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Kingsburg boys roll in OT
KINGSBURG - The fear of giving up his jersey didn't actually make John Williamson's shots start falling in overtime of a Central Section Division IV boys basketball semifinal Wednesday night.
Then again, it sure didn't hurt.
Williamson scored scored nine of his 23 points -- including the go-ahead three-point play -- in overtime to help third-seeded Kingsburg High overcome No. 7 Kerman 63-55 for a spot in Saturday's D-IV final.
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Bakersfield Christian boys get long-awaited D-IV title
It was the fall of 2005, Marcus Hall was a 14-year-old freshman and Pete Rivera recognized something special. So the Bakersfield Christian High coach made a request:
"Marcus, you have the green light; we're going to build the team around you."
So the Eagles did, in a four-year progression that found the pinnacle Saturday afternoon at Selland Arena, where Hall, in a seemingly effortless yet sensational performance, delivered 36 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in an 81-55 rout of Kingsburg for the Central Section Division IV boys basketball championship.
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Spikes' hot shooting helps Hanford girls roll
Taylor Spikes shot 7 for 10 from 3-point range to lead No. 3 Hanford to a 90-65 win over Beverly Hills on Tuesday night in the opening round of the Southern California Regional Division II girls basketball tournament.
Hanford (26-4) plays the winner of No. 2 Brea Olinda-Brea/Mt. Miguel at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Spikes made four 3-pointers in the third quarter and the Bullpups took a 65-48 lead into the final quarter. Hanford led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter, then was up by as many as 18 in the second quarter. But Beverly Hills battled back and closed to 41-31 at the half. Spikes hit a pair of 3s early in the third quarter as Hanford opened the lead to 16.
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Kingsburg atop CSL with win over Dinuba
DINUBA - Kingsburg High has two quarterbacks headed to play college football on scholarship, a big-play receiver averaging more than 25 yards a catch and a running back whose bloodlines run to USC. All power an offense averaging more than 46 points per game.
Oh, and the 13th-ranked Vikings play some pretty good defense, too.
Kingsburg gave Dinuba nowhere to run and yielded little when the Emperors finally went to the air during a 14-0 victory Friday night that puts the Vikings in the driver's seat in the Central Sequoia League.
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Corcoran is D-IV girls champion, again
The Corcoran High Panthers were all smiles as they entered Selland Arena through a side door Saturday morning, walking across a red carpet as music played and a smattering of fans cheered.
Their smiles were even bigger 21/2 hours later after the top-seeded Panthers survived No. 3 Kingsburg 63-58 for the Central Section Division IV girls basketball title.
It was Corcoran's fifth D-IV championship this decade; the Panthers also won in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005 but had lost in the semifinals to Exeter the past two years.
John Williamson scored 26 points for the Kingsburg High boys basketball team Monday night.
None were bigger than the two free throws he sank with 30 seconds remaining that put the Vikings ahead for good en route to an 80-76 victory over the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies in the opening round of the Southern California Regional Division IV playoffs.
It's Kingsburg's first SoCal Regional playoff victory.
"This is a really big win for our program and our school," Vikings coach Mark Bray said. "We've got kids answering the bell. They showed a lot of grit."
Kingsburg (18-12) advances and will remain on the road to face top-seeded Southern Section champion Bishop Montgomery-Torrance (25-4) at 7 p.m. today.
The Central Section D-IV runner-up opened a 12-2 lead in the first quarter, but LACES (16-18) eventually took the lead in the fourth quarter. Williamson's free throws gave Kingsburg a 78-76 lead.
In the first half, Williamson scored 18 points and Tyler Bray scored 21 of his 25 as the Vikings built a 50-37 lead.
As Bray sat out much of the third quarter in foul trouble, Nico Canto (12 points) and Michael Torres (10 points) picked up the pace.
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