored 25 points. Teammate Jordan Richardson contributed seven points and three assists. Frank Otis remains sidelined with an injury.

Northridge by one over Davis

Josh Ritchart came off the bench to score 19 points for UC Davis but it wasn't enough as the Aggies fell to Cal State Fullerton 65-64.

Kwame Vaughn totaled 17 points and D.J. Seeley 13 for the Titans.

St. Mary's by 16 over BYU

Rob Jones posted a 24/15 double-double in pacing St. Mary's to a 98-82 victory over visiting BYU. Freshman center Brad Waldow scored nine points for the Gaels. Welcome to the WCC Cougars.

Jesuit by 19 over St. Ignatius

Bonta Hill serves up the scoop on Jesuit's manhandling of St. Ignatius.

MC falls in semis, and more

Brian VanderBeek has the latest on the Modesto Christian Holiday Classic.

A Sac State hoops update

Jonathan Reed/Big Sky Basketball has the juice on a key to Sacramanto State's improvement.

But the Hornets fell Northern Arizona 73-64 last night in Flagstaff despite 17/8 from Konner Vetoto plus John Dickson's 13/4.

Frank Burlison offers a mighty comparison

AG = BG.

Longtime SoCal baskietball guru Frank Burlison had a revelation (or two) after watching Aaron Gordon in action AND Newark Memorial's 15-point takedown of LaVerne Lutheran and Grant jerrett.

Grant Vermeer with another mudt-read article

Grant Vermeer has another terrific Bellarmine Prep post up, bringing together the past and present -- gotta love the photos. I'll be the first to say he has a career in journalism in his future (if such a thing still exists) but his aspirations are undoubtedly higher and justifiably so.

Wendell McKines & Drew Gordon both go for double-doubles

Missed this from the day before: New Mexico jumped out to a 46-25 half time lead over rival New Mexico State and kept the margin throughout the second half, winning 89-69. 

Wendell McKines went for 25/14 but NMSU shot just 33% overall, going 1-14 on trey attempts.

Drew Gordon was also obviously inspired to the tune of 23 points and 19 rebounds as New Mexico shot 45% overall, 12-24 from long distance.

I'd say the Bay Area was repped quite well. 

DVC takes down #1 Citrus

In the Crowne Plaza Classic in Pleasant Hill, #1-ranked and undefeated Citrus College came up north to face Diablo Valley College. DVC led by 10 at the half, 42-32, eventually winning 77-75. Brian Goins paced both teams with 25 points.

Both squads are now 12-1 on the season.

Here's a game report from the Citrus site.

DVC 

Brian Goins 10 1-3 25 (four treys)
Ronnie Baker 5 2-2 13
Raphael Carter 5 2-3 12

Citrus

Brandon Parga 3 6-6 14
James Walker 5 4-6 14
Kerry Carter 3 3-4 11
Brandon Woods 4 0-0 11 (three treys)

It's MPC over Ohlone

Another double-double from Andrew Young paced Monterey Peninsula College to a win over Ohlone:

MPC 76, Ohlone 75

Andrew Young had 28 points and 17 rebounds to lead MPC. Shayne Perryman added 17 points and hit five 3s, and Conor Byrne had seven points and 13 assists for the Lobos.

Chabot, DeAnza and Las Positas all win in Chabot Classic

In games at the Chabot Classic tournament:

Chabot 74, Merritt 54

Chabot

Damarius Jones 8 2-2 21 (three treys)

Jameal York 5 2-3 14
Markese Fields 5 0-2 13 (three treys)

Merritt

Nick Capiti 3 10-13 16

and

De Anza 76, Napa 61

De Anza

Don Washington 7 7-8 21
Denzel Copeland 5 7-7 17
Frank Small 7 0-1 14
George Henderson 4 5-6 13

Napa

Brandon Cole 6 7-7 20
Jonathan Jackson 8 2-2 20

and

Las Positas 66, Alameda 62

Las Positas

Devonae Leech 4 7-10 15
Dylan Heath 5 4-7 14
Cedric Young 4 3-4 11

Alameda

Travante Williams 10 4-7 26
Matt Baiardi 5 0-0 12

Skyline over Northgate by two

In the Windsor High tourney, Paris Davis' 21 points and 11 rebounds double-double led Skyline High to a 51-49 victory over Northgate High.

Skyline

Paris Davis 7 6-8 21
Vincent Golson 2 8-9 12
Northgate

Connor Jean 6 1-2 16 (three treys)
Jonny Crosthwaite 6 0-3 12

An Aaron Gordon update

From the folks at Rush The Court:

"Aaron Gordon is being pursued hard by Kentucky, but according to Josh Gershon of Scout.com they still trail Washington and Arizona"

Bakersfield over FCC

From the Bakersfield Californian:

"Antonio Johnson had a game-high 17 points, including the go-ahead layup with four seconds left, to lift the Bakersfield College men's basketball team to 65-64 victory Wednesday over Fresno City College in the opening round of the Hancock Holiday Classic.

The Renegades (6-7) led 30-19 at the half and had to withstand a furious second-half rally by Fresno, ranked No. 3 in the state.

Former Bakersfield Christian standout Marcus Hall, who played a season at CSU Bakersfield, had 14 points for Fresno."

NorCalPreps on three NorCal teams playing down south

Cameron Schott/Nor Cal Preps has the scoop on what the Sheldon High, Archbishop Mitty and Newark Memorial teams are up to in the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic down in San Diego. 

Bill Paterson on Sacramento area hoops

Bill Paterson provides coverage of a number of Sacto area preps basketball teams.

Palma over San Ramon Valley

Noah Allen and Jack Powers led Palma High to a one-point win over San Ramon Valley High.

Bethel and SPSV both triumph

Bethel over El Camino High.

St. Patrick/St. Vincent over Will C. Wood High.

More Modesto Christian tourney coverage

Brian VanderBeek has another day's coverage of the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic.

SI over SC

Bonta Hill is all over the St. Ignatius takedown of Santa Cruz High.

Montana wins again, aided by Cherry

Will Cherry's 15 points (3-5 from long distance) helped lead Montana over Portland State 75-64 last night.

Tweets from Phil Doherty

Check out Coach Phil Doherty's latest tweets as he writes about Deer Valley's Marcus Lee, Palma's Noah Allen and Sheldon's Dakarai Allen. Allen was just offered by San Diego State.

Some national press for Jared Cunningham

ESPN's Myron Medcalf features former San Leandro High star Jared Cunningham.

Wendell versus Drew

It's Wendell McKines versus Drew Gordon tonight as New Mexico State hosts New Mexico in the second game of the season in this annual series.

Jason Groves of the Las Cruces Sun-News has the preview and some interesting background.

Mario Dunn receives some national notice

Salesian's Mario Dunn is highlighted by Jerry Meyer for his recent play in the City of Palms Classic tournament:

"Class of 2013 prospect Mario Dunn of Richmond (Calif.) Salesian High School impressed with his quickness and playmaking abilities. Dunn both broke down defenders and knocked down shots. Through three games, he averaged 11 points and five assists to three turnovers per game"

A Niyi Harrison interview

Niyi Harrison, formerly of Bellarmine Prep and now at Santa Clara, is interviewed by Bronco TV.

A Burbank High basketball feature

Bill Paterson writes about the Burbank High basketball team, last year and now.

Riordan over Branson

Bonta Hill was present and accounted for with the scoop on Riordan High's takedown of Branson High.

Some press on Bethel High hoops

Thomas Gase takes a look at Bethel High boys basketball.

Castlemont tops Vallejo

It was Castlemont High over Vallejo High by eight.

Townes leads Modesto Christian

Brian VanderBeek has the details on freshman Anthony Townes' near double-double-double in Modesto Christian's victory over Sylmar.

The Windsor Shootout tourney preview

Howard Senzell breaks down the teams and top players in the Windsor Shootout, which opens up today.

An update on MPC's Andrew Young

6-foot-9 Andrew Young was relatively unknown this season because he redshirted last year while at Monterey Peninsula College but now any degree of anonymity has completely disappeared. Being the leading total scorer and rebounder in the state, coupled with his size, will do that.

Early on, it was primarily mid and low majors with an awareness of and definite interest in Young and his capabilities. Sacramento State, UC Riverside, Cal Poly, San Diego, San Jose State and Cal State Fullerton were (and remain) in suitor mode.

Of late, that page has been turned, if not an entirely new book having been written.

Now some highly regarded programs are zeroing in on Young as word of his skills and size has spread. Among the latest batch of schools are Cal, North Carolina State, Gonzaga, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Cincinnati.

Big are always hard to find and landing one with a combination of ready-to-contribute body and skills set such as Young's are much rarer.

Options are good and Young will have many to choose from, with more certainly on the way.

Plus, as MPC Coach Blake Spiering put it, "Even with all this attention, Andrew's take is 'I need to work harder.'"

Remember Tim Harris?

Tim Harris was at St. Mary's for a couple of years before transferring to Concordia College in southern California.

In 11 games so far @ 19 minutes a contest, the sophomore Harris is averaging nine points each time out, shooting 42% overall, 32% from three-point range. He is also grabbing 2.2 rebounds each game.

Jeremy Lin back to the NBA?

Former Palo Alto High and Harvard backcourter Jeremy Lin is being eyed by a pair of National Basketball Association teams -- Marc Stein reports.

Top scorers in the California Collegiate Athletic Association

Here are the Top 20 scorers in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (as of December 20) -- the highlighted names are northern California connected:

1.  REGGIE JONES, CSU Stanislaus, 19.2
2.  NEFI PERDOMO, SF State U, 17.0
3.  BRANDON WARD, CSU Monterey Bay, 16.0
4.  BRANDON SPERLING, Humboldt State U, 15.6
5.  ROSHUN WYNNE, CS East Bay, 15.3
6.  MITCHEL ANDERSON, Cal Poly Pomona, 14.3
     MARK SAMUELS, CS East Bay, 14.3
8.  STEVEN PRATT, Sonoma State U, 14.2
9.  RANDY HUNTER, Humboldt State U, 14.0
10. WAYNE ANDREWS, CSU Dominguez Hills, 13.8
11. AUSTIN BRYAN, Humboldt State U, 13.6
12. KEVIN LOUSTALE, CSU Monterey Bay, 13.5
13. SCOTT CLARK, Humboldt State U, 13.4
14. QUINTON WATKINS, CAU Los Angeles, 13.2
15. THERON LAUDERMILL, CSU San Bernardino, 12.3
16. DAMARIO SIMS, CSU Chico, 12.2
17. SEAN PARK, CSU Chico, 12.0
18. TYLER McGRATH, UC San Diego, 11.5
19. NICK MARSHALL, CS East Bay, 11.3
20. PATRICK SCOTT, Sonoma State U, 11.2

Damian Lillard continues his run -- Big Sky POW

Damian Lillard has again been named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week.

Yuba area high school hoops report

The Appeal-Democrat features a column covering boys basketball up Yuba way, with updated information on Matt Hayes.

Honors for Clay Thorpe

Mark O'Meara has the details on Tam senior Clay Thorpe being selected Player of the Week.

A Vallejo High basketball feature

Jose San Mateo covers Vallejo High hoops, with an emphasis on Larry Wickett.

Press for Tajai Johnson

Thomas Gase features Vallejo High's Tajai Johnson in a really solid piece. Good for Tajai.

More info on the Modesto Christian tourney

Brian VanderBeek serves up a fan's guide to the Modesto Christian hoops tournament.

Press for Julian Welch and Jonathan Williams

Brad Winton has an article on the SLAM site about junior college transfers making a mark this season. Two have northern California connections:  

Julian Welch | Minnesota | 6-3/G

Welch made an immediate impact for the Gophers this season after transferring in from Yuba CC in California. Welch spent his freshman year at UC Davis and was named Big West Freshman of the Year. At Minnesota he is scoring 10 points per game in 23 minutes per night. He is shooting the ball well from the field as well (2FG%: 51, 3FG%: 42.5, FT%: 88). The Golden Gophers are off to a 12-1 start this season, but the true test will be when they enter Big 10 play. Last season they started off 11-1 and finished the season 17-4.
 
Jonathon Williams | Wagner | 6-6/SG/SF

Williams spent last season at City College of San Francisco and was named conference MVP, First Team All-State and helped guide CCSF to the California JC State Championship. Williams went nearly 3,000 miles to finish his academic and athletic career at Wagner. I’m sure there are many schools in between San Francisco and Staten Island that would love to have Williams now. Wagner is off to a 7-3 start under Danny Hurley and Williams is their leading scorer (13.9 ppg) and second leading rebounder (4.8 rpg). Williams is putting up these numbers in 24 minutes of action per night.

#1 versus #3 (we don't want fans to miss this)

 

 versus

It's still early but the matchup between #1 ranked Citrus College (12-0) and #3 ranked Diablo Valley College (11-1) is one all basketball fans should be marking down on their calendars.

The contest is scheduled for Wednesday December 28, @ 5 p.m. on the Diablo Valley College campus.

Brian Goins, Raphael Carter and the Vikings will be out to defend northern California community college hoops.

Citrus is always tough, having lost to City College of San Francisco in the state championship game 83-81 last season.

Valley Christian stands at 6-1

BayPreps offers an article on Valley Christian's fast start this season, plus an audio interview with Coach Marcus Martinez.

Highlight prep players from last week

From the Cal-Hi Sports staff, some outstanding stats from various NorCal players:

* Noah Allen (Palma, Salinas)

The Chieftains’ 6-foot-5 junior makes it two straight weeks after a 33-point outburst in a 69-57 win over visiting Burton of San Francisco. Allen recently starred as a pass catcher and defensive end for the Palma football team

* Tim Connolly (Stuart Hall, San Francisco)

After the team played its first nine games on the road, the Knights and Connolly in particular, liked home cooking a lot better in a home-opening 67-66 last-second upset of San Francisco Mission. The 5-foot-10 senior point guard had a career-high 32 points, to go along with eight rebounds and five assists, but it was his final two points, a layup with seven seconds left that sealed the win

* Luke Humphrey (Middletown)

With his team only up 30-24 at halftime, the Mustangs’ senior point guard scored 12 of his game-high 26 points in the pivotal third quarter of what ended up being a 68-43 rout of Kelseyville in the 18th Annual Lake County Record-Bee Hoop Classic. Three nights later in a title-game 72-54 victory over Lakeport Clear Lake, he outdid that performance with a 31-point outburst to lead his team to the championship

* Clayton Jubran (Los Gatos)

The Wildcats’ senior posted a solid double-double with 33 points and 15 rebounds (also six assists) in a 68-59 win over San Jose Gunderson

* Joe McGlaston (Dublin)

The 6-foot-4 junior went for 36 points to earn tournament MVP honors after his Gaels defeated California of San Ramon 84-77 in the title game of the Don Nelson Classic

* Gokul Natesan (Cupertino)

It’s a three-peat in this feature for the Pioneers’ senior after a 30-point, nine-rebound performance in a 50-37 victory over Oak Grove of San Jose. We don’t get many stat star worthy outings in 50-37 games, but that’s the kind of season that Natesan is having so far

* Robert Perry (Valley, Sacramento)

One of the top players in the Sacramento area, Perry scored a game-high 35 points in a 82-76 loss to Laguna Creek of Elk Grove

* Christopher Schwartz-Edmisten (Sacramento Waldorf, Fair Oaks)

Scoring a game-high 46 points, he led his team to a 78-61 win over Buckingham Charter. On the season, Schwartz-Edmisten is averaging what looks to be a state best at nearly 32 points per game

* John Seavey (San Marin, Novato)

He scored 17 of his 29 points in the first quarter and might have had more had he not had to sit out the second quarter with fouls in the Mustangs’ 55-45 victory over Petaluma. If Seavey keeps it up, San Marin may return to the CIF NorCal Division III playoffs

* Kiran Shastri (Miramonte, Orinda) 

The Matadors’ 6-foot-5 junior makes a second-straight appearance after scoring a season-high 36 points in a 85-63 win over Campbell Hall of North Hollywood at the Righetti Tournament

* Ronnie Turner (Alvarez, Salinas)

The Eagles’ 6-foot-5 sophomore turned it on with 39 points in an 80-39 blowout of San Lorenzo Valley of Felton.

"Ma'am, Jeffrey sucks"

Alan Stein offers -- by far -- the best video of the basketball season, and probably all basketball seasons ever.

Check out more from Alan.

The Modesto Christian Holiday Hoops Classic begins Tuesday

Brian Vanderbeek writes about the Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic.

Praise for San Diego State's Xavier Thames

From Matt Norlander:

"With a healthy assist rate of 58.9 percent and 5.4 assists per game, sophomore Xavier Thames is the Mountain West’s best point guard right now"

#1 versus #3

 

 versus

It's still early but the matchup between #1 ranked Citrus College (12-0) and #3 ranked Diablo Valley College (11-1) is one all basketball fans should be marking down on their calendars.

The contest is scheduled for Wednesday December 28, @ 5 p.m. on the Diablo Valley College campus.

Brian Goins, Raphael Carter and the Vikings will be out to defend northern California community college hoops.

Citrus is always tough, having lost to City College of San Francisco in the state championship game 83-81 last season.

Recruiting Ivy league style

Here's a fascinating article on recruiting in the Ivy League.

Salesian repping the Bay Area in the Sunshine State

Mitch Stephens offers the details on Salesian High's four game set back in Florida.

Sheldon High prevails

Joe Davidson writes about Sheldon High making noise (especially MVP D'erryl Williams) down south.

Remember Aki Chambers?

Theo Fightmaster profiles Aki Chambers who chose the road less traveled.

An update on Grant Vermeer's blog

2013 backcourter Grant "Boo" Vermeer has another entry at his Bellarmine College Prep basketball blog.

That introduction is actually bland-itis at its worst because Vermeer scored 38 points -- nearly half of the Bells' total -- in a recent win over Burlingame.

Read about the game and enjoy the anecdotes Vermeer supplies plus the photos -- go here for the new post and do bookmark his site.

A George Johnson update

Here's the latest on Heritage High 2013 point George Johnson:

"The 2013 Northern California point guard is out right now for about a week due to a sprained ankle but watch some recent footage"

Go here for the up-to-date video.

A note on Raphael Carter

Diablo Valley College's Raphael Carter earned Most Valuable Player honors at the recent West Valley College-hosted tournament and, according to DVC Coach Steve Coccimiglio, Carter was chosen for his all-around contributions.

"Raphael didn't up big numbers scoring but he played well overall," Coccimiglio said. "He did a good job against the big guy for Monterey Peninsula [Andrew Young] as most teams haven't been able to contain him. He also was effective against Foothill (plus five blocked shots and eight rebounds) and Alameda (nine points and nine boards)."

Springwater shining in the Big Apple

(photo courtesy of Herold Roy, Columbia University athletics)

In the latest piece posted at the the Columbia men's basketball site, Noah (University High) Springwater is credited:

"Rookie Noah Springwater has seen significant action lately and had an outstanding game on Dec. 2 at Loyola Marymount. Springwater scored a season-high 10 points, and had two rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes"

Williams and Wagner over Pitt

In 26 minutes of play, former CCSF player Jonathan Williams added seven points and a team-leading nine rebounds, aiding in Wagner's 59-54 takedown of Big East member Pittsburgh on Friday night.

Host DeAnza by two over Skyline

De Anza 61, Skyline 59

De Anza College

Don (Aragon High) Washington 8 7-10 23
Frank Small 5 3-5 13

Skyline College

Kyle (Mills High) Wong 7 3-4 21 (four treys)
Kenneth (Terra Linda High) Woodard 7 2-4 19 (three treys)
Anthony (El Camino High) Smith 3 4-7 10

Brad Waldow leads St. Mary's

Redshirt freshman Brad (Ponderosa High) Waldow scored 17 points (8-13 shooting) to pace St. Mary's over Missouri State 77-61. He achieved that point total in just 18 minutes of action. Rob (Riordan) Jones had an off=night scoring with seven points but grabbed a team-leading 10 rebounds.

SHP by two over Carlmont

John Reid reports on Sacred Heart Prep's last second win over Carlmont High.

Riordan on a roll

Bonta Hill has the details of Riordan's takedown of Balboa.

Cal State Fullerton beats Portland State

Kwame (Skyline High) Vaughn's 27 points (plus nine boards and three assists) led host Cal State Fullerton to a 92-86 victory over Portland State. D. J. (Modesto Christian High) Seeley was right behind with 23 markers.

Sac State falls short

Sacramento State fell 77-76 to visiting Southeast Missouri last night despite 24 points from John (Fairfield High) Dickson.

A Stephen Domingo update

Inna Lazarev recently tweeted this:

"2013 SF Stephen Domingo went for 20 points, 8 rebounds & 5 assists in a win tonight. Played 18min in first full game back from wrist injury"

Santa Barbara falls short at BYU

Orlando (Palma High) Johnson and James (Weston Ranch High) Nunnally each scored 22 points plus nine and seven rebounds respectively but UC Santa Barbara still fell to BYU 89-75.

Weber routs Utah

Weber State has no trouble handling in-state rival Utah to the tune of 80-51. Damian Lillard totaled 22 points and five assists. Jordan (West High) Richardson totaled nine points (a trio of treys) and added three assists.

St. Mary's comes up short

Rob (Riordan High) Jones totaled 14 points and seven boards and teammate Brad (Ponderosa High) Waldow contributed 10 markers but St. Mary's fell to Baylor 72-59.

Nitoto carries the Highlanders

Kareem (San Leandro High) Nitoto's team-leading 14 points plus three assists and two rebounds led UC Riverside to a 66-64 homecourt victory over San Jose State.

Holy Cross five better than USF

Host Holy Cross took down USF 88-83 as Angelo (Archbishop Mitty) Caloiaro's very efficient 16 points and four rebounds weren't enough for the Dons. Former Miramonte High big Eric Obeysekere carried the night for the Crusaders with 15 rebounds, 10 points and five blocked shots.

Santa Cruz tops Palma

Jerry Stewart has all you need to know about Santa Cruz High's 63-44 victory over host Palma High.

SF over Jesuit

Bonta Hill has the details of Sacred Heart's impressive win against Jesuit.

Redwood handles Marin Academy

Dave Curtis writes that Marin Academy has no answers for the Redwood High court tandem of Matt Mareno and Sandro diGrazia.

Dominguez Hills over Cal State East Bay

On the road, Cal State East Bay came close but fell 77-73 to Cal State Dominguez Hills. Roshun Wynne led the Pioneers with 18 points.

Azusa wins again

Junior Tyler (Inderkum High) Monroe and sophomore Robert (Clovis East High) Sandoval led Azusa Pacific to a 79-71 victory versus Trinity Western on Wednesday. Monroe totaled 20 points, plus seven rebounds and Sandoval nabbed seven steals, in addition to eight points plus four assists. He played for the Bay Area Hoosiers.

A Lakeshow player update

From Lakeshow Coach Joe Fuca comes updates on a few of his players:

* Matt Mareno, Redwood High, 2012 – MVP of tourney, scoring 30 points per night

* Tyler Charrettte, Berean Christian High, 2012 – scoring 30 points per game with a 46 point high

* Jonny Crosthwaite, Northgate High, 2012 – put up two double-doubles and all tourney twice

* Raymond Bowles, Modesto Christian High, 2013  – stock is rising, he's scoring 20 points per game

* James O'Neal, Freedom High, 2013 - team is undefeated, he's scoring 20 points per game

* Mikey Eggleton, College Park High, 2013 – he's scoring 20 points per game

Skyline by a trey over West Valley

Skyline 63, West Valley 60

Skyline College

Kyle (Mills High) Wong 8 7-8 25
Anthony (El Camino High) Smith 7 2-8 16

West Valley College 

Chris (Kennedy High, Fremont) Murry 6 3-4 15
D'vaughn (Kennedy High, Fremont) Mann 6 1-4 13

A Jonathan Williams update

Former CCSF star Jonathan Williams is the leading scorer for Wagner this season. He's averaging a team-leading 13.9 points per game on 54% overall shooting (in 24 minutes each time out). Williams is also grabbing 4.8 rebounds a contest, second on the squad.

More on Jabari Bird

Rush The Court offers an item on Jabari Bird -- it's the fourth item in the column.

Windsor over Ukiah

Windsor High just received a boost from some footballers moving over to the court and took down Ukiah High 54-35. Tanner Giddings scored 15 points. Howard Senzell offers the details.

Sac City by seven

Sacramento City continued its surge with an 80-73 win over road weary College of Martin. link

Soquel one better than Palma

Palma fell to Soquel High despite 17 points apiece from Noah Allen and Jack Powers.

Video of the Mitty win

Bay Preps has video of Mitty's 80-70 victory over San Leandro.

A handful of Sacto basketball scores

Bill Paterson reports on a bunch of games up Sacramento way.

Salesian having no trouble

Mitch Stephens reports on Salesian's romp over a Kentucky squad.

Cabrillo over Merritt

Merritt College traveled down to Aptos to battle Cabrillo College on Wednesday night but the hospitality wasn't of the Welcome Wagon variety. CC won 69-53 although Merritt atop by one, 30 to 29, at the half.

With 7:15 to go in the second 20 minutes, the Seahawks were ahead of the Thunderbirds 52-42. A Cabrillo zone resulted in a number of turnovers and less than solid looks at the basket for the Merritt, putting the game out of reach.

TBird Kareem Ransom hit a trio of treys (including an and1 variety) in totaling 12 points.

Thomas Pierce led Cabrillo with 16 points, earned through a variety of shots.

A feature on Newark Memorial basketball

Jack Rux/Newark Patch has a feature on hoops at Newark Memorial High.

Wendell McKines with a national mention

... Another player who deserves improper benefits: Wendell McKines got 23 points and 17 rebounds in New Mexico State's 82-62 win over McNeese State. The 6-foot-6 forward got 20 points and 16 rebounds in NMSU's previous game, a Monday win over Southern. That means he's averaging 21.5 points and 16.5 rebounds in his past two outings. (Note: I didn't even need a calculator to figure that out) ...

-- Gary Parrish

A pair of tweets on Archbishop Mitty hoops

Here's a pair of tweets from San Jose Mercury News Preps:

"Mitty beat San Leandro 80-70 to stay undefeated. Aaron Gordon scored career-high 40 points"

and

"Seeing Mitty for 1st time this season. Aaron Gordon is noticeably bigger, has much improved handle. Rest of WCAL is in for a long season..."

Las Positas by a trey over SJCC

Las Positas 83, San Jose City 60

Las Positas College

Julian (Bishop O'Dowd High) Redmon 6 0-0 17 (five treys)

Dylan (San Ramon Valley High) Heath 4 0-0 12 (four treys)

Wayne (Oakland Tech High ) Tucker 5 0-1 11

Devonae (Skyline High) Leach 3 4-5 11 

San Jose City College

Fabian Sebastian 8 1-2 17

Christopher (Oak Grove High) Turner 4 2-2 11
Keith (Hayward High) Martin 5 1-3 11

McArthur puts up a double-double

John McArthur's 12 points and 12 rebounds boosted visiting Santa Clara but the Broncos fell 72-71 to Houston Baptist on Wednesday evening.

Cunningham stars again

Jared Cunningham totaled 15 points, four assists and three assists in Oregon State's 92-66 romp over host Chicago State Wednesday night.

Jeremy Russotti is offering a post-Christmas basketball camp

Here's your chance for a holiday wish to come true -- working out with Jeremy Russotti.

The details:

Who: Boys and Girls grades 2-8, from beginning to competitive players
When: Wednesday December 28 and Thursday December 29
Time: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Davis Senior High School, small and large gyms (315 W. 14th Street - Davis, CA 95616 )
Cost: $85 if registered by December 21, $100 at-the-door registration

CAMP DIRECTORS: 1% Club Basketball Team,  under the direction of John Gelpi and Jeremy Russotti

NOTE:  IF YOU REGISTER AFTER December 21, THE FEE IS $100

Questions: karen@davishoops.com or Karen @ 530-219-8873 

Here is the link to register. Last year, we sold out at 100 campers.

*** Be sure to bring a water bottle and lunch to the camp, labeled with your name!

The latest community college basketball team rankings

California State Poll

1.   Citrus (12-0)
2.   San Francisco (12-2)
3.   Diablo Valley (11-1)
4.   Mt. San Jacinto (10-3)
5.   Fresno City (14-2)
6.   Yuba (15-3)
7.   Mt. San Antonio (8-4)
8.   Antelope Valley (9-2)
9.   Santa Rosa (11-4)
10. Irvine Valley (12-3)
11. Foothill (11-3)
12. El Camino (9-2)
13. Chaffey (8-4)
14. Las Positas (10-2)
15. Modesto (11-4)
16. Santa Monica (8-4)
17. Imperial Valley (9-2)
18. Los Angeles Southwest
19. Chabot (9-5)
20. Sacramento City (9-1)/Cosumnes River (9-5)

Northern California

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

Mack over Newark Memorial

Jimmy Durkin was present and accounted for in the McClymonds victory over visiting Newark Memorial High.

All about Sacto HS hoops

Bill Paterson serves up an informative article covering a number of talents in the Sacramento prep basketball scene.

Allen-led Plama wins

John Devine reports on Noah Allen's 32 points carrying Palma to a victory over Burton.

St. Mary's 16 better than Eastern Washington

Eastern Washington lost to St. Mary's 77-61 and Jonathan Reed has an item about Collin Chiverton's shooting proclivities.

Rob Jones produced a 19/11 double-double, his eighth of the year, for the Gaels.

Irvine falls to UCLA

UC Irvine lost 89-60 to UCLA (didn't think the Bruins could score that much) but Chris McNealy still produced 11 points and seven assists. Will Davis added six points and four boards.

Meet Cal State East Bay

Guess who is making some noise this season?

It's Cal State East Bay in Hayward.

The Pioneers, led by Coach Will Biggs, are currently 4-2 after taking down Sonoma State and perennial league power Humboldt State.

A member of the California College Athletic Association, CSEB currently tops the conference in scoring (88.5 points per contest) and is shooting 47% as a team.

Full of local and regional flavor, the Pioneers feature former Berkeley High star Mark Samuels, a 6-foot junior who is averaging 20.5 points per game (up from 14.3 last season) and shooting 56% overall.

Plus, 6-foot-2 senior Roshun Wynne is an Oakland native who is putting up 16.5 points each time out.

Former Rodriguez High and Las Positas College frontcourter Nick Marshall is showing his inside prowess with 6.4 rebounds along with a pair of blocked shots a contest as a 6-foot-6 junior.

Out of St. Joseph Notre Dame, 5-foot-7 Jacari Whitfield has joined up this season. He is averaging 9.7 points per contest, shooting 48% overall and 43% from long distance.

Other northern California talents on the squad are:

* Vincent Capellino, forward, 6-foot-6, junior (College of the Redwoods)

* Kenneth Farr II, forward, 6-foot-5, sophomore (Salesian High)

* Adam Watts, guard, 6-foot-3, senior, (Modesto Christian High/Modesto Junior College)

* Jurrell Turner, forward, 6-foot5, junior (Mt. Eden High/Mendocino College) -- he is averaging 9.7 points per game this season

* Ota Okungbowa, forward, 6-foot-2, freshman (Monterey Trail High)

As mentioned, the coaching staff is headed by Will Biggs currently in his 15th season. He has previously headed the programs at Ohlone College and James Logan High.

Darren French is Biggs' top assistant, a James Logan alum now in his third season. French has been on the bench at Cal State San Bernardino, Howard College in Texas, Colorado Northwestern Community College plus Tyler College also in Texas, Ventura College and also UC Riverside.

 Ray Villegas also work as a Pioneer assistant coach.

Sac City over Redwoods

 In what must have been quite the game to watch, Sacramento City College outlasted College of the Redwoods 112-104.

Sacramento City College

D.J. (John F. Kennedy High) McGee 8 4-6 23 (three treys)
Antoine (Luther Burbank High) Davis 8 6-9 22
Zach )Burbank High) Bartley 6 5-6 17

College of the Redwoods

Shaquille (John F. Kennedy, Oakland) Jones 10 9-14 31 (three treys)
Justin (Shasta High) Miller 7 2-3 21 (five treys)
Chuck Benton 7 6-8 20

Denver over Wyoming

Brian (Las Lomas High) Stafford had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists as Denver took down Mountain West Conference member Wyoming 57-46.

Weber romps over Mayville

Damian Lillard's 28 points and 12 boards powered Weber State to a 108-57 victory over out-manned Mayville State. Also, Jordan (West High, Tracy) Richardson put up a career high 23 points, including 7-8 from long distance.

Cal overpowers UC Santa Barbara

Even minus Jorge Gutierrez, host California was 20 points better, 70 to 50, last night versus UC Santa Barbara.

James Nunnally led the Gauchos with 10 points and six rebounds while Orlando Johnson put up nine and four.

SD State over UC Riverside

San Diego State was simply too much -- 80 to 55 -- for UC Riverside last night, amid some player matchups involving Bay Area and northern California talents.

Chase Tapley scored 17 points on 7-8 shooting for the victors, along with four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

Xavier Thames totaled nine points and six boards for the Aztecs.

Kareem Nitoto put together nine points, four rebounds and a pair of assists.

The best basketball squads in SF

Here are the Top 10 teams in The City, per SanFranPreps.

The lumberjacks over the Warriors

Humboldt State proved too much for Cal State Stanislaus to the tune of 91-76 last night. Here are the details.

Hayes' contract voided

Former Modesto Christian High grad Chuck Hayes was enjoying a homecoming, having signed to play for the Sacramento Kings. Now, all has changed.

Bob Padecky on Jacob Noisat

Bob Padecky has written a wonderful article on Dominican University's Jacob Noisat. Nothing more need be typed.

Yet another abuse of power

Any person in charge of anything, let alone a basketball coach, should have to explain his reasoning. St. Joseph's, as an institution, fails here, as do the AD and the school president. As for Coach Phil Martelli, yes, absolute power corrupts. Being unwilling to offer the foundation of your decision simply reeks. There's legal and then's there's moral and Martelli is failing in one.

The story is here, here and here.

Wendell McKines stars

A 20/16 double-double from Wendell McKines helped power New Mexico State to a 91-66 thrashing of Southern University.

Brian Barbour in the running

From Columbia University athletics:

Columbia junior Brian Barbour was selected as one of 65 candidates for the 2012 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award. The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in college basketball.

After an All-Ivy League honorable mention season as a sophomore, Barbour has raised his game in his junior season. Through 11 games in the 2011-12 campaign, Barbour leads Columbia in scoring (14.1 ppg), assists (3.1 apg) and steals (1.2 spg) averaging more than 33 minutes per game. Barbour also shoots 86.7 percent from the free throw line, one of the top marks in the country.

The original list of candidates will be narrowed down to a final twenty by January 1, final ten by February 1, and final five by March 1. A premier Selection Committee will be appointed by the Hall of Fame to review the final five candidates in contention for the nation’s top collegiate point guard award.

These Hall of Fame committees are made up of top college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, Sports Information Directors and Hall of Famers. The winner of the 2012 Bob Cousy Award will be presented at the Hall of Fame’s Class Announcement on Championship Monday in New Orleans as part of NCAA Final Four weekend.

Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award have included Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph’s), Raymond Felton (North Carolina), Dee Brown (Illinois), Acie Law (Texas A & M), DJ Augustin (Texas), Ty Lawson (North Carolina), Greivis Vasquez (Maryland) and last year’s recipient Kemba Walker (Connecticut).

The 2012 Bob Cousy Award Candidates: (we've included all the Bay Area/northern California-connected prospects)

Brian Barbour, Columbia

Will Cherry, Montana

Jared Cunningham, Oregon State

More on Brown's Missouri decision

Gabe DeArmond has some details on Jabari Brown's transfer to Missouri.

An Aaron Hendricks update

Received this about 6-foot backcourter Aaron Hendricks and we thank the sender:

Aaron Hendricks [formerly of Del Oro High) is doing well as a post-grad at nationally ranked New Hampton School in New Hampshire. A star and all-league player at Del Oro, Hendricks transferred to New Hampton for his senior year.

Here is a link to a story on New Hampton School winning the 42nd Annual Mercer Invitational this past weekend. Hendricks was named Most Outstanding Player for the entire tournament

At this point, there are a number of schools interested in Aaron. He has not made a decision yet given the season is young and the team has a number of prep showcases ahead of it.

On the local front, Sonoma State is very interested. I am sure other West coast schools would be too but most West Coast coaches have lost contact with him since he went back east to play in what many consider to be the premiere high school basketball league in the country - The NEPSAC. Here's a link providing comprehensive context on the league and New Hampton School.

That's the update for now.

Pete Hutchins heads the basketball program at New Hampton. He may be reached at 603-677-3578.

Brown grabs a Tiger by the tail

Jeff Goodman is reporting that Jabari Brown is headed to Columbia -- Missouri that is.The Tigers are 11-0 to date this season.

It will be interesting if there is any eventual NCAA fallout on Missouri Coach Frank Haith, due to his days at Miami.

Chabot by six over DeAnza

Chabot 82, DeAnza 76

Chabot College

Damarius Jones 7 4-8 22 (four treys)
Jameal (Edison High) York 4 6-6 16
J'Quon Wroten 4 1-2 11
Terrell (James Logan High) Gates 3 2-2 11 (three treys)

De Anza College

Denzel (Santa Teresa High) Copeland 6 3-3 16
Don (Aragon High) Washington 8 4-7 20

The honorees in the West Valley College tourney

MVP-Raphael Carter, Diablo Valley

* Brian Goins, Diablo Valley
* Benjamin Conaway, Alameda
* Travante Williams, Alameda
* Brett McConnell, Foothill
* Bradford Wyche, Canyons

DVC by 18

Diablo Valley College took down College of Alameda 76-58, winning the West Valley College tourney.

Cabrillo falls to Cosumnes River

Cabrillo College dropped a 71-67 matchup with Cosumnes River College, dropping the Seahawks to 8-3.

In the second half, Cabrillo could not keep CRC off the offensive boards and went down by 15 with 8:32 to play. 

The Seahawks then went on a run, cutting the lead to six with 2:58 to play. 

Cabrillo later had two wide open three point looks but could not connect and CRC nabbed the victory.

Aaron Short lead the Seahawks in scoring with 18 points. Frank Rogers scored 17 wityh Tyler Velasquez and Thomas Pierce each had 13.

CCSF wins tourney title

City College of San Francisco had no trouble winning the championship game of the Delta Holiday Tournament 91-57 over Cuesta College. The Rams' Raysean Hairston nabbed the most valuable player honor.

Sierra 85-62 over San Joaquin Delta

Mark Godi has all the details in Sierra College's downing of Delta.

Modesto over Reedley

Julius Brazzel post a 20/12 double-double leading Modesto JC to a 79-64 consolation victory over Reedley College in a tournament at the College of the Sequoias.

Fresno City College nabs another tourney title

Fresno City College has added yet another tournament championship -- 78-60 versus Allen Hancock in the tourney final at the College of the Sequoias -- to its résumé.

Drew Gordon honored

New Mexico senior forward Drew Gordon has been named the Mountain West Men's Basketball Player of the Week for games through December 18.

This is the third career weekly accolade for Gordon.

Gordon paced New Mexico with 13 points and 20 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season as the Lobos stretched their win streak to six games with a 66-56 victory over Oklahoma State at the 76th Annual All-College Classic in Oklahoma City last Saturday. The San Jose, Calif., native went 5-of-6 from the free throw line, and added two blocks and an assist. His 20-rebound performance was just two shy of the All-College Classic's record of 22, set by Wayman Tisdale in 1983.

Gordon was named to the All-College Classic All-Tournament team, and was tabbed the Most Valuable Player of the Bill Russell game, winning the Hank Iba award

A Washington and Desmond Simmons update

Based on PURE SPECULATION (no inside sources or even a reading of the proverbial tea leaves) but if Washington doesn't start getting serious and soon, how hot will Lorenzo Romar's seat become? UW is 5-5 and just lost at home by 19 to South Dakota State. It's beginning to look like combining Washington, UCLA and USC will produce a decent team.

Desmond Simmons totaled 11 rebounds and eight points in the Husky loss.

A Brandon Ashley update

Inna Lazarev tweeted the following after catching a Findlay Prep game:

"Arizona commit Brandon Ashley is on another level. Playing like a man amongst boys out here"

She has also posted other tweets recent on Ashley.

The latest on Jabari Brown

Alex Kline/Recruit Scoop has the latest on Jabari Brown:

"Georgia Tech is no longer involved in the recruitment of Oregon transfer Jabari Brown, per a source. Missouri is the probably destination"

Updates on Oliver Caballero & Jalen Hedspeth

Saw this in John Devine's latest column:

"I wish Alisal [High] grad and CSUMB [Cal State University Monterey Bay] center Oliver Caballero would get cleared by the NCAA"

Caballero played earlier for San Jose State University.

Speaking of Cal State Monterey Bay, freshman Jalen (Oakland High) Hedspeth remains a starter at the point.

A Merritt College basketball update

Checked in with Merritt College Coach Keenan McMiller on how his Thunderbirds are doing and he mentioned a pair of players specifically.

Kareem Ransom

Ransom, a 6-foot-3 sophomore out of Inderkum High in Sacramento, is averaging 10.6 points per game, shooting 54% (19-35) on trey attempts and 75% at the foul line.

Per McMiller, "Kareem has really stepped it up in the last three games" (scoring 14, 26 and 15 points respectively in a tournament at San Jose City College, where Merritt beat SJCC and Monterey Peninsula College before falling to City College San Francisco and finishing second).

"He was an all-tourney selection and his shooting well and playing well in front of a lot of coaches will help his recruiting. He has the grades so there's no question there. Kareem took a while to transition but he's a gym rat with a great work ethic who wants to be coached and get better."

Nick Capiti

A 6-foot-2 sophomore from Bishop O'Dowd, "Nick has a 3.5 grade point average and is leading us in scoring with 14 points a game. He's another one with a strong work ethic who worked this past spring and summer. Nick played really well in the Southern California Showcase during summer."

Capiti is shooting 58% overall and 45% on 20 trey attempts.

Plus, McMiller also offered that freshman point Josh Amey possesses a 5/2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

In talking overall, McMiller said "We're still learning how to close out games because we had a number of guys who didn't play a lot last year and are still transitioning from high school."

Cherry leads Montana

Montana topped Portland 80-65 last night led by Will Cherry's 20 points, nine boards, four assists and three steals.

Yuba tops Santa Rosa by 12

The court firm of Butterfield and Romero provided the push Yuba College needed to come back and top Santa Rosa Junior College 82-70. SpencerB totaled 28 points (earning MVP honors) and AnthonyR added 22 points.

The Appeal Democrat has a game writeup.

Phil Barber/Press Democrat takes a look at the matchup from the Santa Rosa perspective. Kevin Aronis had 21 points for the Bear Cubs.

A De'End Parker update

"... Junior swingman De'End Parker missed his eighth game in a row because of tendinitis in his knee ..."

Between this and an earlier concussion, Parker may be a redshirt candidate although UCLA Coach Ben Howland needs every available talent to salvage this season. Parker has played in just two games so far.

Sac High 13 better than Bakersfield

Bill Paterson has the details on Sacramento High topping Bakersfield High 57-44. The irony? Erik Kinney was a force all night, he being a Cal State Bakersfield signee.

Bill also offers all the other scores and mini-writeups from the tourney.

Antelope bulldozes Seaside

Kevin Merfeld reports that Antelope High had zero trouble taking down Seaside High 79-43 behind 21 Isaiah Ellis' 21 points and 11 from Gabe Bealer.

Newark Memorial three better than Bethel

Bethel High fell to Newark Memorial High 64-61 despite 17 points from Rodney Cook.

Modesto 91-80 over Sequoias

Modesto JC beat College of the Sequoias 91-80 behind 24 points from Desi Barmore. Bill Borekambi (featured here previously) totaled 21 points for COS.

Stanislaus 12 better than Sonoma State

The Modesto Bee reports on 6-1 Cal State Stanislaus taking down Sonoma State.

CCSF over Delta, plus three other games

Mark Godi has the game report of CCSF's victory over Delta, plus details on a trio of other junior college clashes.

Salesian falls to Montverde

In the Palms Tournament (Ft. Myers, Fla.) in first round play on Friday:

Montverde Academy 55, Salesian 42

Salesian High

Jabari Bird 5 2-2 12
Mario Dunn 3 3-4 9
Markel Leonard 2 2-2 7
Jermaine Edmonds 2 0-0 4
Jeffrey Parker 1 0-0 3
Freddie Tagaloa 1 0-0 2
Davion Mize 1 2-2 4
Jawian Harrison 0 1-3 1

From Brian Bosworth at NBE Basketball:

Jabari Bird (Salesian 2013) – Standing at 6’6” Bird is one of the most coveted shooting guards in the 2013 class. He constantly worked his way into the paint off the dribble and finished with floaters, dunks, and pull up jumpers. He also drew help defenders and then found open teammates for easy looks off his penetration. Bird did not show 3 point range (no attempts) but did everything else offensively you would want from a 2 guard.

Diablo Valley and Alameda win semifinal games

Sunday championship game: Diablo Valley vs. College of Alameda, 4 p.m.

In the West Valley College tourney semifinals:

Diablo Valley 53, Foothill 48

Diablo Valley College  

Brian (Mt. Diablo) Goins 6 8-8 20
Damon (St. Elizabeth) Jones 4 2-2 13 (three treys)

Foothill College 

Brett (Mountain View) McConnell 5 3-4 13
Spencer St. Francis) Britschgi 3 2-2 10
Darryl (Mills) Wong 3 1-2 10 (three treys)

and

In the West Valley College tourney semifinals:

Alameda 67, Ohlone 66 (OT)

College of Alameda

Travante Williams 7 4-8 22 (four treys)
Benjamin Conaway 7 0-0 18 (four treys)
Jordan Digulio 5 0-0 15 (five treys)
Ohlone College

Mikhael (Washington, Fremont) McKinney 3 9-9 16
Chris (Castro Valley) Read 7 0-1 14

Chico by two over Humboldt

The Chico State - Humboldt State rivalry enjoyed another chapter Saturday night with the Wildcats winning 65-63 over the Lumberjacks. Chico's Jay Flores scored on a layup with Humboldt's Brandon Sperling missing on a trey attempt in the final two possessions of the game.

Amir Carraway led the victors with 18 points while Randy Hunter's 17 topped Humboldt.

Here's a game report.

A Brian Stafford update

8-2 Denver is on a roll as the Pioneers topped Boise State 79-62 with senior co-captain Brian (Las Lomas High) Stafford displaying an all-around game of 18 points (6-7 shooting), three rebounds and two assists.

An Eli Holman update

In 17 minutes of play, Eli Holman totaled 12 points, nine boards and a pair of blocked shots in Detroit's 80-75 loss to Mississippi State.

You are definitely a student-athlete, in that order, at Cal Tech

Collin Murphy writes about life on and off the court as a student-athlete at Cal Tech. Just reading about the academics makes my head hurt.

Meet Bill Borekambi

Here's an interesting story on a newcomer to the College of the Sequoias squad.

Chiverton leads EW

Collin Chiverton's 26 points (four treys) in 30 minutes of court time paced Eastern Washington to an 83-72 win over Pacific Lutheran.

El Camino 10 better than SI

Undefeated El Camino High took on Saint Ignatius High and proved to be 10 points better, 54-44:

El Camino (South San Francisco)

Elijah White 7-7-25 (four treys)

St. Ignatius 

Trevor Dunbar 5-0-11
Stephen Domingo 4-1-9

Mitty by 20 over Newark Memorial

It was Archbishop Mitty 60-40 versus host Newark Memorial last night. The big numbers:

Archbishop Mitty High

Aaron Gordon- 19 points, 15 rebounds
Neil Vranicar - 10 points

Newark Memorial High

Casey Norris - 17 points

Foothill College and College of Alameda victorius

At the West Valley Holiday Classic:

Foothill 72, Siskiyous 66

Foothill College

Brett (Mountain View) McConnell 7 2-2 16
Spencer (St. Francis) Britschgi 5 0-0 15 (five treys)
David Fullenwiley 4 3-5 11

College of Siskyous

Lionel Delisca 9 3-7 21

and

Alameda 76, West Valley 70

College of Alameda

Travante Williams 9 6-10 31 (seven treys)
Benjamin Conaway 6 0-1 15 (three treys)

West Valley College

D'vaughn (Kennedy, Fremont) Mann 6 2-3 15
Kris (Kennedy, Fremont) Murry 6 0-0 15 (three treys)
A.J. (Santa Teresa) Hanley 4 4-6 12

UC Santa Barbara falls by seven to UW

Orlando Johnson showed up with a 24/10 double-double but UC Santa Barbara still fell 87-80 to host Washington. James Nunnally added 10 points and five boards.

Cal rolls over Weber State

It was California 20 points better than Weber State last night, 77-57 as Jeff Faraudo reports.The Wildcats reduced the lead to eight at one point but couldn't pull any closer. Damian Lillard had a 4-17 off shooting night, being the focus of the Bear defenders but he did pass for three assists versus zero turnovers and grabbed a trio of rebounds. The losses of frontcourters Frank Otis and leading rebounder Kyle Bullinger are hampering Weber.

Yuba High 10 better than Lincoln

Jimmy Graben reports that Yuba High got past Lincoln High to enter the Mel Good Holiday Classic tourney finals.

Yuba College wins again

The Appeal Democrat offers the details of Yuba College's win over American River, as Spencer Butterfield again led the charge.

It will be Seaside facing Antelope

John Devine reports that Seaside High will go up against Antelope High in the final of the Carmel Invitational.

Bethel High tops Clovis

Rodney Cook and Daseion Cole led Bethel over Clovis High.

Modesto falls again

Modesto Junior College fell to Riverside in a tourney hosted by College of the Sequoias.

Delta versus CCSF tonight in tourney final

It's Delta College versus City College San Francisco in the final of the Delta Holiday Tournament. Mark Godi has the details as well as scores on the other teams/games.

Santa Rosa tops Shasta

Kevin Aronis three-balled Santa Rosa Junior College to an 82-71 victory over Shasta College, putting SRJC into the final against Yuba College. The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat has the coverage.

Good news for Michael Lizarraga

Michael Lizarraga has received an NCAA waiver to play in the 20 remaining Cal State Northridge games this season.

Here is his Northridge résumé. Here's more.

Sonoma State lands a SoCal prep guard

Erik Boal reports that Sonoma State has received a commitment from a very interesting backcourter  from southern California.

Eric Sondheimer also has the news.

Here's some background on the young man.

A request from Damian Lillard

"I play at Cal tomorrow for everybody thats from the bay and thats in the bay. Come support 730 sharp"

The game is tonight (Friday)-- can Weber State take down the Bears?

Jonathan Reed is impressed.

Grant Vermeer blogging this season

Bellarmine College Prep junior Grant (Boo) Vermeer is blogging this season, providing insight into what the season is like for a player in one of the toughest leagues in northern California.

Here is his initial post, coming in November.

Grant has seven entries so far in December, blogging about various subjects including the games and tournaments involving the Bells.

So bookmark him and enjoy.

Do take a look.

Roman Robinson honored

Roman Robinson, formerly of Merritt College and Rodriguez High and now at Webster University (St. Louis), has been named the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Player of the Week.

For the season, he's averaging 12.7 points and 5.1 rebounds a game.

Webster University's Roman Robinson, a junior from Fairfield, Calif., has been named the Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the week of December 5-11.

Robinson, a 6-3 forward, averaged 16.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in three games. His top performance of the week was the final contest, a 68-64 loss to Austin College, in which he scored 21 points (on 9-of-15 shooting), grabbed six rebounds, had three steals and two assists. With the Gorloks down 13 and under three minutes remaining, Robinson led a 17-5 run to cut the lead to one with 12 seconds remaining.  n that two-and-a-half minute span, he scored eight points, had three rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Robinson began the week with 17 points (on 6-of-13 shooting), three steals and two blocks in a 74-50 loss at Washington University (Mo.). He also posted an 11-point, two-rebound, one-steal performance against Rust College (81-74 loss).

Santa Rosa JC over Mendocino

In a high-scoring affair, Santa Rosa Junior Junior College was six better than Mendocino College 101-95. Richard J. Marcus has all the details.

Vann Victorino becoming unstoppable

North Salinas' Daniel Vann Victorino has seen the light and he's lights out for opponents so far this season.

Yuba over Feather River

Yuba College had no trouble downing Feather River College for the second time this season, 95-71. As usual, it was a team effort led by Spencer Butterfield's double-double of 15 points and 12 boards.

Irvine falls but not without a fight

LSU took visiting UC Irvine down 66-59 but some NorCal talents performed well: in 32 minutes, Chris McNealy contributed nine points, eight boards plus three assists in 32 minutes, Will Davis totaled seven points and three rebounds in 20 minutes and Mike Best scored six points and nabbed two boards in eight minutes

Jared Cunningham with another spectacular play

Oregon State center Joe Burton brings the ball up, hits a flying-in-from-the-corner Jared Cunningham with a lob and, well, you know the rest. video

Reeves Nelson heads overseas

Brian VanderBeek has the news that former Modesto Christian player Reeves Nelson is going to play-for-pay via a passport.

Here's the Draft Express folks with an older analysis of Nelson and the NBA draft.

An Eric Obeysekere update

Eric (Miramonte High) Obeysekere is in his third season at Holy Cross after averaging 4.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. He ranked second in the Patriot League in blocked shots and eighth in total rebounding as a sophomore.

Thus far this season, he's putting up 2.5 points and 3.9 rebounds a contest with 12 blocked shots. Eric is playing at the five this season and seems to be coming on with seven points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots versus Sacred Heart, plus seven points, five rebounds and two blocks against Harvard.

A Kiel Myers update

Kiel Myers played the last two years at Sacramento City College and went the D-2 route because of his recruiting clock (a 2005 Valley High grad).

He signed with Hawaii-Hilo (not too bad of a place to earn a degree) and this season has started all six Vulcan games while averaging 10.7 points and 3.2 rebounds a game. The 6-foot-7 Myers is shooting 61% from the field, 62% on eight trey attempts.

Brian Stafford leads Denver

Denver beat Northern Colorado 71-65 last night behind 16 points from Brian (Las Lomas High) Stafford.

For the season, Stafford leads the squad in scoring at 14.9 points per game. He's shooting 52% overall, 49% from long distance and 90% at the foul line.

Jabari Brown down to two schools

Jeff Goodman at CBSSports has a piece up on Jabari Brown, writing that it's down to Mizzou and Georgia Tech.

Not sure what happened to or with San Diego State.

Eastern Washington and Chiverton come close

Eastern Washington kept it close but fell last night to UCLA 60-47. Former Archbishop Mitty star Collin Chiverton scored 15 points but needed 22 shots to do so.

Sheldon trio too much for Franklin High

Bill Paterson reports on the trifecta of Kyiron Thomas, D'Erryl Williams and Dakarai Allen powering Sheldon High over Franklin.

Orlando Johnson highlighted

Embele Awipi of the Salinas Californian offers a feature on UCSB's Orlando Johnson.

St. Patrick-St. Vincent by two over Vallejo

Jalen Canty and Jason Webster led St. Patrick-St. Vincent to a 66-64 victory over Vallejo High. The Times-Herald has the details.

(we earlier had Rodney Webster instead but he plays for Fresno City College -- sorry)

West Hills tops Modesto JC

(host) West Hills 86, Modesto JC 76

West Hills

Darius Gordon 19
Michael Balogun 16
Chace Polk 13

Modesto JC

Austin (Pitman High) Keaton 27 (15 rebounds)
Julius (Modesto High) Brazzel 23 (12 rebounds)