Monterey Trail star scores 51 in one of Elk Grove’s biggest games since Bill Cartwright
Twenty four hours later, the man of the hour was still all grins, still numb to what he had pulled off.
Brandon Gibson on Wednesday night unleashed a performance that one had to see to believe — or at least review the game film. The 6-foot-5 senior guard for Monterey Trail High School pumped in a school-record 51 points to devastate visiting River City of West Sacramento in a Metro League contest, bringing to mind some of Bill Cartwright’s greatest games in 1975.
It’s one of the most emphatic scoring nights in the history of the Elk Grove Unified School District, and it resonates as the most outrageous scoring effort this season for any of The Bee’s Top 20 teams. It was highlight material for a player with impressive skill and a relentless will to achieve, and proof that one can bounce back from two missed seasons due to injuries.
It wasn’t the point total that made this such an impressive outing. It was the efficiency in which the man they call “BG” delivered. In fewer than 30 game minutes, Gibson made 22 of 30 shots from the field, including 6 of 10 from 3-point land. He had 10 steals. He grabbed 11 rebounds. He fired off four assists. And he never seemed to tire. Gibson’s final bucket was off a steal and thunder dunk, his fifth of the game, and then he was pulled with several minutes to go, the Mustangs prevailing by a good margin.
Later, in a jubilant locker room, Mustangs players mobbed their guy. He held up a hand-written note that showed 52. That’s how many points the team thought he scored, but it wasn’t until coach Robert Fields went over the game film the following night that it was determined to be 51. No matter. It was still mind blowing.
“I think the guys were more excited than I was,” the low-key Gibson said, all smiles, from the couch in the coaching office on Thursday night before an evening practice. “I’m proud. I was smiling the whole time I slept, and I was so excited to come to school. There was an announcement (over the public-address system), and teachers and everyone congratulated me. That was cool.”
What else is cool is Gibson’s rising reputation. If he plays like a young man making up for lost time and with plenty to prove, he is.
Gibson missed most of his freshman and sophomore seasons at Monterey Trail due to injuries, including a torn left knee ligament. He played in only three games those two lost seasons. As a junior last season, Gibson showed promise as a defensive-minded grinder with an expanding offensive game, helping Monterey Trail tie for the Metro League championship. This season, Gibson has burst onto the scene as a man on a mission.
He scores in bunches, like against River City, without dominating the ball. He takes equal pride in guarding the perimeter or the post as he does scoring from inside or out. He forced maybe one shot against River City, his coaches said, and the rest of it came within the flow of the game. Gibson is many things, but no one has called him selfish with the ball.
Gibson admires his parents, which is where he gets his work ethic from. His father, Brandon Sr., offers kudos to the kid — and constructive criticism. Gibson, for all of his wizardry against River City, had the audacity to miss three free throws.
“Dad said I should’ve had 54,” Gibson said with a laugh.
Gibson was not in good spirits during those seasons lost due to injuries. He was in pain, in a funk, a player without the ability to play.
“I wanted to be out there so bad,” he said. “The knee hurt me. I tell everyone to not take basketball for granted. It can all end in a second.”
Sky’s the limit
Gibson wants to keep this basketball journey going. He wants to land some scholarship offers, to study kinesiology, but he won’t overthink it. He has the rest of the regular season to play, then a CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff march. He is the driving force behind The Bee’s No. 2-ranked team, a superb lineup that plays hard and plays the right way.
The knock on Gibson by college recruiters earlier this season was if he was athletic enough (have you seen the man dunk?) or if he was versatile enough (have you seen him defend, shoot or make steals?).
He is averaging 24.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists. He has done his part.
Sacramento State coaches checked out Gibson live on Friday night against McClatchy. More recruiters are sure to come for a peek or make some calls, or they should, coach Fields said.
“I try to promote BG,” Fields said. “People should stop saying what he can’t do and focus on what he can do. He’s athletic enough. He’s fully healthy and he’s fully athletic. He’s a phenomenal kid and a great player. He wants to be great. He works hard. He guards the other team’s best player. He gets everyone involved. He’s our heartbeat.”
Gibson wore a bright white headband against River City, but he’s not sure if he will continue the trend. What if he has a clunker effort? Does he have to ditch the head gear? Gibson said he is not sweating it, insisting, “I’m going to live in the moment.”
At the half of the River City game, his team up by 13 but not playing great, coach Fields ripped into his team for not defending better. He eye-balled Gibson and wondered if the senior was more into the headband than working out there. He wanted to fire up the leader.
“Brandon looked up at me and gave me that look,” the coach said. “When he gives me that look, look out.”’
Bill Cartwright 66-point flashback
Gibson’s effort is quite likely the most incredible basketball effort in the Elk Grove Unified School District, the largest in Northern California, since Cartwright, the all-time area great, of Elk Grove High School set regional scoring marks as a 7-foot All-American nearly 50 years ago.
Cartwright averaged 38.5 points in 1974-75 before embarking on an All-American career at University of San Francisco and an NBA career that spanned from 1979-1995.
For perspective, Cartwright scored a still-standing Sacramento-area record 66 points in a 1975 game against Sacramento High, scoring 40 in the second half, and most of it in the paint. Elk Grove won 94-43 as Cartwright made 30 of 46 shots and 6 of 6 free throws, according to Bee archives.
Cartwright that season also produced a 57-point effort against Christian Brothers, which is still the second-highest for a Sacramento-area player. Cartwright made 27 of 40 field goals in that 75-61 victory. Cartwright in 1975 broke the Superior California record, stretching from the Bay Area to the Oregon border, of 64 points by Armijo of Fairfield’s Mike Dias, who had 64 in a 90-46 win over Benicia in 1953. Dias played at Cal and coached for decades in the Bay Area.
Cartwright set his 66-point mark in a home game, in a gym that now bears his name. Thundering Herd coach Dan Risley told The Bee after that game: “I called a time out after he scored his 50th point and brought the team to a huddle. I asked Bill if he wanted to go for the record and he said, ‘That’d be nice,’ so I let him go.”
Cartwright scored the bulk of his points against Ralph DeLoach, a bear of a man at 6-foot-4 who starred on the offensive line at Cal and played in the NFL. Cartwright had 22 in an earlier meeting against DeLoach.
Cartwright said after the 66-point game: “My biggest thrill still has to be our undefeated 30-0 teams and our (section) championship of last year.”
Later in that 1975 season, Cartwright set a NorCal playoff record with 53 points in a 90-72 win over Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland in the Northern California Tournament of Champions tournament in front of 10,000 at the Oakland Coliseum. Cartwright’s efforts and career helped get the ball rolling for the start of the CIF state basketball finals, which started in 1981.
Monterey Trail coach Fields also said he thought it was the right thing for Gibson to go for the school record previously held by Andre Crump in 2019. Crump, now playing receiver at UC Davis, texted Gibson with kudos late Wednesday and told him to win a section championship.
“We knew he had 40-something, and I tried to keep it quiet, but the cat was out of the bag and the guys knew he was close to something great,” Fields said. “He deserved it.”
High scorers in EGUSD
A peek at some of the most prolific scoring efforts in the history of the Elk Grove Unified School District:
66 - Bill Cartwright, Elk Grove, 1975
He of the feathery short jumper and inside post moves, Big Bill — all 7 feet of him — crushed Sacramento High. He remains this region’s all-time greatest player, all levels, and also had prep efforts of 62, 57 and 55 points.
52 - C.J. Morgan, Franklin, 2004
As a junior guard, Morgan torched Modesto in a Division I playoff game, which remains as a regional Sac-Joaquin Section playoff record. He went on to play at Pacific.
51 - Brandon Gibson, Monterey Trail, 2024
The BG express was rolling as the fast-rising recruit made a remarkable 22 of 30 field goals, including 6 of 10 from 3-point land.
50 - Darius Nelson, Sheldon, 2010
Big D was big against Castro Valley in a CIF Northern California playoff game. His effort remains second in a NorCal playoff game for a Sacramento-area player behind the 53 Cartwright had against Bishop O’Dowd in 1975.
50 - Andre Crump, Monterey Trail, 2019
A football star now at UC Davis, Crump made 10 3-pointers against River City. He texted Gibson to congratulate him for breaking his school record.
▪ DeMarcus Nelson is California’s all-time career scoring leader with 3,462 points from 2001-04, playing his first three varsity seasons at Vallejo High and his final one at Sheldon. His prep best was 52 points as a Vallejo junior against Davis and his Sheldon high was 45.
This story was originally published January 30, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: The date of the photo captions was corrected to Jan. 10, 2024.