South Placer Boys' Basketball roundup: Wildcats win Scatinni Tournament, Lions finish third at Viking Classic

The high school boys' basketball season is heating up as a number of area teams competed in tournaments over the weekend and played well. Here is a look at how all area teams are currently performing. Sierra Foothill League Whitney High won the Scatinni Tournament at Palma High last weekend by defeating Palma High 85-41 in the championship game on Saturday. The Wildcats defeated Salinas and Independence in their prior two games to make it to the title game. Senior guard Matt Schroeder was named the tournament Most Valuable Player for finishing 17.3 points per game on 59 percent shooting from the field, including nearly 43 percent from three. Elijah Samdahl and Ely Willis also earned First-Team Tournament honors. "Our strengths right now are our rebounding and our depth," Wildcats coach Nick French said. "This is the biggest team we've ever had here and when healthy, we're very deep. We've always carried a lot of players but we are routinely playing 12 to13 guys in each game. Guys are starting to understand their roles and this weekend was the first time it felt like they embraced them. The championship game against Palma, everything just seemed to be going in. We had been struggling to shoot the ball but shot 12 out of 25 from three that game and it was good to see the kids play with confidence." The Wildcats finished second in the Sierra Foothill League last season and qualified for the state playoffs. They are currently 7-2 and will be competing at the Les Curry Tournament at Davis High that starts this Thursday, after press time, against Wood High. The Granite Bay Grizzlies placed third in the Titan Holiday Classic at Antelope High School this weekend after beating the Vista Del Lago High Eagles 73-57 on Dec. 8 and Davis High on Saturday. Senior Yaqub Mir led the Grizzlies in the tournament opener against the Eagles with 31 points, including 12 in the first quarter. Junior Davis Abell added 17 while McCade Long had eight points and 10 rebounds. "I was just trusting my teammates and settling into plays," Mir said. "My chemistry with everyone is getting much better. Davis and McCade being returners is great because I just give them a look and then just read them and that's really good on the court, especially in close games." Granite Bay High lost to Lincoln High of Stockton 77-47 on Friday but defeated Davis High 65-55 on Saturday. The Grizzlies made it to the Sac-Joaquin Section title game last season but lost to Grant High at Golden 1 Center. "That's what motivates us the most," Mir said. "When we lost that game, I took that second-place banner and put it in my room. Every day I look at it and it just motivates me to get back there this year." Del Oro High is currently 6-4 after a 61-53 loss against Placer High at home on Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles have been playing solid as of late and narrowly lost 72-68 in the finals of the Stonebarger Classic to Liberty High. Junior Caden Pinnick scored 32 points and earned All-Tournament honors, along with senior Brandon Hill. Pinnick and Hill are the top two scorers to start the season for Del Oro High and Hill also leads the Golden Eagles in rebounds. The Golden Eagles are playing in the Les Curry Tournament this week that starts with El Camino High on Thursday, after press time. Rocklin High lost four games last weekend at the Clovis West Nike Invitational Tournament against Central, Bullard, Clovis West and San Joaquin Memorial high schools. The Thunder defeated West Park High 62-46 on Tuesday and will now prepare to face Lincoln High at home this upcoming Tuesday. Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League Valley Christian Academy is currently 6-2, following a 87-39 win over John Adams Academy of El Dorado Hills on Tuesday. The Lions placed third at the Viking Classic last weekend by defeating Victory Christian 97-56 on Saturday. Senior Chris Donkor led the way with 16 points per game and has shot the ball well at 50 percent from the field. The Lions finished second in the Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League last season and made it to the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals. "I was wondering how our returners from last season would evolve and have been pleasantly surprised," Lions coach Brad Gunter said. "We've had to rely on a couple of young guys, James Shevchuk and Jeremiah Pritchard, to cover spots from last year. Pace of play is still a work in progress for us. Every game we see a little improvement and when we can get our feet going faster than our minds, then this is going to be a fun team to watch." The Lions are competing at the Justin Gardner Memorial Tournament at Nevada Union High School this weekend. Western Sierra Collegiate Academy might be 1-5 but that doesn't mean they aren't competing as the Wolves lost 44-31 to the Lincoln High Zebras on Dec. 7. The Wolves are in Division IV while the Zebras are in Division III. The Wolves are also without their top two scorers from last season, Nick Frantti and Camdyn Biel, as both players graduated. In their contest against the Zebras, senior Mathes Klein led the way with 12 points while Chase Delaloye had nine points and 10 rebounds. The Wolves led 9-7 at the end of the first quarter and outscored Lincoln High 17-8 in the fourth quarter. "I'm extremely proud and our issue is we are a hot starting team that struggles throughout the game, but this game, we finished a lot stronger with our effort and our focus," Wolves coach Andre Jones said. "Losing Camdyn and Nick, that's about 25-30 rebounds gone, so we knew this year we would have to rebound as a team so it's a huge point of emphasis." The Wolves will travel to face Leroy Greene Academy on Monday before playing Venture Academy on Wednesday. Capital Valley Conference The Woodcreek Timberwolves are 6-3 and finished second in the Mark Macres Tournament at Monterey Trail High on Saturday. Woodcreek High opened the tournament with a 64-61 win over Bishop Manogue before defeating Sacramento High 69-62 last Friday. Senior Austin Ito averaged 29.3 points per game and earned All-Tournament, along with Taye Hollins. Woodcreek High will face Del Campo in the Vista Basketball Challenge on Friday before playing Vista Del Lago on Saturday. Roseville High is 4-3 with their most recent game being a 63-35 loss to Whitney High on Dec. 6. The Tigers have defeated Mira Loma, Vista Del Lago, Casa Roble high schools and Vanguard College Preparatory Academy but have lost to Rocklin High and Marysville High, along with the Wildcats. The Tigers are young as they only have four seniors, along with eight juniors, a sophomore and a freshman. They will compete in the Les Curry Tournament this weekend. Foothill Valley League West Park High only won seven games in their first varsity season in 2021-22. Now, one year later, the Panthers have already surpassed that win total as they are 8-2 and took home the consolation championship at the Mel Good Holiday Classic last weekend. The Panthers lost the tournament opener to Foothill High of Palo Cedro in overtime but defeated River Valley High last Friday and Kennedy High on Saturday. Freshman Jaden Jackson earned All-Tournament honors. West Park High plays Pioneer High on Thursday, after press time, and will face River Valley once again on Tuesday. The Oakmont Vikings are currently 4-4 after going 1-2 at the Titan Holiday Classic last weekend where they lost to Antelope and Bella Vista but defeated the Center High Cougars. Junior Kundai Mkorombindo poured in 21 points for the Vikings in their 69-30 win over the Cougars last Friday while senior Ryu Decena scored 15. Oakmont High will now prepare to face Elk Grove High at home next Wednesday. John Adams Academy The Patriots slipped to 7-6 on the season after a 72-58 loss to Sacramento Waldorf on Monday. John Adams Academy was down 12 at the end of the first quarter and were never able to fight back in the game. Despite the loss, the Patriots won their three prior contests and have been playing well offensively, averaging nearly 67 points per game. Senior John Paul Byers is leading the way with 25.8 points per game while junior Michael Jimenez is also averaging double figures with 11 points per game. The Patriots will face Foresthill at home on Friday before playing Sacramento Country Day on Monday.