Here are the Bests from the games I saw this season:
Most Points, Team: 112 - Porterville, 11/26 vs. Feather River
Fewest Points Allowed, Team: 39 - West Valley, 1/3 vs. Monterey
Largest Margin of Victory: 40 - Santa Rosa (102) vs. Los Medanos (62), 2/13
Most Points, Player: 33 - David Bell, Portervile, 11/26 vs. Feather River
Most Rebounds, Player: 18 - Lester Strong, Moorpark, 3/9 vs. San Jose
Most Assists, Player: 15 - K.J. Rosales, Ohlone, 2/23 vs. Mendocino
Most 3-point FG, Player: 10 - David Bell, Porterville, 11/26 vs. Feather River
Most Blocks, Player: 6 - Antonae Roberson, San Jose, 11/26 vs. Diablo Valley
....................and...........Dean Browne, Lassen, 1/5 vs. Skyline
....................and...........Antonae Roberson, San Jose, 2/24 vs. Yuba
Most Steals, Player: 7 - Randall Powell, Foothill, 2/16 vs. Canada
(note: Powell also had a 6-steal game vs. Chabot 2/7. No other player had more than 5 in a game).
Best Team: Porterville. No disrespect meant towards LA Southwest, a deserving State Champion. However, the Pirates were on another level. Unfortunately probation kept them from defending their championship but they were just outstanding both times I saw them and they finished 29-1.
Best Game: San Jose 84, Chabot 83 in the Finals of the Chabot Tourney. Ok, where do I start...Tournament championship with the home team in the Final...Highly-regarded opponent San Jose, the eventual state runner-up...Chabot's Eric Crookshank throws down 32 with 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals before fouling out with 1:02 left...SJCC's Antonae Roberson pours in 29 with 14 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals before fouling out with 2:49 left...Iman Mattox gives Chabot 24 points and 8 rebounds...the Jags' Eric Swan hits for 14 points to go with 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and a block...Dallas Jensen ended up the hero with 15 points, 9 assists and the game-winning shot...Chabot led early and had the edge at halftime 46-38...and led late 81-80 with 30 secs left...a Michael Tabb FG made it 82-81 SJCC with 23 secs left...James Jackson put the Glads back up 83-82 with 16 ticks to go...Jensen nailed a jumper with 7 secs left, SJCC 84-83 in what turned out to be the winner...Chabot had 2 chances at the buzzer but couldn't make that last shot.
Best Comeback: Porterville, 12/3 vs. Skyline. The Trojans led by 13 early and by 11 in the 2nd half before the Pirates wore them down. Porterville took their first lead with about 8 minutes to go. It remained close until a 7-0 Porterville run put it away in the final minutes. Mike Mackell had 23 points and 8 rebounds for Porterville while Paul Jesinskis paced Skyline with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Not exactly a from-the-clouds closing run but Skyline played and outstanding game (and they would finish the year 30-5). But they couldn't keep Porterville from taking a 10-point victory.
Best Comeback that just fell short: San Francisco, 1/19 vs. Skyline. The Rams trailed 46-29 at halftime and started slowly in the 2nd half, falling behind 51-29. Just as Coach Pantazopolus signalled for a TO, Albert Johnson nailed a lay-up to close it to 51-31. Then CCSF, keyed by the marvelous play of Maurice Brown (16 pts on 7 of 10 plus 6 rebs, 5 asts and a block in the 2nd half alone), rallied. They went on a 45-24 extended run to take a 76-75 lead with about 3 minutes left before they ran out of steam and a couple key players fouled out. David Doubley did the rest, hitting 6 key FT down the stretch to seal the win for Skyline, 89-83. But is was a great comeback anyway.
Best Shot: Andrew Awad, Canada, 12/23 vs. Hartnell. The Panthers had just taken a 2-point lead with 8 seconds left. The Colts got the ball in and passed it around and it ended up in the hands of Awad, who tossed up a 3 at the buzzer...and nailed it! Final: Canada 71, Hartnell 70 in the Consolation Final at the Chabot Tournament. I guess it kind of summed up the season for Hartnell, who lost despite shooting 50% from the floor with just 11 turnovers. They eventually finished 5-22.
Best Game, Player: David Bell, Porterville, 11/26 vs. Feather River. Bell had 33 points on 11 of 16 shooting including 10 3-pointers in a 112-79 win. Plus he even had 6 assists!
Best Half, Player: Dallas Jensen, San Jose, 11/26 vs. Diablo Valley. Jensen had game totals of 13 points on 4 of 6 including 3 treys, plus 10 assists and 5 rebounds. Pretty much all of that came in the second half since he barely played in the first half. And the Jags won, 73-58.
Best Games by Position:
Point Guard: Jamaar Walker, SJCC, 2/24 vs. Yuba. 15 points on 5 of 6 from the floor, 12 assists and no turnovers in a 100-76 win.
Shooting Guard: David Bell, Porterville, 11/26 vs. Feather River (see above).
Small Forward: Randall Powell, Foothill, 2/7 vs. Chabot. 30 points on 12 of 20 shooting plus 6 rebounds and 6 steals in a 93-87 win.
Power Forward: Victor Simmons, Canada, 2/16 vs. Foothill. 26 points on 11 of 14 shooting plus 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Simmons went 8 of 9 from the floor in the 2nd half in the Colts' 74-68 win.
Center: Eric Crookshank, Chabot, 12/23 vs. San Jose (see above).
Off the Bench: Charles King, Ohlone, 2/23 vs. Mendocino. 28 points on 14 of 21 plus 13 rebounds and 3 steals in a 91-73 win. Just imagine what he'd have done if he had started!
And finally, the Let's See You Do That Again award to Paul Jesinskis of Skyline, who had 23 points and 16 rebounds vs. Marin on 12/1 and then to prove it was no fluke had exactly 23 points and 16 rebounds AGAIN 18 days later vs. Napa (on 12/19).
