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Basketball: Game-by-game Central Section preview

- The Fresno Bee

Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013 | 11:33 PM

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BOYS: DIVISION I

NO. 3 CLOVIS WEST (22-5) VS. NO. 1 BULLARD (26-2)

Vitals: Saturday, 8 p.m.

How they got here: Golden Eagles placed second in the Tri-River Athletic Conference (8-2); in playoffs, defeated No. 14 Clovis East 75-49, No. 6 Stockdale 71-59; No. 2 Central 68-58. Knights won the County/Metro Athletic Conference (10-0); beat No. 8 Liberty-Bakersfield 76-46, No. 5 Clovis North 55-33.

Section championships: Clovis West 9 (1992, '95, '97, '98, 2001, '02, '04, '05, '06); Bullard 4 (1994, '06, 2011, '12)

Ticket-sellers: Minus a true post, the Eagles have received steady, if not sensational, scoring from forward Marcus Junior (13.7 average) and guards Michael Orlich (12.6) and Khaneal Mason (11.7). In addition, they've displayed discipline and structure throughout a roster that broke down Central fundamentally in the semis. For Bullard, Corey Silverstrom (18.0) and Adam Armstead (13.0) are tall guards who can score off the dribble. And the 3-point shooting of point guard Chris Russell has to be honored. Calvin Young, their most physical player, had six blocks against Clovis North.

(Keep up with championship week for basketball and wrestling on Twitter: @beepreps and @scoopysports and @NickG_FB)

BOYS: DIVISION II

NO. 5 HANFORD WEST (18-12) VS. NO. 2 GARCES (20-8)

Vitals: Friday, 8 p.m.

How they got here: Huskies placed third in West Yosemite League (7-5); beat No. 4 East 64-53, No. 8 Hanford 71-47. Rams placed second in the Southeast Yosemite League (8-2); beat No. 7 Redwood 77-55, No. 3 Lemoore 65-49.

Section championships: Hanford West 1 (2009); Garces 11 (1993, '94, '95, '97, 2001, '02, '03, '05, '07, '08, '09)

Ticket-sellers: Hanford West's Josue Salaam, a 6-4 left-hander with equal ability to attack to his right, is the school's career scoring record-holder (1,611). Fresno Pacific's beginning to knock. Center Demerio Carrie (9 reb, 4 blocks), point guard Dre Jackson and wing Davon Edmund add to an athletic cast. Garces is small, but guards Rashad Jackson (18.8), Tim Pena (13.8) and Sheldon Croney (12.8) can fill it.

BOYS: DIVISION III

NO. 2 MISSION OAK (27-3) VS. NO. 1 INDEPENDENCE (31-1)

Vitals: Saturday, 4 p.m.

How they got here: Hawks won East Yosemite League (10-0); defeated No. 15 Sanger 78-33, No. 7 Roosevelt 90-73, No. 3 Mt. Whitney 67-46. Falcons won Southwest Yosemite League (10-0); beat No. 16 Central Valley Christian 70-38, No. 8 Tehachapi 80-38, No. 5 South 69-17.

Section championships: Mission Oak 0; Independence 0

Ticket-sellers: Mission Oak junior Blake Shannon (19.7 ppg, 7.5 assists) is among section's elite point guards. Backcourt mate Bobby Alvarado (15.6) can score and 6-4 freshman Austin Melezzo's coming off a 31-point torching of Mt. Whitney. Only an OT loss to Bakersfield separates Independence from 32-0, and the Falcons beat the Drillers three times. Isaac Clark (13.4) is the leading scorer of a deep, oppressive team -- Kern County's answer to Bullard.

BOYS: DIVISION IV

NO. 8 COALINGA (24-8) VS. NO. 2 EXETER (22-6)

Vitals: Saturday, noon

How they got here: Horned Toads won the West Sierra League (10-0); beat No. 9 Sierra Pacific 59-49, No. 1 Washington 68-58, No. 5 Chowchilla 54-52. Monarchs placed fourth in the Central Sequoia League (6-4); defeated No. 15 Kerman 66-46, No. 7 Caruthers 52-44, No. 3 Sierra 52-40.

Section championships: Coalinga 0; Exeter 1 (1948)

Ticket-sellers: Coalinga -- lowest seed standing in the section -- has balanced scoring, led by junior guard Anthony Zataray (11.7). His 24 at Washington got it all going. Exeter, likewise, spreads it around, featuring Eli Garver (11.0) and Caleb Harden (10.3 ppg, 7.2 reb).


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