Prep basketball notes: New section championship location, midseason Top 10 revealed

The 2024 Sac-Joaquin Section basketball championship games will be held at two different locations this year after being strictly at Golden 1 Center for the past few years.

Because of a rescheduled Madonna tour, the section was forced to find a new location for the games that were to be played Feb. 24, section assistant commissioner Will DeBoard said in an email to The Bee.

The games will be held at Golden 1 Center on Wednesday, Feb. 21, and at UC Davis on Friday, Feb. 23. Boys and girls Divisions I, II and III will be at the home of the Sacramento Kings, and divisions IV, V and VI will be at UC Davis.

“It’s tough because most college sites are near the end of their seasons and they can almost never provide two consecutive days because either men’s or women’s teams are going to be at home either on Friday or Saturday,” he said in the email.

The section had to change around its entire playoff format. Now, the basketball postseason will begin with Division I through IV outbracket games Feb. 12 with first-round games Feb. 13 (D-IV through D-VI) and Feb. 14 (D-I through D-III).

“It’s the best available spaces that will provide a true championship atmosphere for these teams,” DeBoard said.

Games will happen in two-hour increments. Division VI and D-III girls will tip off first at 10 a.m., and D-IV and D-I boys will play at 8 p.m. at their respective locations.

Riverbank’s girls and Modesto Christian’s and Ripon Christian’s boys are all looking to secure another section title game appearance after playing for blue banners last season. Modesto Christian won its second straight section title in Division I and leads the section with 21 overall. Ripon Christian took home a D-V title, the program’s 12th. Riverbank fell to Colfax in the D-IV title game.

Midseason boys and girls basketball Top 10

Local tournaments are done and league play is here for boys and girls basketball teams across California.

Just one unbeaten Stanislaus District basketball team remains as Patterson’s boys and girls teams both lost since the early-season rankings were released. Just Escalon’s girls team is still perfect with an impressive 16-0 record after its first Trans Valley League matchup Thursday, a nailbiter against Riverbank.

The midseason is The Bee’s second rankings this season. Results in tournament games and nonleague top 10 showdowns heavily influenced movement on both the boys and girls side.

Here is a look at the newest rankings as league play across the area picks up:

Boys

Modesto Christian remains the area’s premier boys hoops program. The Crusaders on Dec. 30 won the Holiday Hoop Classic for the third straight year, becoming the first three-peat tournament champion in the prestigious event’s 20-plus year history. Sophomore Rashod Cotton took home tournament MVP honors. They have won eitght of their last 10 contests and continue to climb up the section and state rankings. They are currently the No. 5 team in the SJS, according to MaxPreps. They face St. Mary’s and Lincoln of Stockton, which both are among the top 12 teams in the Sac-Joaquin Section in the second week of Tri-City Athletic League play.

The No. 2 and No. 3 teams from our early-season rankings matched up Saturday night when Pitman visited Patterson. Though the Pride led 24-21 at the half, Amari Coley and David Nnaji led a second-half charge that gave the Tigers a 45-37 win. Because of a Dec. 21 loss to Central Catholic, they did not move up or down, staying at third. The Raiders move from fourth to second. Pitman drops to fourth.

Beyer stays in seventh. The Patriots have won seven of their last nine games, but fell Friday night to Ceres 69-65 in overtime.

Top 10

Records through Saturday, Jan. 6

1. Modesto Christian (10-2)

2. Central Catholic (11-5)

3. Patterson (11-4)

4. Pitman (8-3)

5. Ripon Christian (11-5)

6. Turlock (7-7)

7. Beyer (9-6)

8. Big Valley Christian (15-2)

9. Gregori (9-8)

10. Riverbank (13-4)

Bubble Teams: Ceres (9-6), Downey (5-11), Enochs (6-10), Escalon (13-3), Johansen (7-9), Ripon (13-5)

Girls

Escalon is the new No. 1.

After going 0-3 against Riverbank with a loss in the section Division IV semifinals, the Cougars got their revenge on the Bruins in dramatic fashion. Strong first and third quarters kept the game close and senior guard Sammy Lang finished it off with a game-winning layup. Escalon is the only unbeaten girls team in the Sac-Joaquin Section at 16-0 and is hoping to return to the top of the TVL. It takes on Ripon Christian and Ripon in its second and third league games.

Central Catholic is a new addition to the Top 10. Since the last installment of the rankings, the Raiders beat Ripon Christian to win their own MST Gallo Tournament championship. The Knights were forced to play without leading scorer Maddie Yonker, who left the contest in the first half. Ripon Christian is 3-2 in its last five outings, beating Sonora, Liberty Ranch and Stone Ridge Christian and losing to Central Catholic and Hughson in a league battle.

Patterson lost its first game of the season, but doesn’t fall far. The Tigers drop to third, behind the top-ranked Cougars and No. 2 Bruins.

Hughson and Ceres faced off in a nonleague game that went down to the wire. The Huskies went up 20-8 after one quarter, but Ceres slowly crawled back into the game, making things interesting late. Hughson held on for a 51-45 win.

Top 10

Records through Saturday, Jan. 6

1. Escalon (16-0)

2. Riverbank (10-4)

3. Patterson (16-1)

4. Gregori (9-8)

5. Hughson (11-6)

6. Ceres (9-2)

7. Pitman (5-4)

8. Ripon Christian (4-4)

9. Hilmar (7-3)

10. Central Catholic (8-8)

Bubble Teams: Davis (7-5), Johansen (8-7), Orestimba (8-8), Ripon (7-9)

Ceres girls basketball off to historic start

The Ceres girls basketball team is off to its best start in nearly 20 seasons, after carrying a 9-5 record into the second week of Western Athletic Conference play. The Bulldogs’ nine wins during the nonleague schedule are the most since they won 10 nonleague games during the 2006-07 season. They are guided this season by second-year head coach Megan McGill. This year’s win total is already more than the entire 2022-23 season.

“Last year, we won six games, so we’re stoked and the girls put in all this work over the summer,” said McGill. “They were in the gym right after the season ended, some of them did travel ball, we did summer league at MJC and they just wanted to work and it’s just so nice to see this paying off for them.”

This year’s team returned three starters from last season’s squad. Four starters are just sophomores, which gives McGill a great foundation to build on. McGill said the team’s goal this season is the WAC championship.

Holiday Hoop Classic results

Modesto Christian took the Holiday Hoop Classic championship for the third straight season with a win over Vanden on Saturday, Dec. 30. The Crusaders have made the past four Holiday Hoop championships and are the first team to three-peat as champions. In 2021, they beat Durango of Nevada, last year they bested Clovis West. Rashod Cotton was the fourth Crusader to win tournament MVP honors, and the second sophomore in three years. Guard Jeremiah Bernard and forward Dre’Von Johnson were named to the All-Tournament team.

Transfers make big impact in early season action

A number of Sac-Joaquin Section winter sports teams finally are at full strength. A number of athletes serving the mandatory sit-out period became eligible Dec. 30.

Modesto Christian had four players suit up for the Holiday Hoop Classic championship game against Vanden. Junior Ry Atkins, sophomore Myles Jones, junior Gavin Sykes and senior Marcus Washington saw their first action of the season. Sykes and Jones, both highly touted prospects with multiple Division I scholarship offers, combined for 38 points to help lead the Crusaders to the tournament championship.

Downey High transfer guard Jayden Coelho became eligible about halfway through the Knights’ nonleague schedule and immediately made an impact. He scored 23 points in his first game against River Valley and 20 against Vista Del Lago in a pair of wins to help the Knights reach the championship of the Joe Bowers Memorial Tournament. He also had a pair of good showings at the Holiday Hoop Classic, scoring 28 against Edison and 23 against Immanuel in their final game of the tournament.

“He’s pretty solid on defense but offensively he helps our guys be in their right roles,” Downey coach Mitch Evans said of the senior who had prior stops at Oakdale and Modesto Christian. “He can handle the ball, shoot it and drive. When we didn’t have him, we had to ask guys to play outside their role but now that he’s here, he’s helped them flow into what they’re good at.

Coelho did not have to sit out the full transfer sit-out period because of a valid change of residence.

Hughson coach earns milestone victory

Hughson head girls basketball coach Tim May earned his 100th career victory earlier this season in a 59-40 win Dec. 15 over Sonora. After the win, the team honored him with a sign and picture on its home court postgame.

Since May took over the program before the 2017-18 season, the Huskies have not had a losing season. They finished with a .500 win percentage or better in TVL contests in each season but one with a pair of co-TVL titles. They also have two seasons of 20-plus wins.

“A lot of hard work from a lot of people,” said the coach in his seventh varsity season after a nonleague win over Ceres. “It feels good to turn the program around and win consistently. It was nice to have the team recognize that and to have the support of the parents and the school and all my assistant coaches. This is a scrappy team and we’re figuring it out.”

Pitman guard reaches 1,000-point mark

Pitman High guard Avery Sanchez scored his 1,000th career points over the holiday break. The 6-foot-2 junior reached the milestone in the Pride’s game against Central of Fresno in the Clovis West Nike Invitational. Sanchez reached the 1,000-point mark in just his 66th high school game. He is fourth in Pitman High history in career points scored (1,066) with a season and a half left in his high school career. Sanchez averages over 20.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.2 steals on the season and looks to lead the Pride through the CCAL and into the playoffs. League play starts Jan. 10.

Holiday Hoop standouts

There were a number of big performances at Modesto Christian’s Holiday Hoop Classic from top scorers, rebounders, shot blockers and defenders in Northern California. Here are some of the standouts:

Rashod Cotton, Modesto Christian (Tournament MVP)

Dylan Mansour, Campolindo (All-Tournament)

Jeremiah Bernard, Modesto Christian (All-Tournament)

Dre’Von Johnson, Modesto Christian (All-Tournament)

E.J. Campbell, Mountain House (All-Tournament)

Ahsan Huff, Vanden (All-Tournament)

Tyler Thompson, Vanden (All-Tournament)

Mateen Rafiq, Weston Ranch (All-Tournament)

Shamar Jones, Mountain House

Mario Williams, Venture Academy

Darrion Lilly, Weston Ranch

Richard Banks, Weston Ranch