It's a potent brew: mix teams either fighting to make the playoffs or battling for a top-four postseason seed with compressed league schedules that account for a heavy portion of a team's power rating.

It makes for some surprising results each week. Among the recent examples:

• Mitchell Padilla's buzzer-beating baseline runner Friday gave unranked Oakmont a 55-53 win over No. 9 Bella Vista, the defending Capital Valley Conference champion. The win came two days after Bella Vista outdueled No. 10 Del Campo 64-57 on the Cougars' home court. Bella Vista, Del Campo, Oakmont and Casa Roble are tied for first place with 2-1 records entering tonight's action.

• Anthony Lee's three-point attempt in the final seconds barely missed as No. 15 Folsom fell to No. 3 Pleasant Grove 58-56 in a Delta River League game Friday. In the fourth quarter, Folsom forced four turnovers, held the Eagles to three baskets in 13 attempts and outscored Pleasant Grove 15-8. While Pleasant Grove is 3-0 in league (18-1 overall) entering tonight's game at No. 2 Jesuit, Folsom takes an 0-3 league record to Ponderosa.

• Andrew Schmidt hit two free throws and Cole Jacobs made another – his 25th point of the game – as Roseville rallied from 15 points behind in the second half to top defending Sierra Foothill League co-champion Granite Bay 69-66 Thursday in Roseville. The win moved No. 18 Roseville into The Bee's rankings for the first time this season.

"League wins are huge because home cooking is so big in the postseason," said Burbank coach Lindsey Ferrell, whose defending Metro champion and No. 8 Titans were upset 48-45 by then-No. 18 Valley (a game Ferrell missed) on Jan. 13.

"You've got a team like Valley that's now in Division III, so a league win really helps them, while a loss hurts teams like us trying to get a top-four seed and two home playoff games."

Added Bella Vista coach Dave Gonzalez, "League is such a grind because every win is so important and every loss so costly."

Both know from experience. Burbank (in D-I) and Bella Vista (in D-II) lost second-round playoff games at Jesuit and Antelope, respectively, last season.

"That Antelope playoff game was a very intimidating environment," Bella Vista senior forward K.J. Logue said of the Titans' renowned Red Zone student rooting section. "I think if it had been reversed and we had played them at our place, the result would have been different. So we're playing for that fourth seed. We can't take any games off."

Huskies win in Bay Area – Armani Hampton's two three-pointers to open the fourth quarter broke a 39-39 tie as No. 1 Sheldon defeated Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland 59-50 in the second of three showcase games Saturday at Contra Costa College in San Pablo.

Dakarai Allen led Sheldon with a game-high 15 points. Hampton finished with 14.

Sheldon plays at No. 12 Oak Ridge tonight, then hosts Pleasant Grove on Friday, both key Delta River League games.

Making waves – Senior guard Chris Schwartz-Edmisten, who averaged 30 points for Sacramento Waldorf last season, continues to be an offensive force for the small Fair Oaks private school.

He scored 43 points Friday in the Waves' 61-53 win over rival Victory Christian of Carmichael in a battle of Central Valley California League unbeatens.

Coach Dean Stark's D-V Waves entered the week 16-3, the losses to higher-division Burbank, Encina and Highlands.

Dominant Darius – Sacramento High's Darius Graham showed why he's a scholarship player in scoring 22 points, including four three-pointers, in No. 4 Sacramento's 77-39 dismantling of No. 11 Kennedy in a battle of Metro unbeatens Friday in Oak Park. The 5-foot-10 senior point guard signed with UC Davis in November.

THE BEE'S TOP 20

PR – previous ranking;

records through Monday

Team W-L PR

1. Sheldon 15-3 1

2. Jesuit 15-4 2

3. Pleasant Grove 18-1 3

4. Sacramento 14-5 4

5. Antelope 18-1 5

6. Foothill 17-3 6

7. Franklin 15-4 7

8. Burbank 14-5 10

9. Bella Vista 16-4 8

10. Del Campo 16-4 9

11. Kennedy 14-5 11

12. Oak Ridge 11-8 12

13. Center 14-5 13

14. Del Oro 13-7 16

15. Folsom 10-10 14

16. Capital Christian 15-4 17

17. Valley 12-7 18

18. Roseville 12-8 –

19. Granite Bay 10-10 15

20. Cosumnes Oaks 14-6 –

– Bill Paterson

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