Major comes up big for Beyer boys hoops, posting career high in WAC win over Davis
The Beyer High boys basketball team hit a cold stretch during the second quarter against Davis High in a Western Athletic Conference matchup. Shots weren’t falling and the defense also wasn’t working.
It seemed like everything was going wrong. Until it wasn’t. Enter Prince Major.
The senior guard has come through in big ways for the Patriots during his career, including hitting a buzzer beater to send a game against Turlock into overtime, but Friday night’s effort might just be his best showing yet.
The 6-foot guard went off for a career-high 38 points, pouring in nine three-pointers to power the Patriots to a 59-44 win, keeping their playoff hopes alive as the Western Athletic Conference’s No. 3 seed.
“He’s just a kid that in big moments, he loves that,” Beyer coach Kyle McKim said of Major. “You can see it, he just loves the big moments, when some of our younger guys are faltering a little bit he just steps up.”
After the graduation of six seniors and two leading scorers from last year’s season, Beyer has needed Major’s leadership this year more than ever. He’s stepped up, teaching a squad that receives key contributions from a number of freshmen and sophomores. He hands out high fives like Halloween candy and constantly offers teammates advice.
“He’s done a great job leading this year honestly,” McKim said. “It’s very difficult to be as talented a player as he is and then to have to realize that our younger guys are going to make mistakes. How he deals with how they make mistakes really is big for our team. He does a great job of picking them up when they’re down and encouraging them to go harder. He’s been great to coach.”
Major added: “I love my guys and I’m just trying to teach them you can do anything you want, you just have to push for it.”
The Patriots opened up a 10-point first-half lead, then went cold from outside when Davis switched to a zone defense. The Spartans climbed back into the contest, cutting Beyer’s lead to 29-28 at halftime.
When the team needed him, Major caught fire. He hit four threes in the third quarter and three in the fourth. Those seven threes meant he accounted for 21 of the team’s 30 second-half points.
“My coach just told me ‘You have to take over the game right now,’” Major said of what changed after halftime. “We were having a bad shooting night, so I had to come up with it.”
He has set career highs in scoring twice this season, racking up 37 in a league game against Lathrop and beating that previous mark by one point Friday. The 38 points is the second-biggest single-game scoring output in school history.
“I think I’m having a breakout season so it feels normal,” he said. “On to the next game.”
The WAC was really good last year and for the first full season in McKim’s time as Beyer’s head coach, the team did not win 10 league games and failed to make the postseason. It has been the driving force behind this year and the team’s playoff push.
“It’s motivated me a lot,” Major said. “It hurt not just from me and my story, but from my coach too. He was hurting. It’s been years since he hasn’t made the playoffs. We’re just trying to do it big for him and make it special.”
Friday’s win over Davis was the first step. Wins in their final few league games are key for the Patriots to put themselves comfortably in the playoff picture. They play Johansen on Monday and Pacheco on Thursday. If they qualify, they find out their playoff fate Saturday, Feb. 10, via the Sac-Joaquin Section’s selection show at 1:30 p.m. on NFHS Network.
More boys basketball
Modesto Christian 67, Lincoln 61: Gavin Sykes iced the Crusaders’ 10th Tri-City Athletic League win with a pair of free throws. The win in the tightly contested game was the team’s 21st overall victory this season. Modesto Christian plays Bishop O’Dowd on Saturday afternoon.
Escalon 82, Livingston 54: Sam Jimenez posted 28 points, six steals, five rebounds and four assists to lead the Cougars to their 20th win this season. This is Escalon’s first 20-win regular season in about 20 years.
Ripon Christian 62, Hilmar 37: Jake Vander Veen (14 points), Amos Cady (12), Mason Tameling (11) and Luke Crivello (10) all scored in double figures as the Knights picked up another Trans Valley League win. The Knights play a pair of league games next week, taking on Riverbank and current league No. 1 Ripon.
Ripon 76, Hughson 69: A 20-point second quarter followed by a 22-point third helped Ripon keep Friday night’s TVL contest out of reach and keep hold of the league’s top spot heading into the regular season’s final week.
Stone Ridge Christian 59, Big Valley Christian 53: Big Valley lost its second straight league contest. The Lions are looking to secure their spot in the Division V playoffs.
Ceres 64, Los Banos 55: Ceres won its ninth WAC contest Friday night, giving the Bulldogs a chance to win 10 league games for the second time in three seasons. Ceres has two chances to earn win No. 10, Monday against Davis and Wednesday against Mountain House.
Buhach Colony 64, Central Valley 56: The Hawks dropped their seventh consecutive Central California Conference game Friday night. They finish the season next week with games Wednesday and Friday.
Patterson 56, El Capitan 52: Patterson needed all of David Nnaji’s 24 points to earn a key CCC win over El Capitan and jump into third place in the league standings. Up next is senior night Wednesday, when they will honor eight seniors.
Central Catholic 64, Kimball 53: Central Catholic remained perfect in Valley Oak League play. The win sets up a key home game against Manteca as the Raiders look to win the outright league title. Central Catholic won the first meeting on a TP Wentworth buzzer beater.
Sierra 62, Oakdale 57 F/2OT: It took two overtimes for Sierra to overcome an Oakdale outfit that would not go away in the battle of VOL opponents. The two ended regulation tied at 47 and were knotted at 53 after the first OT. Sierra outscored Oakdale 9-6 in the second OT.
Pitman 62, Turlock 48: Pitman bounced back after suffering its first Central California Athletic League loss against Downey with a win against its crosstown rival. The Pride still sit comfortably atop the league with one game left.
Gregori 56, Enochs 52: Jayson Powers scored 17 points and grabbed nine boards, Kaleb Smith scored 13 points and had four steals and Raphael Rosas added 10 points as the Jaguars won their third CCAL game. Gregori faces Modesto on the road Monday.
Downey 78, Modesto 57: Reuben Lewis poured in 30 points and Jayden Coehlo and Collin Eden added 15 and 10, respectively as the Knights earned a key CCAL win. They are knotted with Turlock at 5-3 in league play and will visit the Bulldogs Monday.
Girls basketball
Ripon Christian 37, Hilmar 17: Maddie Yonker posted another double double for the Knights as they beat Hilmar by 20. Yonker scored a game high 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Reagan Vander Hoek finished with a team high 16 rebounds.
Escalon 45, Livingston 22: The Cougars sent their four seniors out with a win in their final home regular season contest Friday night. Escalon led 33-7 in the second quarter, its largest lead of the game.
Hughson 50, Ripon 33: Hughson completed a difficult stretch with back-to-back wins. After beating Riverbank Thursday, the Huskies comfortably beat Ripon. Hughson can win the TVL title outright with a win over Escalon Tuesday.
Boys soccer
Ceres 2, Mountain House 0: Juniors Enrique Murillo and Samuel Vargas scored for the Bulldogs as the team earned its fifth WAC win. Ceres closes league play Monday against Davis.
Enochs 3, Pitman 0: Christian Khanishian, Carlos Fernandez and Diego Lopez each scored a goal for the Eagles, keeping them in the postseason race. Matthew Jacobs and Haidyn Stevens combined for the shutout.
Orestimba 13, Mariposa County 1: Eight Warriors scored at least a goal led by Bryan Carmona, Emilio Navarro, Alfredo Figueroa and Cristian Garcia, who tallied two goals apiece. With the win, Orestimba remains in the playoffs with two league games left.
Turlock 2, Downey 1: Senior Luis Oliveros and sophomore Eric Sambrano each scored a goal for the Bulldogs, who bounced back from two straight losses. Turlock finishes the regular season against Modesto while Downey ends with Enochs. Both play Monday.
Gregori 4, Modesto 1: The Jaguars stayed perfect in CCAL play with its win over Modesto. They search for league win No. 10 Monday at Pitman, the CCAL’s second best team.
Pacheco 5, Beyer 0: Beyer dropped its 10th WAC contest this season Friday. The Patriots finish the season Monday against Johansen.
Girls soccer
Beyer 1, Pacheco 0: Beyer scored the only goal in the second half, completing a season sweep of Pacheco. The Patriots are fourth in the WAC and have two chances to try to rise in the league standings against Johansen and the league’s No. 2 team Lathrop on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
Turlock 3, Downey 1: Turlock earned a CCAL win over Downey in its penultimate game of the 2023-24 season. The Bulldogs scored twice in the first half and added one in the second. Downey’s goal came in the first half.
Mountain House 5, Ceres 0: Jayden Reynolds netted a hat trick and Fuatai Mose scored twice for the first-place Mustangs. Mountain House picked up a program record 11th league win this season. Ceres is looking to maintain third in the WAC standings and earn a postseason berth.
