Sac-Joaquin Section boys basketball section finals roundup: Sheldon prevails

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A college recruiter sizing up the Sheldon (Sacramento) Huskies this week insisted he wasn't much impressed with the Sacramento team nestled in the Elk Grove Unifed School District.

In short, he assessed, "not much talent."

Sir, it might be time to consider another line of work.

Junior dominated dripping of skill, speed, hops and poise, the top-seeded Huskies beat second-seeded and Jesuit (Carmichael) 49-44 in a slugfest of a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship at Power Balance Pavilion on Saturday night. The leader is powerfully built 6-foot-2 junior point guard D'Erryl Williams, who muscled inside for three late buckets and two free throws to crown the Huskies as large-school champions for the third consecutive season.

Dakarai Allen,a long and lean 6-6 junior wing, had six points, 10 rebounds and was presented with the game's sportsmanship award. Nate Iese, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound national football recruit headed to UCLA to knock people around, muscled inside for nine and had six rebounds. The one concern for Sheldon on an otherwise joyful night is the health of junior guard Armani Hampton, who had to be carried off the floor with a knee injury. It's too early to gauge the severity.

Parker Uu led Jesuit with 12.

Next is the NorCal D-I tournament, one of which Sheldon has been a part of six times since 2000. The Huskies have yet to break through and win one as it - like the entire section - has been derailed by Bay Area powerrs. Sheldon last season was beaten by eventual NorCal champion De La Salle in a semifinal.

"We're not done," Sheldon coach Joey Rollings said. "The goal is to go all the way. We think we have the team to do it."

DIVISION II
A year ago, Antelope High School was just getting used to the feel-good buzz of winning, of playing in an NBA arena. Now it seems to be old hat, and the Titans celebrated Saturday night at Power Balance Pavilion with the program's first Sac-Joaquin Section championship, racing past No. 7 Lodi 77-55 in the Division II title game.

Antelope (30-1) has won a section-best 29 consecutive games. It overcame the bizarre and wildly controversial ejection of its top defender in the second quarter to batter a Flames team that stunned the D-II field with a second-round upset of No. 2-seeded Sacramento High.

Isaiah Ellis, known for his poise, leadership and class as much as his penchant for rebounding, was tossed for what a referee deemed taunting and cursing, all of which Antelope players and coaches denied. What's more, there wasn't a single baseline photographer or reporter - and there was a mob - who heard such a thing or witnessed any taunting.

The referee would only explain to Antelope coach Rob Richards that he saw Ellis' "lips moving" after a teammate had a blocked shot.

Per high school rules, ejected players must sit out the following game. In this case, that would be a NorCal Regional D-II game - unless Antelope can win on appeal, a rarity in prep sports.

Antelope rallied without Ellis and had four players reach double figures as the Titans again exhibited terrific team play. Gabe Bealer had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Jarvis Watkins and Kei'Shaun Sinclair each had 13 points and Caleb King had 12.

Brandon Michelucci led Lodi with 14.

Richards likes his team's chances in the NorCals, a field top heavy with defending state champion Mitty-San Jose.

"The road definitely goes through Mitty," Richards said. "We feel we can go toe-to-toe with the Mitty's and Serra's of the Bay Area. We can represent this section and make some noise.

DIVISION III
Top-seeded Foothill (Sacramento) beat No. 2 Sierra (Manteca) 74-52 to win the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship, and in going true to form, they made it look easy.

That's four consecutive section playoff foes beaten by 20 or more by the Mustangs, a nice collection of size, skill and speed.

Sierra came in with the section's longest winning streak besides Antelope's 29-game run at 26 games but it was doused quickly.

Foothill coach Drew Hibbs craves a lot more than this because he's won a lot more than this. He now targets his third NorCal D-III title and third State D-III crown - all at Foothill since 1994. Hibbs is the only boys coach in this section to win two state titles.

Against Sierra, Kelly Bender had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Michael Bryson 19 and Douglas James 16 for the Mustangs, who have won 23 consecutive wins and stand as a serious threat in the looming D-III NorCal Regional playoffs that start next week.

Foothill hopes to land at least a No. 2 seed in a field that will include Bay Area powers Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco and Bishop O'Dowd of Oakland.

DIVISION IV
Top-seed Victory Christian-Carmichael (20-5) defeated Sacramento Adventist 65-46 to win the title after other big wins over Wilton Christian 67-56 and Brookside Christian 73-41. The Vikings have been led all season scoring wise by Robby Maxey (19.5 points per game) along with the double-digit scoring of Clayton Coppernoll and Blake Owen.

The Vikings have a tough task ahead with defending Northern California champion and nationally-ranked Salesian-Richmond in its path, but Victory Christian will likely get a No. 2 or 3 seed into the the NorCal playoffs.

DIVISION V
Top-seeded Capital Christian (Sacramento) beat No. 2 Central Catholic (Modesto) 64-50 to win the school's first basketball title - either gender.

Most remarkable is how young this outfit is with just one senior core starter in 6-foot-6 forward Matt Donlan, who played like a leader with swelling recruiting interest. He has a full game - inside, outside, ball handling, banger - and had 22 points and six rebounds.

Nifae Lealao, a 6-5 sophomore post and already a rising recruit as a lineman in football, had 15 points and seven rebounds, and 6-5 sophomore forward D.J. Wilson had 11 and six.

All this for a veteran coach who specializes on post play. Coach Terry Battenberg, a mentor in Sacramento for various schools since 1969, has written books on post play. He marvels at the upside of this bunch that bounds into the NorCal D-V field as a real threat.

"We're Young Bucks," Battenberg said, his face awash with pride. "I don't know if we can ask any more of this young group than what they gave us. They've impressed me all year long. Sometimes they scare me."

Scary in a good way, of course, with the potential to make a NorCal run.

"We honestly didn't think it'd happen this year," Battenberg said.

Battenberg came out of retirement after decades of success in the high school and college ranks, including league-title runs at Jesuit, El Dorado, Ponderosa and Union Mine - the Highway 50 stretch. Capital is also on Highway 50 so it made perfect sense, Battenberg joked, to answer previous coach and longtime friend Phil Oates' plea to take over as head coach. Oates remained as an assistant.

Oates and his team agonized at the finish of their season last year, when a jump shot by Summerville in the Summerville gym clearly after the final buzzer was ruled good. Battenberg praised Oates for his work over the years and this season and said he was thrilled to join the ride this season. Joe Davidson has covered prep sports at The Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter: @sb_joedavidson