‘It’s been a dream.’ Stone Ridge Christian boys win first section basketball championship
Stone Ridge Christian High junior Kassius Salazar had the start to a big game any basketball players dreams about,
The Knights star found the opening tip in his hands and raced down for an easy layup. He was fouled and sank two free throws the next time down the court. He drained a 3-pointers one minute later.
Salazar scored the first 11 points for the Stone Ridge Christian boys basketball team that helped ignite a 28-point first quarter. The top-seeded Knights were off and running as they defeated No. 2 Valley Christian 91-77 to win the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI championship at UC Davis on Friday afternoon.
It’s the first boys basketball section crown in the SRC program’s history.
“Unbelievably happy for these young men,” said Stone Ridge Christian coach Tyler Rogers. “They worked extremely hard this year and last year. The guys that were here last year got a taste for what the playoffs are like and I think they wanted more. All season the hunger was there.”
The Knights were upset in the semifinals last year. That served as motivation for their playoff run this season.
Salazar made sure his team was going to bring home its first blue banner, scoring a game-high 31 points.
“It’s been a dream ever since last year when coach Rogers came into our program,” Salazar said. “We lost in the semifinals last year and our biggest thing was going to beat Valley Christian in the section next year and that’s what we did today.”
Salazar scored 13 points in a first quarter that saw the Knights (23-8) spring out to a 28-12 lead. The junior guard scored inside and drained 3-pointers to spark offensive outburst.
Salazar displayed why he surpassed 1,000 career points as a junior earlier this season.
“The kid can score,” Rogers said. “He just has a knack for the ball, a knack for where the rim is at and he’s just the greatest human. He’s not just a basketball player, he’s a great kid. I’m happy for him. He’s shown up in the biggest games all year so it’s no surprise for me.”
The Knights were more than a one-man show.
Sophomore Daijon O’Neil added 22 points and six assists. Senior Brock Richards scored 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Center Tyler McCabe added 11 points and 12 rebounds.
“I’m incredibly proud of our whole team,” Richards said. “Even people who don’t get in much, when they did get in they gave the same energy and effort off the bench.”
Valley Christian had its moments as Malahi Urena scored 27 points and finished with 11 rebounds. Chase Clary also added 23 points.
However, the Knights held Valley Christian to just 28 made shots in 74 attempts (37.8%) and just 7 of 36 from behind the three-point line.
The Knights also dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Lions (19-11) 56 to 33.
Rogers did his best to prepare his team for a deep playoff run by beefing up the Knights’ schedule with teams like Modesto Christian, Ripon Christian and other bigger schools.
“That was one of key things I looked at this offseason,” Rogers said. “If we want to take the next step as a program we have to schedule the teams that are there or have been there... So these guys are battle tested and there’s nothing that they haven’t seen this year.”
Winning a section championship was a dream come true for many of the players.
“We’ve been talking about this since the summer,” McCabe said. “This has been a dream for a while.”
Next up for the Knights is the NorCal Regional playoffs, which get underway next week. Fresh off the section championship, the SRC players were already turning their attention to the next challenge.
“It feels great, very exciting but I’m ready for state,” O’Neil said.
