March Madness starts a day early for the two remaining high school basketball teams with the California Interscholastic Federation state playoffs beginning tonight.
East Union’s girls (24-6) are seeded ninth in the Division IV Northern Regional bracket and headed to No. 8 Pierce (26-3) of Arbuckle. Meanwhile, the Ripon Christian boys (23-7) have the opportunity to host at least two games as the No. 3 seed in Division V but drew a large-school opponent in No. 14 Madera South (17-15). Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
CIF released brackets on Sunday, and in this age of “competitive equity” there is much discussion about some of the oddities across the board.
For example, East Union starts out with a road game, while Valley Oak League rival Kimball can possibly host two as the No. 3 seed in the same bracket. Both were eliminated in the semifinal round of the SJS Division III playoffs, but East Union swept the Jaguars in their two league matchups on its way to an outright VOL championship.
“I would love to hear the logic of how that happened, but you know what? These things at NorCals is squirrely everywhere, it’s not just with us,” EU coach Jim Agostini said, acknowledging Vanden’s plight. Vanden repeated as SJS Division III champion, and the reward is a leap up to Division I, a No. 12 seed and a first-round trip to Central Section powerhouse Clovis.
Last season, East Union claimed a VOL title and was eliminated in the SJS semifinals but remained in Division III and got to even host its first-round game — against a Division I school, Central of Fresno, out of the Central Section. The Lancers were defeated, 70-52.
This time, they’re at a lower division playing against a school with about a third of its own student population but will have to travel 105 miles to Arbuckle.
“I don’t want to bang my head on it that much, we’re just excited that we’re playing in a NorCal game and looking forward to it,” Agostini said.
His Lancers are coming off a 46-42 loss at Lincoln of Placer County in the SJS semifinals, where they had their hands full with CSU Monterey Bay-bound center Katie Leeth.
Tonight, they’ll be tested by sharpshooting guard Jocelyn Medina, who has put up gaudy scoring numbers in her Pierce career. The 5-foot-6 senior is averaging 32.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 6.2 steals, making 43% of her 3-pointers (122 of 281) and 77% of free throws (116 of 150).
Medina went for 50-plus in back-to-back games earlier this month — 55 and 52 points in league home games over Durham and Colusa on Feb. 2 and 7 — and has a career-high of 61 scored in a non-league game against Valley of Sacramento last year.
“In their second-round playoff game, her team scored 59 and she had 47 of them,” Agostini said. “We’ll try to keep her under her average, but you gotta honor it. If you’re averaging over 30 points in high school games, you’re doing something right. They set multiple screens for her, but she can create, too. It’s a good challenge to try and slow down a 30-point scorer, and hopefully we can keep her under her average.”
The Bears are the defending Sacramento Valley League champions and rode a 17-game winning streak to the Northern Section Division IV final, where they fell to top-seeded Lassen, 57-43.
“That’s a good team,” Agostini said. “They went to the finals of their Section, and we haven’t gotten to a Section final in 29 years — it’s a hard thing to do. If they make it to a Section final, it’s because they’re doing a lot of things right. You gotta honor that, you gotta respect it and we do.”
The winner plays No. 1 San Domenico (23-7) or No. 16 Priory in the second round Thursday.
Mark Hofman’s Ripon Christian boys team is a Section final and NorCal regular. The Knights held off Fortune Early College 58-54 last Saturday in the SJS Division V championship, capturing their 12th overall title.
Now, they’ll get to match up with a Division I school with nearly 2,800 students (RC has closer to 200). Madera South, which finished in a sixth-place tie in the North Yosemite League, knocked off four higher seeds to claim the CS’ Division V crown.
Seeded 13th, the Stallions galloped past No. 7 McFarland 71-64 for their first Section title Saturday. They were the beneficiary of a brutal decision by the CS that forced top-seeded Desert of Edwards Air Force Base to forfeit its semifinal with Madera South because of unsafe travelling conditions stemming from the Southern California rainstorms.
“We watched a lot of film and know a lot of these teams (in the NorCal Division V bracket), Hofman said “It’s an even field. I think there are only good teams left.”
Led by 6-3 senior Michael Rivera, Madera South may have trouble matching up with Ripon Christian’s size in the post, but they make up for it with speed.
“They pressure full court, Hofman said. They did make 3-point shots the film we had on them, and they attack the basket. They play fast and aggressive.”
Hofman said RC’s previous opponent, Fortune Early College, and several others have helped his team get ready for postseason speed. The Knights beefed up their non-league schedule, which included accomplished larger-school opponents and a four-day run in the challenging Modesto Christian Holiday Hoop Classic.
“That was probably RC’s hardest preseason ever, and we won some of them,” Hofman said. “That really prepared us for a game like the one we had with Fortune at the Section final. That’s why we do that.”
After long travels in previous NorCal appearances, Hofman is glad to get at least one at home this year. A win tonight matches them with sixth-seeded Kerman (20-11) or No. 11 Vacaville Christian (22-4).
“We’re really pleased with our position, and part of that is the travelling,” Hofman said. “I’ve driven to Weed and Shasta, and last year it was Pebble Beach and Downtown San Francisco. It has been interesting, but being at home for a change in front of our fans will be nice.”
The regional finals are set for March 7, and the state championships follow on March 10-11 at Golden 1 Center.
