HS boys basketball playoffs: McClatchy Lions withstand freshman phenom in D-I
Tony Vaughn has a short seat that swivels, like something a mechanic would use. The McClatchy Lions basketball coach will sit and spin during timeouts, or he’ll slap his hand on that treasured red seat and push it away if irked.
Last week as the final seconds were running off the clock of a spirited home victory over Destiny Christian Academy to secure a share of the program’s first Metro League championship since 2002, Vaughn didn’t see the ball heading fast toward the back of his head as he pushed around that seat. The leather sphere hit him as he was facing the roaring crowd behind him, and he said it was all worth it.
On Wednesday night inside a raucous Lions Den that has been a staple in the Sacramento City Unified School District since the school opened in 1936, McClatchy celebrated a triumph that was a long time coming. The No. 6-seeded Lions trailed after every quarter except the final one, topping the 11th-seeded Monterey Trail Mustangs 67-61 in a fiercely fought and entertaining CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff opener.
It was the first time McClatchy hosted a postseason game since the 2002 team that was coached by Brad Klopp. This 24-4 team now has a seven-game winning streak and has prevailed in 18 of 19 contests, and it suddenly rates as the program’s best outfit since the 1993 and 1994 Lions played in CIF Northern California tournaments under famed coach Harvey Tahara, whose name graces the gym floor.
In other words, the feel-good vibes are back for the Lions after some lean seasons, punctuated by another overflow crowd.
“We’re trying to bring it back,” an elated Vaughn said postgame.
Vaughn was no stranger to this gym when he took over as head coach. He played in this venue as a guard for the rival Kennedy Cougars in the 1970s. The superbly coached Lions have all the makings of a title contender with waves of guards, some good post players, depth and a lot of desire.
Monterey Trail of Elk Grove led 11-7 after the first quarter, 33-26 at the half and 51-44 after three quarters. The Mustangs were paced by star guard Juleeyan Williams, the team’s leading scorer this season who ripped Sacramento Bee top-ranked Sheldon for 41 points late in the Delta League season and rates as one of the region’s top freshmen in a season big on first-year varsity players.
Williams had his moments as a ball handler and scorer, finishing with 25 points. But he only made two field goals in the second half and two free throws as the Lions sent waves of defenders to slow him down. McClatchy was led by senior guards Jordan Boyce (22 points) and Kai Bradford (11 points), 6-10 sophomore post PJ Parker (12 points, 13 rebounds) and senior guard Noah Hargrove (13 points).
Guards Gene Castill, Andre Rabb-Patterson, Michael Johnson and Elias Aguirre and 6-8 junior forward Ezra Rielly also contributed for McClatchy.
And there was a relieved and proud coach Vaughn after the game, again facing the home crowd, applauding them as they applauded the Lions. The coach raved about his team’s grit, resolve and results. McClatchy has grown this season, and the Lions grew in this game in rallying past the upset-minded Mustangs.
“I’m so damn proud,” Vaughn said. “I don’t know what to do or say, but we’ve got to get ready for a real tough game on Friday (at No. 3-seeded Folsom). We’ll be ready.”
He paused and said with enough volume to be heard over the crowd, “When we started this, we said we were going to bring it back to how it used to be here, and here we are. I love the fans. These fans keep us going.”
McClatchy games attract all comers. There are the students who stand and cheer. There are alumni who graduated from the school from as far back as the 1960s who squeeze in for a peek.
The Lions have become such a big draw, that not everyone can get inside the gym. The Lions to a man understand what this school means to alumni, they know that they’ll hear from them if the effort isn’t there.
The effort has been there this breakthrough season.
“It’s been great to see all the alumni coming to games, and it makes us happy to see smiles on their faces,” said Bradford, a 6-4 grinder with superb ball handling skills. “It’s a big deal to people. We’ve really come together. We’re like family. Practices are intense. Sometimes, we come close to fighting, like brothers, but we’re family.”
Vaughn said he knew his team had potential after trailing early against Natomas, the top seed in the Division IV bracket, by a whopping 27-4 score. The Lions rallied to win that nonleague opening game 72-67. Three of the team’s losses were to Fresno-area powers, and the last loss was to Destiny Christian, which was avenged last week. Destiny Christian is the No. 2 seed in the D-II bracket.
“We knew we had something, and we have Kai Bradford, who’s the ultimate point guard,” Vaughn said. “He just knows how to play the game. Once we got everyone on the same page, I thought, ‘OK, we can go against anybody.”
Vaughn praised Williams, the dynamic freshman guard for Monterey Trail.
“Oh, he’s so good,” the coach said. “He’s nails. We watched film of him, and I said, ‘Damn! How are we going to stop him?’ But we won the game. We had to make him work.”
As for that spinner of a seat, the coach won’t apologize for it, nor will his players stop ribbing him for using it.
“That’s my little mechanic’s chair,” Vaughn said with a laugh. “Gives me a lot of open space to work. I love it.”