As high school rivalries go, this one always heats up nicely.

Called the "Holy Court Game," Christian Brothers and St. Francis met Friday night at CBS with an announced sellout of nearly 1,500.

Students from both schools provided a mini-version of Duke-North Carolina with chants and cheers, prompting CBS coaches to use flash cards to call out sets and defenses since yelling accomplished only strained vocal cords.

CBS prevailed in the nonleague contest 53-49 in overtime. Falcons coach Ron Gully said his team admirably kept its composure after trailing 28-19.

"Our team was nervous with the crazy crowd in the first half," he said. "We talked at halftime about getting stops – one possession at a time – and chip away."

Forward Ana Burch led CBS with 16 points.

"It's a huge win for our school and CBS basketball," Gully said, heaping praise on the Vic Pitton-coached St. Francis team led by MacKenzie Conarro. CBS moved up five spots in The Bee's rankings to No. 13. St. Francis remained No. 9 after recovering with a 46-43 win over previous No. 6 Kennedy.

Newcomers to Top 20 – Del Campo, West Campus and River Valley each make their season debut in the rankings. No. 18 Del Campo, a team with much tradition, is led this season by coach J.J. Anderson and top scorer Amora Harding. No. 19 West Campus, under coach John Langston, seeks the program's fifth successive playoff berth. Coach Tom Zaragoza and leading scorer Aleqse Hawkins have No. 20 River Valley of Yuba City seeking its first playoff trip.

League showdown week – A closer look at some key league showdowns this week:

• No. 2 Oak Ridge visits No. 3 Pleasant Grove in a terrific Delta River League opener tonight. Pleasant Grove went 0-3 against Oak Ridge last season and has lost locally only to top-ranked Sacramento. Pleasant Grove is led by Marissa Wimbley, Avonna Lee and Dejza James, and Oak Ridge is paced by Lauren Sende, Jenn Hoffman and Jenna Klein. Pleasant Grove on Saturday plays at national power St. Mary's of Stockton.

• Kennedy, featuring scoring ace Lynette Johnson, plays tonight at No. 17 Valley, with leading scorer Shanetra Robinson. The Cougars welcome No. 5 Florin – with anchors Daijah Joe-Smith, Deja Conger and Dalayna Sampton – on Thursday.

• No. 8 River City and leading scorer Katie King host Liberty Ranch and top talent Selina Moore on Wednesday in a Sierra Valley Conference opener. River City has won 15 in a row.

• No. 4 El Camino, under first-year coach Rich Drawbert, plays at No. 6 Antelope, led by Ashley Hawkins and Tyler Ellis, on Friday in a Capital Athletic League showdown. Defending champ El Camino is led by Simone Sheppard, Courtney Brignac, Jade Sowell-Hundon and Alexis Price.

THE BEE'S TOP 25

PR – previous ranking; records through Sunday

Team W-L PR

1. Sacramento 8-6 1

2. Oak Ridge 11-4 3

3. Pleasant Grove 7-5 2

4. El Camino 13-3 7

5. Florin 12-3 4

6. Antelope 10-4 5

7. Sheldon 12-4 10

8. River City 16-1 8

9. St. Francis 7-6 9

10. Kennedy 11-4 6

11. Del Oro 8-7 11

12. Woodcreek 10-5 13

13. Christian Brothers 9-5 18

14. Inderkum 9-5 14

15. Bear River 11-5 12

16. Monterey Trail 13-4 17

17. Valley 9-4 15

18. Del Campo 10-8 –

19. West Campus 10-5 –

20. River Valley 12-4 –

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

For Joe Davidson's prep news and updates on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson.

• Read more articles by Joe Davidson