MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school boys basketball rankings

As expected, the heavies largely held steady this week in the rankings. After this weekend, we'll either have the same No. 1, Salesian (Richmond), or a new one in current No. 3 Sheldon (Sacramento). The teams face off Saturday in yet another nonleague thriller that has become the norm this winter in the Bay Area.

Salesian has NorCal wins of note over Newark Memorial (Newark) 55-54, Mitty (San Jose) 72-51 and De La Salle (Concord) 47-43. Salesian lost to Bullard, a team Sheldon has defeated. Sheldon lost to Mitty in the second game of the season 71-65 when the Huskies were without anchor talents D'Erryl Williams and Darin Johnson.

In other words, stay tuned. Mitty, De La Salle, Salesian and Sheldon are all expect to be placed in the new CIF Northern California Open playoffs — the elite against the elite. First, those teams must win section championships. Winning league titles certainly helps that wave of momentum.

MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 Boys Basketball Rankings

1. (Last week 1) Salesian (Richmond) 18-3, 7-0
The Pride has won eight consecutive games since falling to Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 65-59 and the team remains unbeaten against Northern California opponents, including a recent win over De La Salle and an early effort over Mitty. Cal Poly-bound Markel Leonard, Cal-bound Jabari Bird and Montana-bound Mario Dunn have been superb. Salesian plays Sheldon on Saturday in what could be a prelude to a NorCal Open showdown.

2. (2) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 15-4, 9-0
The Monarchs beat Bellarmine (San Jose) in another rough-and-tumble West Catholic Athletic League contest and then beat St. Ignatius (San Francisco), 57-44, with Aaron Gordon scoring 20 with 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-8 national recruit also signed autographs and gracefully took pictures with fans from both sides for 10 minutes after the game, prompting Monarchs coach Tim Kennedy to tell reporters, "He's like The Beatles."

3. (3) Sheldon (Sacramento) 16-4, 5-0
The Huskies beat rival and Sacramento Bee-ranked No. 2 Pleasant Grove, 85-79, in a Delta River League thriller in a packed-gym setting. San Diego State-bound D'Erryl Williams scored 18 of his 20 in the second half, Washington-bound Darin Johnson had 28 with his inside-outside game and San Diego State-bound Dakarai Allen had 22. Sheldon has one state loss — to Mitty in an early game (without two starters). Recent nonleague wins include Bullard (Fresno) and Deer Valley (Antioch). Now the mother of all nonleague challenges looms against Salesian.

4. (4) Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 16-3, 6-0
The Dragons edged Piedmont 64-60 and rolled Hayward 83-38 to maintain firm hold in the West Alameda County League. Sophomore post Ivan Rabb continues to play beyond his years. Other NorCal wins include Sacramento (80-71) and Deer Valley (91-86).

5. (5) Deer Valley (Antioch) 15-4, 3-0
The Wolverines are surely battle-tested of late, falling at Sheldon 97-92, then rallying to beat Newark Memorial with a last-play bucket and then keeping control of the Bay Valley Athletic League with a 71-42 victory over Liberty (Brentwood). Deer Valley has won eight of nine. Early season wins include De La Salle (Concord) (55-38) and Sacramento (97-96).

6. (6) Modesto Christian 18-2, 7-0
The Crusaders are crushing the field again in the Trans Valley League and will likely be moved into the larger Modesto City League come Sac-Joaquin Section realignment starting in 2014. MC blasted Orestimba 86-12, gaining little. That's why the 67-60 win over El Cerrito in a nonleague affair earlier this month was needed. The losses are to El Camino Real (Woodland Hills) 90-65 and Redondo Union (60-58). Early wins are over St. Joseph (Alameda) (61-48) and Campolindo (68-58).

7. (7) De La Salle (Concord) 16-3, 7-1
A night after falling to top-ranked Salesian 47-43, the Spartans returned to East Bay Athletic League action with an 80-69 victory over California (San Ramon) then put the squeeze on Foothill (Pleasanton) 50-26. Elliott Pitts had 24 points and four steals.

8. (8) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 17-4, 4-1
A good week of practice and a good game plan was enough to keep the Eagles within striking distance of rival Sheldon in a thrilling 85-79 setback. Shooting forward Cole Nordquist had 19 points and guards Malik Thames and Matt Hayes had 20 and 15. Sophomore 6-6 post Marquese Chriss had 18. Wins include Newark Memorial and the losses are close, including 71-65 to 19-1 state power Centennial (Corona) and 67-60 to Sacramento.

9. (10) Serra (San Mateo) 16-3, 7-2
The Padres beat St. Francis (Mountain View) 78-50 behind Jacqui Biggins (17 points), Henry Caruso (14), and Eddie Stansberry (12). Serra is in second place of the West Catholic Athletic League behind Mitty.

10. (11) Capital Christian (Sacramento) 19-2, 6-0
Ranked third in The Sacramento Bee rankings behind Sheldon and Pleasant Grove, the defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division V Cougars are rolling in the Golden Empire League but had to work for a 67-61 win at Lindhurst (Olivehurst). Uchenna Iroebgu scored 20, Nifae Lealao 13 and Trey Belton 11. An early season win includes Sacramento at the buzzer.

11. (12) Newark Memorial (Newark) 12-7, 7-0
The last two losses are to heavies in Pleasant Grove 64-57 and Deer Valley, 55-54. The Cougars are in control of the Mission Valley Athletic League after beating Washington (Fremont) 47-36 and Kennedy (Fremont) 56-34, stretching their league winning streak to 25. Newark has two wins over Dublin and a one-point loss to Salesian.

12. (13) Dublin 15-4, 5-0
Joe McGlaston went for a lifetime best 40 points to beat Miramonte 83-62 as the Gaels eclipsed 83 points for the fourth time in five outings in cementing hold of the Diablo Valley League. League wins include Campolindo (Moraga) 86-72 and nonleague wins include Monte Vista (Danville) and Sacramento.

14. (14) Monte Vista (Danville) 14-6, 7-1
The Mustangs beat San Ramon Valley (Danville) 54-50 behind Trevor John (23 points) and Rishi Satoor (17) then avenged an earlier league setback to California (San Ramon) with a 77-52 rout. John had 20 and Spencer Rust 19.

15. (15) Sacramento 15-6, 7-1
The Dragons remain on the tail of Kennedy (Sacramento) in the Metropolitan Conference after rolling Sacramento teams McClatchy and Florin, 61-41 and 81-54, respectively. Sacramento lost to surging Kennedy (Sacramento) 66-59. Early losses include Deer Valley and Dublin and wins include Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove), West Ranch (Valencia) and Chaminade (West Hills).

16. (16) San Leandro 16-4, 4-2
The Pirates still seek a share of the West Alameda County League title in a race headed by Bishop O'Dowd, which beat SL 57-46.

17. (17) Antelope 16-6, 5-0
The Titans inched closer to winning the Capital Athletic League after wiping out Sacramento Bee No. 13-ranked Cordova (Rancho Cordova) 61-37, days after beating Bee No. 6 Bella Vista (Fair Oaks) 60-50 in a nonleague game. Senior forward Gabe Bealer is averaging 20.7 points and 7.5 rebounds. Close losses include Sacramento (59-48) and Bullard (Fresno) 65-60).

18. (18) Palo Alto 17-1, 7-0
The Vikings have won 15 consecutive games after beating Mountain View 41-30 in a slug fest in maintaining first-place status in the DeAnaza League. Aubrey Dawkins had 19 for Paly.

19. (19) Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 19-2, 9-0
Corey Hammell, a 6-6 forward/post, is averaging 18.3 points for the surging Cardinals, who are in control of the North Bay League. Montgomery (Santa Rosa) is in second place, and the teams play Feb. 2. CN won by four in the first meeting. Nonleague wins include 50-46 over Campolindo (Moraga) with a 57-51 loss to Monte Vista (Danville).

20. (21) Bellarmine (San Jose) 14-5, 4-5
After losing to Mitty in early WCAL action 65-63, the Bells gave the Monarchs another fight in the rematch, falling 73-67 in overtime. Also in the week, Bellarmine belted Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 74-43 after leading 32-3 after the first quarter.

21. (22) McClymonds (Oakland) 12-7, 3-0
Mack did not play last week after falling to San Leandro 43-41 in a Martin Luther King contest. It is alone in first in the Oakland League, just ahead of league one-loss rivals Oakland and Oakland Tech. Mack has competitive losses to Antelope, Bellarmine, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Monte Vista and Deer Valley with victories over Berkeley (62-45) and El Cerrito (72-54).

22. (23) El Cerrito 16-7, 6-1
The Gauchos have lost only 61-50 to Salesian in a Tri-County League showdown (it was a one-point game early in the fourth period) but remained a game back after beating St. Patrick/St. Vincent 65-53. Marcellus Pippins had 12 points and seven steals.

23. (24) Campolindo (Moraga) 14-5, 4-1
The Cougars recovered from their 86-72 loss at Dublin in the Diablo Valley League to win three in a row, including Las Lomas (Walnut Creek) 66-54.Matt O'Reilly and Matt McCue scored 20 and 17, respectively, for Campolindo. Nonleague losses include Cardinal Newman (50-46) and Modesto Christian (68-58).

24. (25) El Camino (South San Francisco) 15-4, 7-0
The surging Colts are in control of the Peninsula North standings, thanks to prolific efforts and defense. Last week included an 88-39 rout of Jefferson (Daly City) and 96-28 over Oceana (Pacifica). Michael Smith, a 6-3 forward, is averaging 24.4 points and 10.1 rebounds and 5-8 guard Elijah White is scoring 20.4 a game.

25. (NR) Enterprise (Redding) 17-3, 3-0
Welcome aboard to the Hornets of the Northern Section. Coach Mike Haworth's team has a 72-40 rout of Sacramento Bee No. 13 Placer (Auburn) and a 59-52 victory over Analy (Sebastopol), which is unbeaten in its league. The 56-49 loss to El Cerrito in a tournament speaks of this team's talent. Kaelan Crisosto, a 6-foot guard, averages 15.6 points and 7.9 rebounds for Enterprise, which plays host to Foothill (Palo Cedro) this week for first place in the Sacramento River League.