Prep basketball news, notes, rankings: Showdowns include No. 1 Jesuit vs. No. 2 Folsom
Next month, the Sac-Joaquin Section basketball playoffs start, and to be sure, the Division I boys race will be a scramble with as deep of a field as there has been in years. A lot of years, actually.
The contenders will include Bee No. 1 Jesuit, No. 2 Folsom, No. 3 Inderkum, No. 4 Capital Christian, No. 11 Monterey Trail, No. 13 Grant, No. 14 Sheldon and No. 15 Oak Ridge, not to mention defending champion Modesto Christian, the top-ranked boys team in Northern California, according to NorCal Preps.
What adds to the intrigue are head-to-head matchups this month in nonleague play, heavies taking on heavies in showcase events. It happened Saturday when Folsom pulled away to down Capital Christian, 66-54, and there will be a 1 vs. 2 meeting this Saturday to cap the all-day-long Sheldon Challenge when Jesuit takes on Folsom in the 9 p.m. nightcap.
At 6 p.m. in the same event, Capital Christian plays Inderkum, followed by Sheldon against Central Section power Clovis West.
When the section selection committee meets to seed the brackets following the Feb. 10 regular-season finales, they will crunch numbers and compare data, none more striking than head-to-head competition.
“And this all sets the stage for possible rematches in the playoffs,” Capital Christian coach Mike Lorente said.
Jesuit rolls on without star Stojakovic
Jesuit remained unbeaten in section play after racing past Sheldon 78-58 on Friday in Delta League action and beating rival Christian Brothers 74-57 on Saturday night in a nonleague contest.
Against Sheldon, Kevin Haupt Jr. made his home debut for the Marauders. The All-Metro guard from Oakmont had to wait 30 days to play, per CIF transfer policy, and he dazzled with 31 points, including six 3-pointers. Cole Epperson had 17 and Reid Jones 18 for Jesuit, which played without two starters in Owen Ubaldo and the area’s top recruit and player in Stanford-bound Andrej Stojakovic, who is out with a foot/ankle injury.
Social media speculation that Stojakovic is out for the season is a bit premature. His father, retired Kings All-Star shooter Peja Stojakovic, told The Bee after the game that the injury is not serious and that the 6-foot-7 guard “should be back soon.”
Jesuit athletic director Hank Weinberger said Stojakovic is working to rehab a “lower extremity injury. We are being very cautious on his return as we want him to come back when he is 100%. We expect him back soon and he has shown great progress in his recovery.”
Jesuit proved that it is hardly a one-man show, though that one man is quite a show. Coach Tim Kelly has been pleased with his team’s ball movement, shooting and defense. Against Christian Brothers, Haupt had 17 points and Ahjani Lewis produced 29.
Folsom’s CC effort
Folsom is big, skilled, young and dangerous again under coaches Mike Wall and Matt Mills, and the Bulldogs displayed all of that against a similarly talented Capital Christian team.
Chase Rawlings, a 6-3 sophomore guard, had 19 points off the bench to lead Folsom, which is 15-1 and lost only to Rio Americano. Senior forward David Young had 16 and senior guard Micah Johnston had 13.
Folsom opened SFL play with a 72-49 rout of Del Oro, leading 34-13 at the half behind strong defense. CJ Willenborg had 15 points, Johnson 12, Rawlins 11 and Taniela Tupou 10. Folsom visits Rocklin in SFL play on Wednesday and hosts Whitney on Friday before the Jesuit showdown on Saturday.
Big on Beaman
Braeden Beaman of Sacramento Adventist Academy is playing big for the small-school powerhouse.
The senior last week against Valley Christian Academy of Roseville had 22 points, a school-record 27 rebounds, 10 assists and four blocked shots — and he had the final seven points to power the Capitals to a 90-88 victory.
Coach Scott Tedmon, in his final season on this bench (he doubles as a judge for the Superior Court of Sacramento), has asked his best player to rise to the challenge. Beaman has responded. He is averaging 25.2 points and 10.6 rebounds for the 11-5 Capitals, who are 3-0 in the Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League.
Milestone Mir maker
Yaqub Mir stands alone as Granite Bay’s all-time career scorer.
The senior four-year varsity player eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for a program he helped power to the section Division II finals last season. He has scored on runners, jumpers and layups over his career, poised under pressure.
The Grizzlies opened Sierra Foothill League play with a 66-59 loss to Whitney and will host Oak Ridge on Wednesday.
Folsom girls roar on
Folsom used to be on the other end of lopsided girls basketball games, though it’s been awhile. But it sticks in the mind of coach Lynn Wolking, going a combined 1-29 in Delta League play from 2010-2013.
Top ranked for much of last season by The Bee and again this winter, Wolking and the Bulldogs opened Sierra Foothill League play last Friday with a resounding 78-19 rout of storied Del Oro to move to 10-2 with no local losses.
It was 16-9 in the second quarter before a 29-0 run blew it open for the Bulldogs, who were led in scoring by Kamryn Mafua (15 points), Charlotte Climenhage (12), Brooklyn Perry (11) and Sophia Mindermann (nine). Del Oro had just four field goals in the game.
CB vs. St. Francis resume Holy Hoops
Christian Brothers had its nonleague game last week at longtime national power St. Mary’s of Stockton canceled due to weather concerns, but the game will be made up on Jan. 30.
The No. 3 Falcons on Friday play at defending Capital Athletic League champion Vista del Lago, ranked ninth by The Bee, and then host No. 5 St. Francis on Saturday at 6 p.m. in a nonleague game of rivals.
It’ll be the resumption of the Holy Hoops/Holy Court series after two years of COVID suspensions. Christian Brothers has won four consecutive games against the Troubadours of the Delta League. To add to the fun, St. Francis is led by first-year coach Brittany Woodard, a Christian Brothers graduate.
St. Francis is 12-3 and 2-0 in the Delta, losing nonleague games to No. 4 McClatchy 67-47, Clovis of the Fresno area 54-37, and No. 2 Antelope 64-44. St. Francis has balanced scoring behind Sydney Teoh (12.1 ppg), Jadyn Weaver (11.5) and Bria McGahan (10.1). Jada Hunter (18.5) and Kaia Foster (16.2) lead CB in scoring.
Wild win for Wildfires
Foresthill beat Forest Lake Christian 46-37 to move into first place of the Central Valley California League, halting a 21-game skid to their powerhouse rivals.
Addy Aldrich had 21 points, Alexis Kalb had 12 rebounds and Amy Saxelby set a fierce Foresthill tone with eight rebounds and seven steals against a program that had posted a 45-2 record in league play since 2017.
The Wildfires are 12-4 and 4-0 in league play.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Girls
1. Folsom (10-2)
2. Antelope (13-2)
3. Christian Brothers (14-0)
4. McClatchy (11-4)
5. St. Francis (12-3)
6. Oak Ridge (11-7)
7. Colfax (13-2)
8. Woodcreek (14-3)
9. Vista del Lago (10-4)
10. Grant (12-4)
11. Laguna Creek (13-3)
12. Whitney (9-5)
13. Ponderosa (17-2)
14. Lincoln (15-2)
15. Liberty Ranch (13-2)
16. Monterey Trail (8-6)
17. Cosumnes Oaks (13-5)
18. Rocklin (8-8)
19. Marysville (14-2)
20. Kennedy (9-5)
Bubble: Bear River (9-5); Foothill (8-2); Foresthill (12-4); Inderkum (12-6); Oakmont (12-4); Valley Christian (11-2); Woodland Christian (14-2).
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Boys
1. Jesuit (12-3)
2. Folsom (15-1)
3. Inderkum (12-2)
4. Capital Christian (11-4)
5. Rio Americano (13-3)
6. Woodcreek (13-5)
7. Sacramento (13-4)
8. Laguna Creek (15-3)
9. Del Oro (13-6)
10. Placer (14-2)
11. Monterey Trail (7-8)
12. Whitney (13-4)
13. Grant (7-5)
14. Sheldon (5-10)
15. Oak Ridge (9-8)
16. Rocklin (11-8)
17. Antelope (13-4)
18. Bella Vista (12-5)
19. Yuba City (9-4)
20. Lincoln (14-4)
Bubble: Christian Brothers (10-7); Del Campo (9-8); El Camino (9-7); El Dorado (14-4); Marysville (14-3); Sacramento Adventist (11-5); Twelve Bridges (10-6); Union Mine (15-4); Vacaville (12-5); West Park (12-3).
This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 6:00 AM.