Local Digest: Buzzer-beater gives Columbia men’s basketball tournament title
Marquell Hubbard, a freshman guard from Florida, didn’t take long to make his mark for the Columbia College men’s basketball team.
Hubbard’s 15-foot runner from the free throw line creased the net as time expired Saturday to give Columbia a thrilling 60-59 win over Sacramento City and the title of Las Positas College’s Tony Costello Memorial Tournament.
The Claim Jumpers rebounded a missed free throw with 5.5 seconds left and, without calling a timeout, rushed the ball down the court to set up the winner. Hubbard, who led Columbia with 17 points, was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Rafe King (15 points) and Alex Kiriluk (14) also were all-tournament selections.
Columbia defeated Diablo Valley, Butte and the Panthers and held all three under 60 points.
“We’re more mentally tough than I anticipated at this stage,” coach Rob Hoyt said. “We have a resilient group.”
Pirates beaten – Modesto Junior College (1-2) trailed by nine points at halftime and cool shooting prevented a comeback, resulting in a 66-48 loss to Delta in the consolation final of the Jonathan Wallace Memorial Tournament at Ohlone College in Fremont.
Women’s Basketball
Gundlach all-tourney – MJC forward Kaitlin Gundlach made the all-tournament team after the Pirates (0-2) were beaten by Mission 83-60 and bowed out of Mission’s sixth annual tournament. Brianna McGinness led the Pirates with 12 points and eight rebounds. Diana Carmona also had 12 points and Gundlach scored 11.
Water Polo
MJC seventh – The Pirates (4-15), anchored by Aubrey Drobnick with five goals and Rebekah Groteguth with three, finished the season with a 15-7 win over Sacramento City at the Big 8 Conference Championships. Tasha Larson had two goals for Modesto, which placed seventh.
Cross Country
Warriors fifth – Alex Villaescusa placed 14th and earned all-league honors for the Cal State Stanislaus men, who finished fifth at the California Collegiate Athletic Association Championships in San Bernardino. Chico State won its 13th consecutive title.
Rossi leads Stanislaus – Kayla Rossi was the fastest Warriors runner to the finish line, and she led her team to a sixth-place finish at the CCAAs. Chico State annexed its seventh championship in a row.
Pirates going to state – The MJC men, paced by Isaac Gutierrez, will advance to the State Championships after their eighth-place finish at NorCals at Crystal Springs in Belmont. The Pirates placed third at the Big 8 last week.
High School sub-sections – Nine Stanislaus District high schools qualified both their boys and girls teams to next week’s Sac-Joaquin Section Masters meet at Folsom’s Willow Hill Reservoir.
Competing at the sub-section meet in Angels Camp, Downey and Atwater qualified both their varsity squads in Division II, while crosstown rivals Manteca and Sierra doubled in Division III. Riverbank, Escalon, Sonora, Bret Harte and Calaveras each advanced both squads in D-IV.
The top 10 finishers in the divisional team standings, as well as the top 10 individuals not affiliated with a top-10 squad, qualify for the Masters meet.
Riverbank got a fourth-place finish from its boys team and a fifth-place finish from the girls, and still has a shot to repeat its double section championship at last year’s Masters meet.
The best race of the meet was the Division IV girls matchup, won by Sonora freshman Cassi Land in 18:52. She outkicked Bret Harte freshman Kaela Dishion, who crossed the line in 19:03. Calaveras senior Hannah Hull was third in 19:35, followed by Amador’s Anastasia Karnaze (19:58) and Ripon’s Ellie Waters (20:04), giving the Stanislaus District the top five finishers in the race. Riverbank’s Kim Rubalcava was seventh in 20:29.
Downey advanced both varsity squads (as well as its frosh-soph girls) for the first time in more than two decades, according to coach Paulo Carvalho.
“I didn’t expect the boys to make it but we were the last team to qualifty,” said Carvalho. “The boys have had a very workmanlike season.”
The Knights’ were led by Justin Goering (17th, 17:16), who wasn’t too far ahead of Atwater’s Andres Quezada (19th, 17:20), while Downey’s girls were paced by Arielle Names (25th, 21:34), the Modesto Metro Conference’s MVP. Atwater’s Jackie Magana was 20th in 21:19.
The top boys performance of the afternoon was turned in by Manteca’s Mahir Pepic, a senior, who ran a sizzling 16:23 en route to a third-place finish. On the girls side, Sierra’s Haley Silva was second with a 19:46 clocking.
In D-I boys, Modesto’s Andrew Williams was 10th overall in 17:03, just ahead of Merced’s Daniel Ambriz (13th, 17:06).
In the D-IV boys, Hughson’s Daniel Yanez was fourth (17:19), finishing behind a trio of runners from Dixon High, which was first in the team standings.
Modesto’s Savannah Mendoza moves on as an individual qualifier with her 20:21 in the D-I race.
Others boys teams that advance include Modesto and Gregori (D-I), Hughson (D-IV) and Argonaut (D-V). On the girls side, Ripon (D-IV) and Ripon Christian’s (D-V) also move on.
This story was originally published November 8, 2014 at 11:26 PM with the headline "Local Digest: Buzzer-beater gives Columbia men’s basketball tournament title."