Boys Basketball: Magana’s 24 points lead Central Catholic to victory: MC falls
After a season in which he averaged 13.2 points per game last year, Central Catholic senior guard Dayton Magana worked on improving his “terrible” jump shot and 3-point shooting in the summer.
“Every day, I was in the gym taking 100 jump shots and 100 3-pointers from five different spots,” Magana said. “I learned to love the process.”
This season, Magana has increased his scoring to a team-high 19 points per game and led all scorers with 24 in the Raiders’ 77-53 victory over Del Campo in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III quarterfinals on Friday.
Central Catholic hosts Wood in the semifinals on Tuesday.
The Raiders (23-7) controlled the game from the start as Cougars (18-12) had trouble containing Central Catholic senior Nic Sani (23 points, 11 rebounds) and keeping up with the speed of the guard play of Magana and junior Arvind Sandhu (14 points).
“We are playing as a team,” Magana said about the team’s 10-game winning streak.
Magana has scored 574 points this year but his most important basket came against Weston Ranch on Jan. 10 when he made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to clinch the 62-61 win.
“It was an unreal and crazy moment,” said Magana, whose game-winner circulated throughout social media.
The 5-foot-7 guard said he may be “knocked” because of his size but it allows him to play low to the ground and get past defenders.
For Magana, also known as “D”, he’s not focused on college recruiting right now.
“I want to bring this school a state ring,” he said.
Division I
Rocklin 69, Modesto Christian 57: Senior guard Michael Pearson had 18 points for the Crusaders (20-10), who fell on the road to the Thunder (25-5). Senior Handre Reinecke had 21 points for Rocklin.
Modesto Christian could still possibly qualify for the CIF State playoffs as an “At-Large” team, according to SJS Assistant Commissioner Will DeBoard.
Sheldon 98, Gregori 63: The Jaguars (25-5) lost to the No. 1 seeded Huskies (25-5). Senior Marcus Bagley led Sheldon with 20 points.
Div. IV
Sonora 65, West Campus 60: The No. 1 seeded Wildcats (26-3) won their 17th straight game and will host Calaveras in the semifinals.
Div. V
Denair 61, Buckingham Charter 51: The Coyotes (26-2) are at Bradshaw Christian on Tuesday. Friday’s win was Denair’s seventh in a row, all of which have been by at least double-digits.
Girls Soccer
Div. I
Tracy 3 (3), Turlock 3 (0): The Bulldogs (15-6-2) saw their season end in penalty kicks to No. 2 seed Tracy (16-1-1).
Div. II
Pitman, Granite Bay 1 (2), Pitman 1 (1): The Pride (18-6-1) fell in penalty kicks to the Grizzlies (11-2-4).
Div. III
Christian Brothers 5, Ceres 0: The Bulldogs (16-1-1) were shutout by the Falcons (12-6-5).
Sierra 3, Beyer 2: The Patriots (14-5-2) lost to the No. 1 seeded Timberwolves (24-1). The win was Sierra coach Manuel Pires’ 500th with the school.
Div. IV
Ripon 4, West Campus 0: Freshman Ariana Daniels had a goal for the Indians (19-4-1), who will host El Dorado in the semifinals on Tuesday. El Dorado beat Sonora, 5-2.
This story was originally published February 21, 2020 at 10:01 PM.
