Marysville wins first boys title in 30 years; Faith Christian of Yuba City wins first ever
Size is not of abundance on this roster.
No, the Marysville Indians rely on what they have, a lot of runners, scorers and pesky defenders to do what they do. And what they do is score in bunches and win.
On Friday afternoon at Golden 1 Center, the No. 3-seeded Indians held off No. 4 Calaveras 65-63 to capture the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV championship, and the guys still had enough fresh legs to jump for joy.
No wonder. It’s the first section banner for the program in 30 years and third overall. The winning streak for the 29-3 Indians is 24, leaving the team and its coach proud beyond words, and this is a chatty group.
Joshua Brown Jr. scored 26 points, and fellow guards Amrin Mann and Kayden Ellyson had 12 and 11, respectively, to top a Calaveras team that was in a section final for the first time since 1982 and was coming off an inspired win at top-seeded Union Mine in El Dorado.
“These guys are so mentally tough,” Marysville coach Stan Easter said. “We don’t get size here, big guys, so we play one way — up and down the court with a lot of shooting. We take advantage of what we do have — speed and shooting. You can hear me during games yelling, ‘We have to play fast!’”
Brown was an established star with the program, and then along came Mann, a transfer before this academic year from nearby Sutter High, where he was the leading scorer. That Mann and Brown are pals helped make it a seamless transition.
“The chemistry is top notch,” the coach said. “Brown’s growth is amazing. His dad (Joshua) and I have been friends for 25 years. The kid lives in the gym.”
And Ellyson lives for all things Marysville. He is a three-sport athlete, the student-body president and a 4.0 scholar. His father, David Ellyson, was on the last Indians team that won a section championship, the 1993 bunch coached by Ken Griffin, now a longtime coach at Yuba College.
Marysville has fielded good teams in recent years, if not good fortune, falling in early rounds of the postseason. Now the train roars into next week’s CIF Northern California regional tournament.
“Big monkey off our back,” said Easter, in his 11th year with the program. “It’s hard to get here and win these. We want them to enjoy this.”
Faith Christian 50, Foresthill 46: Sisters Audrey and Lauren Harris scored 19 and 23 points, respectively, while combining for 24 rebounds and 12 assists to power the Lions of Yuba City to their first section championship, holding off the Wildfires of Auburn in D-VI.
Faith Christian coach Geoff Harris is the father of the prolific sisters, and he watched last season as Audrey led the country in scoring at 46 points per game as a junior. But there were no championship celebrations.
The guard’s average is now a more modest 22 points per game, but that’s because she has help from her sister, a freshman who can play guard or forward. Both are skilled players and top scholars for a school that opened nearly 40 years ago and spent recent days visualizing where they might hang a blue championship banner.
Faith Christian has won 11 consecutive games and is 24-5. Foresthill is 24-6 and was led by Ady Aldrich (17 points), McKenna Lechner (13 points) and Summer Stephens (14 rebounds).
“Audrey really sacrificed her game and told me before the season that she was willing to do anything to help us win a championship,” Geoff Harris said. “Lauren’s been pretty amazing, too. They all have.”
The team attended a Kings game in November at Golden 1 Center and wondered how cool it might be to get here themselves as a team.
“It’s just so fun and crazy to be here,” Audrey Harris said.
Coach Harris recalled his experience as a high school player competing for a section championship in an NBA venue. It was in 1998 when he was with Faith Christian, a loss to Brookside Christian of Stockton at Arco Arena.
“I got hit in the eye and couldn’t stop the bleeding,” he recalled with a laugh. “I packed corn starch this time just in case. I have blood-stopping supplies in my bag now. Never know!”
This story was originally published February 25, 2023 at 12:22 PM.