First Round Round-up

The first round of section playoffs produced big individual outings and upsets throughout the brackets. Sac-Joaquin Section Division II flexes its strength and the top ranked Rams suffer a big injury.

Grant saw its 42-31 fourth quarter lead evaporate to nothing against Yuba City, but eventually held on for a 54-46 win. Cameron Oliver had 17 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for the Pacers, who had three players in double figures. Yuba City was led by 16 points from senior post Aran Dhillon, who was also a disruptive force as a rim protector. "In the second half, we got the energy up. We got the jitters out," Oliver said.

Behind the double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds from Vasilije Saraba, Del Campo held off Burbank 69-65. Saraba is one of the best non-ranked players in Northern California and is headed to Yuba College next year.

Cordova junior Jordan Roberson dropped 35 points as Cordova held serve at home in a 68-56 win over Rocklin. Cordova goes up against Folsom on Friday after it beat Vallejo 87-70 behind 29 points from Jordan Ford.

The Sac-Joaquin Section Division II quarterfinals feature the top eight teams and a number of fun matchups. Cosumnes Oaks-St. Mary's Stockton and Grant-Sacramento highlight the slate, which includes Folsom-Cordova and Del Oro-Del Campo. SJS Division II rivals the Central Coast Section Open Division as the top bracket in Northern California.

Kenny Daye is a solid unsigned senior guard and propelled West to a 66-61 upset win over Monterey Trail in the SJS Division I playoffs. He scored 35 points. Daye averaged 18 points, five rebounds and five assists in the regular season.

Washington knocked off defending NorCal champion College Park 61-50 in the biggest upset in the North Coast Section on Tuesday. Power guard Caleb Baskett had 22 points to continue his strong senior year.

No. 12 Heritage moved past No. 5 Castro Valley 67-64 behind 26 points from senior Shon Briggs. Heritage will face De La Salle on Friday. The Patriots were part of a strong night for the Bay Valley Athletic League with Freedom and Pittsburg advancing to the quarterfinals.

Behind 16 made three pointers, Acalanes beat San Marin 69-49. Senior Matt Thomas had 29 points for the Dons. They were one of six Diablo Foothill Athletic League teams to win first round games joining Dougherty Valley (Division I), Las Lomas (Division II), Dublin (Division II), Miramonte (Division III) and Campolindo (Division III). Miramonte and Campolindo play on Friday with a NorCal spot on the line.

Girls Basketball

St. Mary's-Stockton appears to have lost senior star Charise Holloway for the rest of the playoffs after she suffered a knee injury during the first round win against Merced. The early prognosis is an MCL injury, according to the Stockton Record.

In Oak Ridge's 52-39 win over Kennedy-Sacramento, San Jose State signee Ali Bettencourt had 22 points for the Trojans. They host Enochs tonight.

Nevada Union senior Sydney Porter has been one of the better players in the Sacramento area this season. She had 23 points in a 77-47 win over Sheldon to set up a tough quarterfinal matchup with McClatchy. Both have been top ranked teams in the area at points this year. The winner gets a NorCal spot.

Junior post Lauren Heyn finished with 26 points in Del Oro's 58-34 win over Whitney. She added 11 rebounds, four steals and four blocks in controlling the action inside. The Golden Eagles face Buhach Colony on Thursday.

Deer Valley had no trouble moving past league foe Liberty 79-38 in the first round of the NCS Division I playoffs. Sierra Dixon had 33 points and Maranne Johnson had 18 points, 11 rebounds and 13 steals.

Piedmont rolled past Berean Christian 83-29 as Lauren Seyranian had 33 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. She is headed to UC Davis and is No. 26 in the NCP Top 40.

The Oakland Athletic League produced a ranked post matchup in Skyline's 47-34 win over McClymonds. Nebraska bound Darrien Washington had 14 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks in the win. Junior Da Ja Nay Powell had 26 points and 14 rebounds for Mack.