Two of this week’s leading stat stars are junior guard Jordan Cruz of 2015 CIF D1 state champ McClatchy & Shacquille Dawkins, point guard from Alemany (Mission Hills). Photos: James K. Leash/SportStars & ScoreStream.com.
We don’t know if there’s a glory road near Colusa, but there’s a Mad Max there as Max Moreno has been red hot for the RedHawks all season and had a 46-point game last week. Other boys racking up big totals last week included 31 points for high-rising Kobe Smith of Gardena Serra and two more 40-point games for Fresno Roosevelt’s Bryson Williams. For the girls, Jordan Cruz of Sacramento McClatchy enjoys 44-point night while Beth Derner of Modoc nets 41. We also have details on boys head coach who’s now third on the all-time state career wins list.
Note: We will collect totals from MaxPreps, newspapers, tweets and from those sent in to us. We also will compile single-game highs from this post throughout the season and of course we use our weekly State Stat Stars collection as an aid for the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book. That is the only state record book anyone has ever done and we have published it seven times with full copyright protection. To report totals to us for this feature and for the record book, email markjtennis@gmail.com or call 209-463-9050. You can also text to 209-608-1317.
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(All players listed in alphabetical order)
(For games played through Saturday, Feb. 13 plus a few already from this week)
(Writeups by Paul Muyskens, Mark Tennis & CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett)
BOYS BASKETBALL
Li’Angelo Ball (Chino Hills)
The state and national No. 1 Huskies finished the regular season 27-0 with their freshman Ball brother scoring a game-high 32 points during a 92-72 win over Etiwanda. Earlier in the week, he had 30 points as they clinched the Baseline League title with a 104-93 win over Damien of La Verne.
Evan Battey (Villa Park)
Getting revenge for an earlier loss to Canyon of Anaheim, he had 28 points, 20 rebounds and eight assists to lift the Spartans past the Comanches 85-55 in Crestview League play.
Riley Battin (Oak Park)
We don’t know if Riley plays baseball at all, but if he does he’s probably good at Battin. He’s more than good in hoops. The multiple listed stat star poured in 31 points last week in a 64-55 win by the Eagles over Simi Valley.
Dylan Belquist (Los Gatos)
Making four three-pointers on his way to 31 points, it was more than enough for the Wildcats get the win when they defeated Milpitas 64-49 in a SCVAL De Anza Division game. This is the third time the sophomore has been a state stat star this season.
Ronald Knighten has been enlightening as a player for St. Elizabeth of Oakland this season. Photo: ncsasports.com.
Jules Bernard (Windward, Los Angeles)
Shining bright during a 76-70 win over Campbell Hall of North Hollywood, Jules had 33 points and 10 rebounds in the semifinals of the Gold Coast League tournament. A 6-foot-5 sophomore, Bernard is regarded by many as one of the top 20 Class of 2018 prospects in the nation.
Daniel Boatwright (Canoga Park)
The younger brother of recent all-state player Bennie Boatwright (now at USC) poured in 38 points but wasn’t enough to prevent a 76-69 loss to San Fernando in Valley Mission League play.
Shac Dawkins (Alemany, Mission Hills)
The Warriors captured their second straight Mission League championship with a 88-59 win over St. Francis of La Canada behind their four-year starter, Dawkins, who scored 29 points to go with five assists and five steals.
Lafayette Dorsey (Dorsey, Los Angeles)
Dorsey leads Dorsey to the Coliseum League championship was an easy headline to use after he scored 28 points last week in the team’s league title clinching 82-66 win over Fremont.
Sean Fernandez (North Hollywood)
Scoring as many points as their opponents, he finished with 32 points during the Huskies’ 78-32 win over Chavez in East Valley League play.
Max Heidegger (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village)
It took more than 32 minutes for the Lions to defeat Thousand Oaks but they got the 79-71 win in overtime behind Heidegger, who scored 35 points and maintained recent hot streak.
Ronald Knighten (St. Elizabeth, Oakland)
We’ve seen Knighten play for an AAU team from Riverside at the West Coast Super Showcase and he’s looking to close the season with a bang. In a 61-51 win last week over California School for the Deaf (Fremont), Knighten racked up 35 points. He’s averaging 24.1 per game and has had a season best of 37.
Max Moreno (Colusa)
It was quite a night for Moreno when the RedHawks topped Williams 81-65. The senior guard nailed 14-of-14 on free throws, connected on four 3-pointers and ended with a season-high 46 points. Moreno also took over the reported scoring lead in the CIF Northern Section at 24.6 ppg.
Ryan Murphy (Calabasas)
One of the leading players in the Marmonte League, Murphy scored 34 points last week during a 62-49 win over Westlake of Westlake Village.
Bryce Peters (Damien, La Verne)
Knowing he would need to come up big if the Spartans were to knock off No. 1 Chino Hills, he scored a game-high 39 points but it wasn’t enough in the 104-93 Baseline League loss. Peters also has had a 44-point game in recent weeks.
Cameron Pieters (Stockton Christian)
With a huge outing of 39 points to lead the Eagles past Delta Charter of Tracy 67-33, Pieters went over the 2,000-point barrier for his prep career. The senior also helped his team win the Mountain Valley League title.
David Rico (Kerman)
The junior standout had two nice games last week, first by scoring 16 points with 11 rebounds, seven assists and six steals in a 79-46 win over Chowchilla. It was second game, though, that got David into this week’s stat stars with 38 points, a career high 21 rebounds and seven assists in a 67-61 win over Liberty Madera Ranchos.
John Stivers is just about at 20 points and 10 rebounds per game this season for Carmel. Photo: thesandpiper.org.
Jonny Saavedra (Tehachapi)
Golden Valley of Bakersfield couldn’t stop Jonny last week when he scored a game high of 31 points in 74-70 win by the Warriors over Golden Valley.
Kobe Smith (Serra, Gardena)
While one Kobe in SoCal having a career nearing an end, this sophomore has tons of time remaining. Also a highly regarded 6-foot-3 football wide receiver prospect, Smith scored 31 points for the Cavaliers during an 83-72 win over Cathedral of Los Angeles.
John Stivers (Carmel)
Also one of the top tight ends from the football season in Northern California, Stivers had 30 points and 13 rebounds in Carmel’s 67-42 win last week vs. Gonzales. He also had 18 points and 17 rebounds when the Padres beat Marina 44-34 and recently had 40 points and 21 rebounds in a win over Stevenson.
Raazhel Watkins (College Park, Pleasant Hill)
A 6-foot junior guard, Watkins had a terrific night with 34 points and seven rebounds to lead the Falcons in their 83-60 victory last week over Mt. Diablo of Concord.
J.J. Watson (St. John Bosco, Bellflower)
Scoring a game-high 32 points wasn’t enough to lead the Braves to a win against JSerra Catholic of San Juan Capistrano and standout Sebastian Much. Watson helped the Braves rally from a 21-point deficit, but they still lost 64-60.
Bryson Williams (Roosevelt, Fresno)
Probably one of the leading candidates for Central Section Player of the Year, Williams scored 42 points against McLane of Fresno in a 85-58 win that enabled him to establish a new Central Section record for most points in a season with 918. Bryson then came back in the second game of the week with 45 points in a 88-53 win over Sunnyside. He is averaging 34.4 points per game.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Delacy Brown (Poly, Riverside)
For the second week in a row, this 5-foot-6 senior captain scored over 30 points in a game as she scored 32 points during a 62-47 win over J.W. North of Riverside.
Sierra Campisano (Torrey Pines, San Diego)
For the fourth time this season, she scored at least 40 points in a game as she had 40 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks when the Falcons defeated Rancho Bernardo of San Diego, 73-63.
Jordan Cruz (McClatchy, Sacramento)
She’s a top returnee for last year’s CIF Division I state champions and missed a couple of preseason games that the Lions lost due to injury, which is why many view them as the third best team in the loaded CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs behind national No. 1 St. Mary’s of Stockton and state-ranked Oak Ridge. Cruz set two school record last week in a 85-34 win over Valley of Sacramento. The talented junior knocked down 12 three-pointers and finished with 44 points.
Beth Derner (Modoc, Alturas)
The CIF Northern Section’s leading scorer at 21.5 ppg lit up the scoreboard for 41 points to help the Braves snap a three-game losing streak with a 60-56 triumph over Burney.
Senior guard Dijour Ledbetter delivered a 40-point game for her team and is a player to watch. Photo: Courtesy school.
Lailoni Gaines (Modesto Christian)
A mainstay for the Crusader girls for the last three seasons, Gaines posted two double-doubles in wins over Downey of Modesto (73-26) and Beyer of Modesto (59-31) that kept the team unbeaten in the Central California Conference. Gaines had 21 points, 13 rebounds and three assists vs. the Knights, then came back to get 25 points, 11 rebounds and six steals vs. the Patriots.
Valerie Higgins (Chaminade, West Hills)
The All-American candidate had 29-point and 27-point performances last week as the Eagles defeated Notre Dame Academy of Los Angeles 95-56 and Marlborough of Los Angeles 71-19. She and her team still have to be viewed as a team to beat in the CIFSS Open Division despite recent upset loss to Alemany.
Madison Hotchkiss (Silver Creek, San Jose)
At one point during a 70-42 win over Pioneer of San Jose, Hotchkiss made four 3-pointers in a row and finished with eight 3-pointers and 27 points during a 70-42 win over Pioneer of San Jose. She also was 7 of 10 from three-point range later in the week and scored 25 points in a 76-47 win over Sobrato of Morgan Hill.
Madison Kast (Redwood, Visalia)
The senior standout scored a season high of 34 points and pulled down 20 rebounds as the Rangers beat Golden West 84-58. Madison has set two school records this season with 24 rebounds in one game, and 115 blocked shots for the season.
Dijour Ledbetter (San Lorenzo)
The senior guard had a game that got head coach Cheo White gushing in a win vs. Mt. Eden of Hayward. Ledbetter notched her season high of 40 points and also had 12 rebounds, five assists and two blocked shots.
Destiny Littleton (Bishop’s, La Jolla)
Moving closer to the 3,000 career points but just a junior with another year to go, Littleton scored 34 points during a 79-61 road loss to No. 8 La Jolla Country Day.
Taylor Martin (Stockton Christian)
Just like Cameron Pieters on the boys side, Martin is having a standout season for the Eagle girls. She hit for 30 points in an early week game on Monday to lead her team past Delta Charter of Tracy 58-34. Stockton Christian also earned a piece of the Mountain Valley League crown.
Melissa Martinez (Katella, Anaheim)
She scored 31 points and grabbed 20 rebounds as the Knights defeated Century of Santa Ana 62-11 to improve to 9-1 in the Century League and finish as the league’s co-champ.
Casey McWilliam (Mt. Carmel, San Diego)
Two weeks after hitting the 2,000-career point mark, she continues to put up big time performances. McWilliam scored 35 points and grabbed 15 rebounds during a 54-51 win last week over Rancho Bernardo of San Diego and had 31 points and 15 rebounds during a 54-52 win over Poway. For the week, she also was 28 of 30 from the free throw line while making four three-pointers in both games as well..
Justine Pharms (Stagg, Stockton)
For one of the rare times this season, Pharms didn’t record double-digit rebounds in a game finishing with nine but she did still have a double-double as she scored 29 points and had 11 steals during a 68-39 win over Chavez of Stockton.
Carol Schroeder (Bonita Vista, Chula Vista)
This three-year standout for the Barons tends to get overlooked in such a great year for individual scoring leaders and big-time players in the San Diego area. She had a strong all-around outing last week with 25 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and six assists as Bonita Vista beat Olympian of Chula Vista 61-54.
Sophia Song (Mark Keppel, Alhambra)
The Aztecs’ 6-foot senior captain who will be attending UC Davis next year recorded another triple double in a 60-14 win over Bell Gardens. She scored 27 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and had 11 steals to lead the way. This great performance occurred after nearly having her second triple double this past week with 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven steals during a different win over Bell Gardens. She has recorded five triple-doubles in her last 10 games.
Jordan Thompson (Harker, San Jose)
Averaging 27.2 points per game, this 5-foot-9 junior guard followed up her 30-point performance from the week before with 31 points as the Eagles defeated Crystal Springs Uplands of Hillsbourough 57-16.
Kayla Washington (Cajon, San Bernardino)
It’s another week and another pair of double-doubles for Washington. Her best performance of the week saw her score 32 points and grab 22 rebounds during a 92-56 win over Redlands that allowed Cajon to remain undefeated in league play.
COACHING UPDATE
Congratulations to long-time boys basketball coach Tom Orlich from Clovis West of Fresno, who now has the third most wins (830) in state history, according to the Cal-Hi Sports Record Book. He moved past Lou Cvijanovich of Oxnard Santa Clara, who retired with 829 wins.
Super sophomore Adrian Martinez beat the buzzer for the game-winning basket as Clovis West edged Clovis East 69-68 and junior Adrian Antunez scored a game high of 28 points.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
