SBLive's Central Section Top 10 boys basketball rankings: St. Joseph, three Bakersfield squads hold tight
Whenever a top ranked team loses there’s always a question if they should lose their No. 1 spot. Well, sure enough, our top ranked team all season, St. Joseph dropped a game this week to out-of-section opponent Inkurdum-Sacramento 79-76, which sports a 25-2 record. We still feel the Knights are the top team in the Central Section based on their entire body of work.
St. Joseph sophomore Tounde Yessoufou, who is now regarded as the top ranked player in California for his class, averaged 29 points in their games last week.
Behind their baseline-to-baseline defense and balanced scoring, No. 2 Clovis West and No. 3 Clovis North kept on rolling, both defeating a very young but strong Clovis East squad by scores of 81-76 and 70-55 in league. Zach Chauhan scored 24 for Clovis West and Jordan Espinosa scored 13 for Clovis North in those wins.
We were high on No. 4 San Joaquin Memorial after a seven game win streak but they dropped a game to unranked Sanger 74-67, snapping their 46 game win streak. We’ll keep them there despite the loss.
The three Bakersfield area schools (Bakersfield Christian, Centennial and Stockdale) withstood some upsets, combining to win six games with zero losses. In fact, it took a buzzer-beating layup by Centennial’s Jaxton Santiago to defeat Liberty 66-64.
Mission Prep had another shot of toppling St. Joseph but fell 86-69, Lemoore defeated rival Dinuba 55-37 and newcomer Bullard jumps back into the rankings and will play San Joaquin Memorial Friday.
The regular season concludes this Friday and the playoff seedings will be released the following day.
1. St. Joseph-Santa Maria (21-6)
Last week: 1.
Results (3-1): Righetti 98-43, Lompoc 92-47 and Mission Prep 86-69; lost to Inkurdum 79-76
Next game: Tuesday, Feb. 7 at Arroyo Grande (18-7)
2. Clovis West-Fresno (25-2)
Last week: 2.
Results (2-0): Beat Central 92-48, Clovis East 81-76
Next game: Tuesday at Buchanan (8-14)
3. Clovis North-Fresno (21-6)
Last week: 3.
Results (2-0): Beat Clovis East 70-55, Clovis 71-42
Next game: Tuesday vs Central (8-18)
4. San Joaquin Memorial-Fresno (18-8)
Last week: 4.
Results (2-1): :Lost to Sanger 74-67; beat Justin Garza 87-39 and Monterey Trail 79-65
Next game: Wednesday at Madera (13-13)
5. Bakersfield Christian (19-7)
Last week: 5.
Results (2-0): Beat Ridgeview 78-71, Garces 78-66
Next game: Tuesday at Highland (12-13)
6. Centennial-Bakersfield (21-4)
Last week: 6.
Results (1-0): Beat Liberty-Bakersfield 66-64
Next game: Tuesday at Garces (12-14)
7. Stockdale-Bakersfield (21-3)
Last week: 7.
Results (2-0): Beat Liberty-Bakersfield 77-73 in OT, Frontier 62-32
Next game: Tuesday vs Independence (12-13)
8. Mission Prep-San Luis Obispo (18-8)
Last week: 8.
Results (2-1): Beat Cabrillo 68-31, Rigetti 96-55; lost to St. Joseph 86-69
Next game: Wednesday vs Righetti (10-11)
9. Bullard-Fresno (17-10)
Last week: Not ranked
Results (2-0): Beat Justin Garza 65-49, Madera 82-37
Next game: Wednesday vs Edison (17-10)
10. Lemoore (19-6)
Last week: 10.
Results (2-0): Beat Mission Oak 72-68, Dinuba 55-37
Next game: Tuesday at Tulare Western (13-13)
