Jesuit downs Destiny Christian in NorCal final, returns to Golden 1 Center. ‘Look at us now’
They take their championships seriously at Jesuit High School, where the gym walls are covered by banners celebrating every sport from rugby, cross country and swimming, dating back to when the Carmichael campus opened in 1963.
Now there’s one more piece of hardware to add to the collection, and, perhaps, another one by the end of the weekend.
After suffering a crushing loss the last time they played at Golden 1 Center, a last-second setback to Rocklin in the section Division II finals on Feb. 27, the Marauders bound back into the NBA venue on Saturday with a chance to finish a season of promise on top.
On Tuesday night, host and No. 3-seeded Jesuit pulled away from Destiny Christian Academy of Sacramento with a 10-2 fourth-quarter run to post a 65-55 victory to claim the CIF Northern California Division II Regional championship.
The Marauders are the last Sacramento-area boys team left standing after 14 regional teams entered the six-division NorCal field, and they are survivors because they play stifling defense, move and share the ball, are led by senior anchors and are superbly coached.
Those have been the hallmarks for the program since the Marauders trotted out their first great team in 1969 under rookie coach Terry Battenberg, who still attends area games as a fan, and Sacramento Bee Player of the Year Mark Wehrle.
‘They do things the right way’
It’s no wonder that everyone from coach Tim Kelly and assistants such as Bobby Christensen, Eddie Ralph, Jay Nacionales and Matt Clifford on Tuesday matched the excitement of their giddy players. The post-game locker room chat was brief — big on congratulations — because there was another task to be had.
Cutting down the nets.
School athletic director Hank Weinberger hustled to find a pair of scissors and a ladder, and the fun continued well into the night as the Marauders capped their 10th NorCal finals appearance with their first NorCal conquest in nearly 30 years. The Hank Meyer-coached and Isaac Fontaine-led Marauders of 1993 and 1994 were repeat NorCal D-I champions. Jesuit’s last trip to a NorCal final was in 2012, under alum coach Greg Harcos. It’s not easy to get this far, and it’s not easy winning these games.
Coach Kelly told his resilient group after the Rocklin stunner that their day is still coming.
“Told them that they deserve to win,” he said. “They do things the right way. They play hard. They share the ball. They defend. It’s a great group of parents, a great group of kids.”
Jesuit’s defense has been stellar since the start of the season, the strength of the club. How do the Marauders do it? They play zone, or man defense, and they crash the boards. Everyone gets involved on defense, or they wind up sitting next to the coaches on the bench.
“They bought into what we’re selling them,” Coach Kelly said. “They just compete and play together.”
Schroeder adds flash and dash
This is a a fundamentally sound team with a bit of flash and dash. That starts with 6-5 senior guard Asher Schroeder, who can handle the ball, score off the glass, score off runners and make 3-pointers and free throws. He can also pass and defend as he plays to the point of exhaustion.
A Sacramento Bee Player of the Year candidate, Schroeder had 17 points and 10 rebounds. He embraced the championship plaque afterward as if it really meant something. He played his first two high school seasons at Lodi High School, transferred to Jesuit before his junior season when he was a solid role player, and emerged as the star this season, though he defers credit to everyone else.
It didn’t take Schroeder long to learn of the tradition at Jesuit. He just scanned the history on the walls.
“We were mentally distraught after losing to Rocklin,” Schroeder said. “We came back and said we wanted to still make this a season to remember, a special season. We stuck together. Look at us now.”
Amaury McKinney, a 6-6 senior post with 3-point range, scored 22 points and had 12 rebounds. He muscled inside for buckets, put-backs and rebounds, and he handled the ball and ran the floor against the taller Lions, whose aim was to pound it inside for points.
Luke Browne, a 6-3 senior guard, had 10 points for Jesuit, and Brandon Williams, a 6-foot junior guard, had 13. Jaylen Valdez, a fourth-year starter for Destiny Christian, led all scorers with 24. Myles Wiggins had 11.
DCA was eager for this game, having suffered a four-point loss to Jesuit in a section semifinal at home. Jesuit is now 3-0 against DCA in the playoffs over three seasons, including when the school was known as Capital Christian. This was DCA’s fourth NorCal final.
Jesuit takes on son of retired NBA star
As pleased as the Marauders were in this conquest, they collectively know that the season has one more game left. Jesuit will play Southern California D-II champion Chatsworth of Los Angeles County on at 4 p.m. Saturday, tasked with one more defensive assignment.
Chatsworth is led by Alijah Arenas, a 6-6 junior shooting guard averaging 30.4 points. One of the nation’s top talents and the son of former NBA guard Gilbert Arenas, Arenas has given a verbal commitment to play on scholarship at USC for coach Eric Musselman, the one-time Sacramento Kings coach.
Arenas in a CIF state final last season at Golden 1 dazzled the crowd with a 44-point outing.
“Keep working,” said McKinney, Jesuit’s big man senior of the thinking the rest of the week in practice. “That’s what we’re thinking. The job is not finished. We still have one more game to go. We earned this. We’ve worked hard for it.”
Boys CIF NorCal finals
All state finals are at Golden 1 Center
Open Division
Riordan 52, De La Salle 40.
State final: Riordan vs. Roosevelt, 8 p.m. Saturday.
Division I
Lincoln-Stockton 66, San Ramon Valley 58.
State final: Lincoln vs. Sierra Canyon, 8 p.m. Friday.
Division II
Jesuit 65, Destiny Christian 55.
State final: Jesuit vs. Chatsworth, 4 p.m. Saturday.
Division III
King’s Academy 70, Palo Alto 65.
State final: King’s Academy vs. San Gabriel Academy, 2 p.m. Friday.
Division IV
Priory 60, Santa Cruz 48.
State final: Priory vs. Fresno Christian, noon Saturday.
Division V
International 71, Fortune-Sacramento 63.
State final: International vs. Diamond Ranch, noon Friday.
Division VI
St. Bernard’s 48, Redding Christian 46.
D-VI tournament ends after NorCals.
This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 10:00 PM.