Boys Top 20: Sacramento area has new No. 1 after Del Oro tops previously unbeaten Rocklin
Upsets were the theme of the night last Friday on the Sacramento-area boys basketball circuit, firing up teams and further igniting league races with the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs looming.
In the Sierra Foothill League, No. 8 Del Oro toppled Rocklin 72-52, knocking the Thunder from the ranks of the unbeaten and from the top of The Bee’s Top 20 weekly rankings.
Rocklin dropped a spot this week to No. 2 and preseason No. 1 Monterey Trail of the Elk Grove Unified School District inched back to the top, sporting an unbeaten record in section play.
Balanced scoring and determined defense led the way for the Golden Eagles of Loomis, who nearly beat the Thunder at Rocklin in the first meeting on Jan. 5 before falling in overtime, 93-91.
This time, in front of a full house at Del Oro, freshman Brenden Hawkins had 21 points, junior Reid Brear had 18 and senior floor leader Caden Pinnick contributed 12 points and eight assists. The team-wide effort delighted longtime coach Geoff Broyles, whose team moved to 18-6 overall and 4-2 in league, making the SFL race one to the wire.
For Rocklin, now sitting at 23-1, a loss stings, to be sure, but it is hardly a crippling blow. This was no fluke loss. Del Oro earned it. And for Rocklin and veteran coach Steve Taylor, the Thunder do not have to burden perfection any longer.
How the teams respond from here will be telling.
Christian Brothers wins CAL stunner
In an effort to bolster its playoff hopes and to save the season, really, Christian Brothers delivered a statement effort to defeat No. 3 Sacramento in a Capital Athletic League stunner, 66-61.
Sacramento beat CB 69-54 on Jan. 5, two days after the Falcons suffered a frustrating CAL loss to Rio Americano, 58-53, and a night before a 75-71 nonleague loss to rival Jesuit at Golden 1 Center amid a four-game losing streak.
Last week, the Falcons suffered losses of 75-51 to No. 4 Capital Christian on Jan. 19 and 62-55 to Rio Americano before playing its best game of the season to douse the Dragons at Dave Hotell Pavilion.
Stephan Hewitt and Shawn Underwood both scored 17 points, Daniel Powers had 13 and Kamari Simpson 10 to lead the CB charge. Powers had six rebounds and six assists in the game, Underwood had five rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots, and Hewitt had five boards, three assists, two steals and four blocked shots. It took that sort of all-out effort to hold off Sacramento.
CB is 13-11 overall and 4-4 in the CAL under coach Jermaine Brown, who participated in his share of thrillers from his playing days at Burbank High in the Metro League. On Saturday, the day after the Sacramento victory, Brown, his coaching staff and his team brought rakes and boxes of large trash bags to tidy up Oak Park, where their school sits.
Capital cruising
Capital Christian inched up to No. 3 in this week’s rankings and looked the part of section Division II championship contender in rolling Sacramento 71-48 on Tuesday night.
Jaylen Valdez, a 6-3 junior guard, led the way as he has all season. The Cougars can push the tempo, make 3-pointers or attack the rim, and coach Mike Lorente has one of the most talented and deepest teams in the section.
And one of the youngest. Among the stars drawing recruiting interest is 6-5 forward Myles Wiggins, a runner, defender and dunker. Sacramento State coach David Patrick has attended recent Cougars games with an eye also on Sacramento High players.
Valdez had 26 points against Sacramento, 6-4 senior guard CJ Willenborg scored 13 and Wiggins 12, none more emphatic than a fourth-quarter alley-oop slam that thrilled the Cougars student section and got old-timer coaches Phil Oates and Tom Abatemarco to jump a bit.
Kelly scores for Monterey Trail
Needing 28 points to set a milestone, Kentrell Kelly came through in the first half of Friday’s Metro League contest against McClatchy to eclipse the 1,000-point career mark.
Kelly finished with 29 as the 6-foot-6 senior forward made 14 of 19 shots from the floor for the Mustangs, who moved to 20-2 overall and 8-0 in league. Two days earlier, senior guard Brandon Gibson scored a school-record 51 points in one of the most remarkable shooting displays in the history of the district.
KJ cool at Laguna Creek
No. 12 Laguna Creek has won five consecutive games and is 9-2 at home, thanks in part to the hot hand of K.J. Ramey.
The senior guard is unflappable when he competes, curling around screens to fire 3-point shots, hustling back on defense, encouraging teammates when he takes a breather on the bench. Ramey’s late 3 helped polish off Grant 59-55 on Jan. 24 as he finished with 15 points. He went down late with a hamstring strain in that game and was helped off the floor, but he returned moments later.
Two nights later, on Friday, Ramey hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter to key a 53-47 win over Burbank to move the Cardinals to 15-9 overall and 6-2 in the Metro. Laguna Creek coach Mike Gill said Ramey is his go-to shooter on a team that has quite a few of them, including freshman Jaylan Virgil and senior floor leader Jalen Flenory.
Ramey averages 12.1 points, second on the team to Virgil’s 14.3. Ramey’s biggest fan is his father, Ken Ramey, who sits close to the action in a fit of proud nerves.
THE BEE’S TOP 20
Boys
Records entering Wednesday
1. Monterey Trail (20-2)
2. Rocklin (23-1)
3. Capital Christian (18-7)
4. Sheldon (15-8)
5. Inderkum (16-6)
6. Jesuit (16-7)
7. Del Oro (18-6)
8. Sacramento (19-6)
9. Franklin (19-5)
10. Folsom (15-8)
11. Whitney (14-10)
12. Laguna Creek (15-9)
13. West Park (17-6)
14. Grant (14-9)
15. Placer (21-3)
16. Woodcreek (19-6)
17. Union Mine (24-2)
18. Burbank (17-7)
19. Oak Ridge (15-9)
20. Christian Brothers (14-11)
Bubble: Bradshaw Christian (15-11), Casa Roble (20-5), Cordova (12-9), Cosumnes Oaks (13-10), Kennedy (13-10), Lincoln (15-9), Natomas (16-8), Rio Americano (13-10), Twelve Bridges (19-4), Vacaville (12-9), West Campus (16-5), Western Sierra (19-2), Wood (12-10).