Kenyon caught it, while being pressured by Robert Gonzalez. He would be the man to shoot it….

‘No one in this gym works harder than Gene shooting the basketball,’ said (Bear Coach Kirk) Andrus. ‘He shoots over and over – he shoots that shot over and over. It was fitting that he had the ball in his hands. No one deserves it more.’

Kenyon stepped back, he stepped forward, he let it fly…GOOD!

That’s how SiskiyouYouth.com contributor and KCWH radio station owner/broadcaster Rick Martin described the final seconds of regulation in the Mt. Shasta Bears’ win over the Weed Cougars to secure a share of the Shasta Cascade League championship. Martin would go on to write about Kenyon also making the lay up that gave the Bears the lead for good in overtime.

I rarely base my Impact Award selections on statistics. Usually, I’m aware that the player has good stats, but I don’t really know them until I look them up. The funny thing is that the stats almost always are good enough to say,” Hey, this is one of the best players.”

And so it is with Kenyon. He was second in scoring on the Bears (9.5 ppg). First in field goal percentage, including 3-pointers (54%). And, first in free throw percentage (64%) among the starters. You could say he’s a sharpshooter. He also had the second lowest number of turnovers among the starters. A low amount of turnovers is a good thing because, in basketball, no one likes a baker.

I had texted Coach Andrus sometime after the game against Weed, and about 12:30 in the morning (or night, if you prefer), I received a text back “Are you still awake?”

“For about 10 more minutes,” was the reply.

Fifteen minutes later, Andrus called. Forty-five minutes later, we said good night. About 40 of those minutes were spent on Kenyon hitting the shot to send the game to OT. (more…)

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DORRIS – It took a bit over three hours for the seventh-seeded Westwood Lady Lumber Jacks to make the trip to Butte Valley High School. It took the second-seeded Butte Valley Lady Bulldogs less than eight minutes to make it clear that the ride home for Westwood would be even longer.

Butte Valley (21-0) scored the first eight points of the game. Westwood (11-10) briefly interrupted the avalanche of points with a hoop of its own, about two minutes into the game. The Lady Jacks wouldn’t score again until two and a half minutes into the second quarter. Meanwhile, Butte Valley scored 19 more points in the first quarter to lead 27-2 going into the second frame. (more…)

Remember, the winner of the PremierWest Bank B-Ball challenge is determined by which team advances the furthest in the NSCIF playoffs. The teams’ win-loss record is the first tie breaker. The teams in bold are still in the hunt.

Next update will be Saturday, March 6 after the playoffs are complete.

1. Butte Valley Girls 21-0
2. Etna Girls 21-6
3. Dunsmuir boys 11-13

Eliminated in the 2nd round
4. Tulelake Boys 21-7
5. Weed Boys 20-7
6. Mt. Shasta Boys 17-9
7. Happy Camp Girls 10-9 (more…)

Scores

Saturday, February 27

Womens basketball

COS 54 -  Solano 69
COS ends season
COS Scoring: Amber Franco 14, Cassidy Hammon 11

Friday, February 26

Girls Basketball

Butte Valley 57 – Westwood 27
Butte Valley (2) advances to semi-finals v Loyalton (6)
Butte Valley Stats: Kady Porterfield 17 P, 10 R; Nicole Levesque 13 P, 4 R, 6 S; Becky Zarzynski 6 P, 5 R; Beth Holguin 6 P, Kai Braren 6 P, 6 R, 3 S

Boys Basketball

Mt. Shasta 41 – Central Valley 49
Mt. Shasta Scoring: Eric Thelander 22, Tim Jaegel 8

Full story coming sometime…or, maybe not.

Weed 62 – Redding Christian 67
Weed Scoring: Robert Gonzales 19 P, 7 R; Jake West 11 P, 11 R, 8 A; Robert West 13 P, 8 R; Tanner Shelton 10 P
Redding Christian Scoring: Andrew Baxter 32

Tulelake 40 – Liberty Christian 49

Trinity 54 – Fall River 52

Thursday, February 25
Girls Basketball

Etna 57 – Portola 46
Etna (3) advances to D-V semi-finals against Durham (2)
Etna Stats: Tandy Thackeray 16 P, 4 R, 3 S, 4 A; Annaleisa Nadig 14 P, 4 R, 6 S, 9 B; Paige Finley 10 P, 4 R, 5 S; Ilima Adams 11 R, 5 A

Happy Camp 26 – Hayfork 64

Boys Basketball

Dunsmuir 68 – Paradise Adventist 55
Dunsmuir Stats: Nate Gonzales 16, Matt Norton 16, Lt Hisey 8
Dunsmuir (11) advances to NSCIF D-VI semi-finals against Maxwell (7) (more…)

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TULELAKE – Before the game even started, the Tulelake Honkers found themselves in a bit of a bind. Leading scorer Nick Staub (20 ppg) rolled an ankle in warm ups and was unable to play. As it turned out, it didn’t matter.

The Honkers showed they have the hearts of lions, as they overcame a double digit deficit in the first half to defeat the Etna Lions, 51-44, in their NSCIF Division-V playoff opener on Wednesday night.

The eleventh-seeded and upset minded Lions used a 17-4 run to open a 12-point lead over the sixth-seeded Honkers early in the second quarter. Trailing 8-7 with 3:12 left in the opening quarter, Erik Anaya put the Lions up 9-7, with an assist from Clint Eastlick. A steal-n-score by Brent Davis made it 11-7. Eastlick put back a rebound, 13-7. Honker Jacob Woodson temporarily interrupted the run with a put back, making it 13-10. Anaya dished to Andy Menne for a hoop to resume the Etna run, 15-10. It was Davis to Anaya to make it 17-10. An Anaya put back upped Etna’s advantage to nine points, 19-10. Tulelake scored on a nice inbound play from Zane Burrier to sophomore Adam Kandra with four seconds to go in the first quarter, leaving Etna with a 19-12 lead heading into the second frame. (more…)

By Rick Martin, KCWH radio 102.3/101.7 fm

MOUNT SHASTA – Mt. Shasta knew what it wanted to do against visiting Anderson in Wednesday’s NSCIF Division-IV boys basketball playoff opener:

“Get off to a fast start and not let a team like that hang around in your gym, thinking they might have a chance to win,” said coach Kirk Andrus prior to the game.

Mission accomplished…again. The Bears (17-8) sprinted out to a 13-0 lead in the first five minutes, and cruised to a 66-48 win to move into the second round Friday night at 3rd-seeded Central Valley. Mount Shasta has now won six straight games down the stretch.

Jake Padula got the scoring started with a three on the Bears’ opening possession, and Eric Thelander followed with one of his own on the next trip down the floor. A Gene Kenyon basket and a Tim Jaegel free throw pushed the lead to 9-0, and Anderson coach Larry Newman quickly called timeout. It didn’t matter. The Cubs (8-19) missed a shot and committed a turnover on their next two possessions. Mount Shasta responded with baskets each time to make it 13-0. (more…)

Remember, the winner of the PremierWest Bank B-Ball challenge is determined by which team advances the furthest in the NSCIF playoffs. The teams’ win-loss record is the first tie breaker. The teams in bold have made the playoffs and are still in the hunt.

Next update will be Saturday, February 27 after the 2nd round of playoffs is complete.

1. Butte Valley Girls 20-0
2. Tulelake Boys 21-6
2. Etna Girls 21-6
4. Weed Boys 20-6
5. Mt. Shasta Boys 17-8
6. Happy Camp Girls 10-8
7. Dunsmuir boys 10-13 (more…)

Mt. Shasta Lady Bear Amanda Amesbury is an Impact Player. Why?

There are a few reasons. First, Amesbury was the Lady Bears’ top scorer (11.5 ppg) and 3-point shooter this season. She also had the best free throw shooting percentage among the starters. Coach Danny Hansen doesn’t post rebound stats, but rest assured that she was among the best at that as well.

Even more telling than her presence on the team this year, was her absence from the team at the end of last season.

The Lady Bears were 5-1 in the SCL last season, just a game behind eventual champ Etna, when Amesbury suffered a severe knee injury. Although she attempted a comeback, it quickly ended. Without Amesbury, Mt. Shasta went 2-4 the remainder of the season, finishing 7-5. With Amesbury back this year, the Lady Bears went 10-2 in the SCL and shared the title with Etna and Fall River.

I’d say that makes Amanda Amesbury an Impact Player Award Winner.

The Impact Player Award is given on a monthly basis and goes to Siskiyou County high school athletes, male or female, that have had a significant impact on the success of their team. I select the players based on my own observations, often in consultation with the player’s coaches. (more…)