HOOPS: Claim Jumpers are off to a 12-0 start,
The Columbia College men's basketball team beat American River College 84-66 Thursday night to improve their historic undefeated start this season to 12-0.
The Claim Jumpers played strong defense in the first half and hit 7 threepointers in the second half, Columbia coaching staff said.
Leading scorers for the Claim Jumpers were sophomore guard Landis Spivey with 22 points, freshman guard Grayson Carper with 17, and sophomore center Kaleb Carter and freshman guard Deshawn Bartley with 10 points each.
Columbia plays next against Gavilan College at home at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 30.
This is the best start any Claim Jumpers team has made since Columbia started the 1992-93 season 11-0 and won a 1993 state championship.
Sonora boys basketball
The Sonora Wildcats freshman boys basketball team won the El Capitan of Merced tournament a week ago, beating three teams and improving on their undefeated start to their season.
The Wildcats beat the hosts El Capitan 55-49 on Friday, Dec. 13, and on Saturday, Dec. 14 they beat Livingston 44-39 to advance to the championship game later Saturday, and they beat Atwater 58-53.
Against El Capitan, Chance Pimentel led Sonora scorers with 17 points, and Roger Alderman scored 12.
Against Livingston, Jared Franklin and Chance Pimentel scored 12 points each. Against Atwater, Franklin scored 22 and Pimentel scored 11.
Franklin and Pimentel were named tournament co-mvps, said Sonora freshman boys basketball head coach Joe Pimentel. As of Friday this week, the Sonora Wildcats freshman boys basketball team record is 5-0 so far this season.
In other high school basketball news, on Thursday the Bret Harte varsity girls basketball team played Highlands the San Juan Small School Challenge Tournament in Citrus Heights and lost a close game, 35-33. The Bullfrogs fell to 3-9 overall.
At the same tournament Thursday, the Bret Harte varsity boys basketball
lost 57-43 to Highlands, and fell to 2-7.
The Bret Harte varsity boys play Encina Prep at a time to be determined Saturday in the San Juan Small School Challenge Tournament in Citrus Heights.
Also Thursday, the Calaveras varsity girls basketball team lost 59-49 to Freedom of Oakley at the Napa Wine Valley Tournament.
With the loss, Calaveras has a record of 6-2 so far this season.