Stone Ridge Christian boys basketball defeat Sac Waldorf, head to first section title game
Tucked into his back pocket, Stone Ridge Christian High boys basketball coach Tyler Rogers keeps a small, folded piece of black paper.
In tiny print — that even someone with perfect vision would struggle reading — is a list of about 50 plays and sets Rogers may turn to at any point during a game for his players to run.
Rogers kept the play sheet at the ready on Tuesday night as the top-seeded Knights tried to close out a Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI semifinal victory over No. 5 Sacramento Waldorf.
Rogers called out the plays and his players executed effectively, scoring key baskets early in the fourth quarter to hold off the Waves (19-11) for a 50-37 victory.
The Knights avenged their semifinal loss to Sacramento Waldorf last year and will now play for the section championship against No. 2 Valley Christian on Friday at noon at UC Davis. Valley Christian defeated Foresthill Christian 71-57 in the other semifinal.
“It feels great for this group,” said Rogers, whose team improved to 22-8 on the season. “This is a young group but for the guys who played last year, they know the feeling of getting close but not setting out on what we accomplished. It was the hunger and determination of the returning guys that pushed us over the top this year.”
The Knights were in control from start to finish as SRC dominated on defense in the first half, limiting the Waves to just six points in the first half after shutting them out in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, the offense hit some timely shots and turned some turnovers into easy baskets to take a 24-6 lead at the half.
Rogers credited the Knights defense, especially with the help of two former area head coaches who joined his staff as assistant coaches this year in Hector Nava and Rayshaun Vance.
Nava was a longtime boys coach at Merced High before coaching the girls team at Golden Valley across town for a few years. This year Nava split time assisting for Stone Ridge Christian and Golden Valley boys coach Derrick Jacobs, helping both teams qualify for the playoffs.
Vance is a former girls coach at Buhach Colony High.
Rogers credited the addition of the Nava and Vance to the coaching staff was the difference from losing to Sacramento Waldorf last year in the semifinals to defeating the Waves this season.
“Both of them are defensive minded and our defense held them to six points in the first half,” Rogers said. “Having awesome assistant coaches was the difference.”
The Knights still had to put away the Waves in the second half after Sacramento Waldorf closed out the third quarter strong. The Waves took advantage of two of SRC’s players Brock Richards and Daijon O’neil sitting after picking up their third foul midway through the third quarter.
Sacramento Waldorf’s top player Eliajh Neuhaus scored 15 of his game-high 20 points in the third quarter, including a banked 3-pointer at the buzzer that pulled the Waves within 38-26 at the end of the third quarter.
That’s when Rogers turned to his play list.
The Knights opened the fourth quarter with Richards finding O’neil on a backcut for an open layup.
Richards then suggested a play had already worked for a layup, and it worked again for an easy basket for Richards.
Rogers then called a set that got O’neil open on the block and he overpowered a guard for another easy basket and quickly the Knights had stretched the lead to 44-28 with 5:50 left in the fourth quarter.
“We run these sets every day in practice,” Rogers said. “It’s my job to get plays to get our guys in the right spots. At the end of the day, it’s a credit to our players to make the plays.”
Richards said he noticed his defender Neuhaus was “hugging him on defense” and he knew he could beat him to the basket.
“I knew my guy wouldn’t back off me and his teammates couldn’t help and leave our shooters so the lane was wide open,” Richards said.
Richards and Kassius Salazar led the Knights with 14 points each. Richards also added 13 rebounds and three assists. Salazar was solid all around, helping out with the four rebounds and three steals.
O’Neil also added 10 points, doing most of his damage near the basket. A running back and defensive back during football season, O’neal is often able to take advantage of mismatches against smaller guards, which is why he leads the team in scoring at 18.9 points per game.
“Our big three guys (O’neal, Salazar and Richards) held it down for us tonight and our roll players made some plays,” Rogers said.
Stone Ridge Christian guards Owen Nelson and Luke Agueda knocked down key 3-pointers while some of the starters were resting or sitting with foul trouble. Tyler McCabe also played well, grabbing rebounds and helping with the defense in the paint.
The Knights are excited for a shot at the program’s first blue banner.
“It feels amazing,” Richards said. “Our team is finally coming together. We were locked in on defense, which has been a struggle for us all season.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2024 at 9:58 PM.
