Prep boys’ basketball: Everyone pitches in as Elk Grove earns shot at a state title
The star player was spent, having competed to the point of exhaustion - again.
The coach who always has plenty to say, at a variety of decibel levels, had a difficult time coming up with the right words. He was soaked from a celebratory water-spray in a jubilant locker room.
The crazy ride that is the Elk Grove High School basketball season has one final stop. That’ll be a short trek, and the best one yet: Golden 1 Center on Saturday afternoon for a shot at the grandest prize in California prep basketball. On Tuesday night, top-seeded Elk Grove held off powerhouse Branson of the Bay Area 60-54 in a tight, tense, thrilling Northern California regional championship. Thundering Herd players celebrated, hoisting the Division II plaque high to show to fans and students that packed the storied old Cartwright Gym.
These championships aren’t easy to win. It’s no easy task to even survive the gauntlet of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs, and then Elk Grove had to navigate the minefield of the NorCal scramble, going 4-0 in the bracket with every game a stresser: 57-50 over Clovis East, 59-55 over San Ramon Valley of Danville, 42-40 over Vanden. Then came this one over the Bulls of Marin County, a program that has fared well in the NorCals over the years and owns two victories this season over St. Ignatius of San Francisco, which beat Inderkum twice, including last week in a NorCal D-I semifinal.
Ameere Britton again led the Thundering Herd charge. The four-year starting guard for Elk Grove has willed his team with relentless effort, either with tenacious defense or fearless scoring, and he doesn’t leave the floor until his tank is emptied. Britton led all scorers with 25 points, and when he fouled out with just over a minute to play, there was no despair from coach Dustin Monday, who works the sideline like Mike Ditka used to work chewing gum when he coached the Chicago Bears.
Monday was confident his experienced team could hold off Branson and that role players would finish the job. They did. Karlos Zepeda is a three-year varsity guard for the Herd who relishes the chance to hit clutch free throws, and he made five big ones down the stretch. Grant Golonka, a gritty senior forward, made a late free throw as did senior wing Isaiah King. Jordan Hess, another three-year varsity performer, provided calm ball-handling throughout, and 6-foot-9 senior post DaJon “Money” Lott had his best game of the season. The four-year varsity starter had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and the championship plaque wound up in his hands to hold up high when the gym became a swarm of celebration with students and fans.
Coach Monday told his giddy bunch after they sprayed him with water in the locker room that this was a “grind, a total team effort. It took all 19 of us, coaches and all, to get this done. You are all champions. This will be with us forever.”
Later, he told The Bee, while dripping wet, “I don’t know how to describe this. You see it on TV, coaches getting doused with water. That’s a dream for a coach. It’s surreal, it’s special. There is a lot of pressure (to win these games). We have a leg up, an advantage, because we are so senior heavy. Our guys have been through the wringer.”
Britton puts opponents through the wringer with his efforts. He spoke of his time as a little boy racing through the house without a ball but pretending he had one. Ever the team player, Britton, praised his teammates for their efforts, calling the role players, “our most consistent guys.” He said he was proud of his team, his school, his town and the fan following, and he expressed gratitude to his coaches, especially Monday, who gave him the keys to the program as a freshman and turned him loose.
Elk Grove’s student rooting section was festive and chanted, “Elllllk Grooove” and then celebrated with the team. Elk Grove went 16-1 at home this season, is 27-6 overall and has won 11 of 12. The challenge now is to get that student rooting section to Golden 1.
“We’ll need every one of them,” Monday said.
It was fitting that Todd Reiswig handed out the CIF championship medals to Elk Grove players. He’s the link to the program’s storied past, having coached the 1995 Elk Grove team to the 1995 D-I section championship. A longtime math teacher at Elk Grove, Reiswig was wearing the colors of the governing body CIF on this night as he is part of the state tournament crew.
Back to Monday, wiping a mixture of sweat and water from his brow, grinning nonstop.
“It’s a little extra special,” he said. “I’ve been a part of this program since I was seven years old. I watched those Todd Reiswig teams. I played here for four years. I started coaching here at 19 years old. It’s been a great ride. It’s been an honor and a privilege.”
Elk Grove plays Foothill of Santa Ana on Saturday at 4 p.m. for the championship. The Knights of the Southern Section are 31-3.
This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 5:54 AM.