CIF boys basketball section finals: Sheldon, Jesuit, Placer among title-seekers
It is the goal of every high school basketball team in the greater Sacramento region, from Yuba City on down to Turlock, to reach Golden 1 Center, the sparkling NBA venue where the Kings play and that hosts the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championships this Friday and Saturday.
For some boys teams, this is a return to familiar territory. For others, Golden 1 represents a golden opportunity to polish off unfinished business.
All section finalists have qualified for the CIF Northern California Regional playoffs that start at home sites next week, but the collective aim here is to hoist the coveted blue section banner that will hang on the gym wall of the fortunate few.
All games will be streamed on the NFHS Network by way of ABC JAM Productions and play-by-play voice Matthew Bessette.
Division I
No. 1-seeded Modesto Christian vs. No. 2 Sheldon
8 p.m. Saturday
Modesto Christian (25-6) has a record 22 section championships and a state-record 30 consecutive league banners. Folsom denied MC a section four-peat last season, and Sheldon (27-4) of the Elk Grove Unified School District remains the only section program to four-peat in the large-school Division I field, doing so from 2010-13 under coach Joey Rollings, who is still doing his thing as one of this section’s greatest coaches.
MC is led by guards Trevor Dickson (19.8 points per game) and Siincere Hudson (16.4), who starred his first three seasons at Inderkum of Sacramento before his transfer.
Sheldon is also stacked in the backcourt with Baron Sabir (24.2 points per game) and Tae Carter (12.5). Sabir has played like a Sacramento Bee Player of the Year in the making, including playoff games of 25, 22 and 30 points and making all 18 free throws in those contests. Sabir had 30 points in an intense and entertaining semifinal win over Folsom.
Division II
No. 1 Jesuit vs. No. 2 Destiny Christian
8 p.m. Friday
Jesuit (21-9) lost a crusher in the closing seconds of last season’s D-II final against Rocklin then responded by storming to the CIF State D-II championship under Bee Coach of the Year Tim Kelly. Jesuit is in a section final for the 20th time since rising to power in 1969, seeking a 12th banner while DCA (23-8) is in its first section title game since undergoing a church and school change-over two years ago after winning several in various divisions when known as Capital Christian.
Jesuit is led by guards Brandon Williams and Maison Phillips and forwards Sahib Randhawa, Greg DuFosse and Jack Walker.
DCA and coach Rich Sondhi are paced by senior captains Frederick Blue III, Mohamed Kamara and Myles Wiggins, who powered the program past Sacramento High in a semifinal and were starters last season when Jesuit beat the Lions in the section and NorCal playoffs.
Division III
No. 1 Placer (28-3) vs. No. 7 Beyer (25-6)
4 p.m. Saturday
It’s been a long time coming for the Hillmen of Auburn (28-3), who seek the program’s first section banner in this sport since the Wendell Witt-coached team of 1988, while the Patriots of Modesto have not won a banner and reached their first final in 2017.
Placer is paced by the terrific 1-2-3 punch of guards Emmett Rose (17.6 points), Kannon Rector (16.1) and Joe Manley (13.1), and all three were big in outlasting defending champion Christian Brothers in a semifinal, 83-78.
Beyer (25-6) has won 18 consecutive games, including a rout of last season’s D-IV champion Casa Roble, seeded second in this field, by 18 earlier this postseason.
Division IV
No. 1 Natomas vs. No. 2 Venture Academy
4 p.m. Friday
The Nighthawks of Sacramento (22-9) lost a crusher in the 2025 title game to Casa Roble and made getting back to Golden 1 Center the primary goal.
With an 11-game winning streak, 2024 Bee Coach of the Year Brian McKenzie will look to senior guard Manno Jenkins, who is 15 points shy of reaching 2,000 career points. He averaged 19.8 points with backcourt mate Aeron Wallace scoring 12.5 and freshman forward Marcus Harris 12.4.
Natomas defeated Venture of Stockton 56-43 in a nonconference game last month. The Mustangs (25-6) are led by guards Jabril Lewis-Muhammad (13.2 points), Josiah Johnson (12.8) and Jayden Akuuva (12.6).
Division V
No. 1 Bret Harte vs. No. 2 Argonaut
Noon Saturday
The top-seeded Bullfrogs of Angels Camp in Calaveras County (29-1) are riding a 27-game winning streak that includes a 65-60 overtime win over Argonaut and a 65-50 section semifinal win over defending champion Woodland Christian.
The Mustangs of Jackson in Amador County (24-7) are led in scoring by guards JJ Lundgren (19.4), Adam Garcia (11.2) and Mariano Lopez (9.4).
Division VI
No. 1 Sacramento Adventist vs. No. 3 Victory Christian
Noon Friday
Cyrus Jones helped power the Sac Adventist program (23-7) to a section championship several seasons ago and now has his Capitals rolling behind leading scorers Caleb Serna and Elijah Denis. They’ll take on the Vikings (23-3) in an all-Carmichael clash of small-school programs.
VC coach Marc Smith will look for leading scorers Luke Smith (23.3 points per game) and Daniel Kapelkin (18.2) to lead the charge.