LATE RALLY BY VIKING BOYS BRINGS HOME TITLE

     Good teams that make their free throws have chances to do special things. The Pleasant Valley Vikings boys basketball team did special things last night rallying from an early onslaught of Foothill Cougar three pointers to stun the top-seeded rival 47-45 to capture the Division III Northern Section Boys Basketball Championship.

     The Vikings hit 11-of-12 from the free throw line in the 4th quarter to seal the deal. Foothill came out early railing threes from long distance building a seven-point 1st quarter lead but the Vikings hung close. 

     Early in the 4th Pleasant Valley trailed 36-30 but rattled off a 12-0 run to grab a 42-36 lead and then would secure the game from the charity stripe in the waning minutes to secure the title. It was the third time the teams had played this year with Foothill taking the two previous match-ups. The Vikings were led by junior Aaron Gomez who scored 17. PV now awaits the CIF Northern Regional Playoff brackets which will be revealed on Sunday. 

VIKING GIRLS LEAD NEARLY WIRE-TO-WIRE TO CAPTURE CHAMPIONSHIP

     Sometimes the bitter taste of defeat can be provide the impetous for a crowning achievement.....for the Pleasant Valley girls basketball last year's section semi-final loss to Foothill stung, they were determined not to experience that again. 

     The Pleasant Valley girls led for virtually the entire game in knocking off Enterprise in the Division III North Section Championship game on Friday afternoon beating the Hornets 48-33. The Vikings were led by Cassidy King with 13 points. King was one of five juniors who start for the Vikings all of whom played in the North Section playoffs last year. 

     The Viking girls got to the title game with a thrilling 50-49 win this week when Christianne Carlisle hit a three-pointer with 4 seconds left to stun Foothill and advance to the title game. The Pleasant Valley girls now await their CIF Northern Regional Playoff match-up. The brackets will be revealed on Sunday

CHICO STUNS HUMBOLDT IN ARCATA    

 They kept climbing back from double-digit deficits, but the Chico State women would be throttled by a Lady Lumberjack three........until they weren't.

     The Chico State women closed the game on a 9-0 run over the final couple of minutes to pull out a thrilling 70-67 win over Humboldt State. With the win the Cats have now won a season high five straight, their longest win streak of the season, and can secure a home playoff game with a win over Stanislaus on Saturday night.

     Chico trailed by 17 early in the 2nd quarter and it looked like it might be a joyous Senior Night for the Lumberjacks. But the Cats kept chipping away to keep the game close. Chico trailed by 14 early in the third quarter but by the end of the third had whittled the deficit to five. 

     It looked like Humboldt was in control leading 65-57 with 3:45 to go but Chico would grind their way back into it. A Haley Ison offensive rebound and put-back cut the deficit to six and then Ison would hit a turn-around jumper from the baseline to cut the Jacks lead to 65-61 with 2:53 to play. After a couple of Alexia Thrower free throws gave Humboldt a 67-61 lead with 2:25 to go, the Cats would close the game on a 9-0 run. 

     Ison would hit another jumper with 2:09 to go to make it 67-63. Hannah Washington would follow with a scoop shot in the lane with 1:25 left. The ensuing Chico possession would be the memorable moment of the night. With the shot clock running down Daisha Abdelkader would steal the ball, push into the forecourt, kick it to Hannah Washington who found Arcata-native Vanessa Holland camping out in three point land. Holland would hit the biggest shot of her Chico State career a three pointer to give Chico a 68-67 with 52 seconds left.

     Chico would bury two free throws after a Humboldt miss and then the Jacks would miss a couple of jumpers in the waning seconds setting off a wild Chico State celebration. For Chico it was a season sweep of their long-time rivals and sets the stage for a big showdown Saturday night in Turlock with a home playoff game hanging in the balance. 

WILDCAT MEN CRUISE TO 21st WIN

     The Chico State men's basketball team used a 35-13 1st half surge over an 11-minute stretch to put this game away early. Chico came to Arcata looking to sweep the season series from a Lumberjack team that has struggled for much of the season.

     With the Lumberjack seniors being honored before the game, Chico wanted to leave no doubt and their 1st half shot making would put this one out of reach as Chico rolled to an 86-57 win.

     Chico was led by Kevin Warren with 15 points and 7 boards. Justin Briggs had 14 & 8 while Malik Duffy had 13 & 5. Chico shot 47 percent from field and was 11-of-26 from downtown while dominating the boards, out-rebounding the Jacks 44-30.

     Chico looks to avenge an early season loss against Stanislaus State on Saturday notch win number 22 on the season. Chico will play a 1st Round CCAA playoff game at home next Tuesday. The Cats could finish as high as second in the conference but will not finish lower than fourth. The Cats were recently ranked 4th in the latest NCAA West Region rankings with the top-eight teams getting an invite to the NCAA Tournament on March 8th. 

*PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICO STATE ATHLETICS*

PV BOYS PUNCH TICKET TO SECTION TITLE TILT

     The Pleasant Valley boys basketball team won the most important match-up with their cross-town rivals on Wednesday night and now get ready to play in their fourth straight section title game. 

     The Vikings came up clutch late to knock off Chico High 60-52 and will take on Foothill in the Division III Northern Section Championship on Friday at 4:15 at Butte College. 

     Junior Aaron Gomez scored 18 including a dagger three with just under two minutes to go and the shot clock expiring. Lone senior Jake Kremer scored 15 and the Vikings took the rubber game from the three the schools have played against one another this year. 

     Chico falls to 18-9 and barring a team opting out of the CIF Playoffs sees their season come to and end. 

Northern Section Playoff Friday Schedule 

ALL GAMES AT BUTTE COLLEGE 

               2:30pm #2 Enterprise vs #1 Pleasant Valley Girls

         4:15pm #3 Pleasant Valley Boys vs #1 Foothill

6:00pm Durham Girls vs #1 Portola 

CHICO STATE BASKETBALL HITS ROAD

     Its the longest road trip of the year for both the Chico State men's and women's basketball teams, but it could be the start of a wonderful stretch of basketball affectionately known as March Madness.....

     The Chico State men (20-6) have not only secured a first round home game in the CCAA Basketball Tournament next Tuesday, but they held firm with the number four ranking in the NCAA Division II West Region rankings. The top eight teams in the west head to the NCAA Tournment in the three weeks.

     The picture is different but just as exciting for the Chico State women. After missing out on the post-season the last two years the Wildcats emphatically punched their ticket to the post-season with a thrilling win over Sonoma State last weekend to win their fourth in a row. Now, the Wildcat women (16-10) want to lock up a home game and to do that they will need to take care of business on a very difficult road trip.

     The Wildcat men and women head to Arcata to take on Humboldt State on Thursday only to hop in the vans and head to Turlock and Stanislaus State on Saturday. This most difficult and longest of trips can turn into a joy ride for both teams if they can win these match-ups against long-time foes.

     For the men they look to sweep the season series from Humboldt and avenge an early season loss to Stanislaus, while the women look to sweep the season series from the Lumberjacks while gaining a measure of revenge against Stanislaus after the Warriors tripped up the Cats in November.

     You can hear the women's games on Thursday and Saturday night's at 5:05pm on KpaySports 93.9. You can hear the men's game at 7:30 both night's as well. Mike Wessels will bring you play-by-play.

*PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICO STATE ATHLETICS*