Central Valley has eyes on first title after handling Patterson

It might not be fair, but it can be difficult for the Central Valley High basketball team to get the respect it deserves.

Yes, the Hawks knocked Sierra out of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs last year before falling by only three points to eventual Division III finalist Fairfield, and yes, at 17-3 after handling Patterson 65-46 on Wednesday they have one of the area’s top records.

But even should Central Valley go on to win the Western Athletic Conference title, there will be doubters. After all, this is the year that perennial small schools power Central Catholic was moved out of the WAC.

If any of the above bothers coach Darryl Dickson, he’s not letting on. He and his players seem content handling the task at hand, which is bringing the Hawks their first league title in nine seasons as a varsity program.

“We’ve been trying to gain a little respect in this league, and the teams are playing hard,” Dickson said. “At Central Valley we’re committed to the idea that we’re going to work harder than anybody else.

“We wanted Central Catholic to stay because we wanted another chance at them. They’ve beat us, I think, in every game since we started played them, but they helped us get better over the years.”

At 7-0 in the WAC, the Hawks are in complete control of the race. Patterson dropped to 11-11 overall and 4-3 in the WAC, and the only other team in the conference with a winning record is Ceres, which sports a 4-2 league record that includes a 51-42 home court loss to Central Valley last Friday.

“Central Valley played well and if they finish strong they’re going to be league champs,” said Patterson coach Brian de la Porte. “I know our league doesn’t get a lot of respect, but that’s a dangerous team because they can shoot. You know, everybody thought our league wasn’t any good last year, but teams did really well in the playoffs. You can’t doubt those guys.”

The Hawks are ninth in the Division III power rankings, which is a direct result of a non-league schedule not as strong as many other schools of their size. As a result, they’ll probably have to run the table in the WAC to move into a top-eight spot that would give the program its first home playoff game.

They moved into position to do exactly that with surprisingly easy win over the Tigers.

Patterson’s Achilles’ heel is the lack of a perimeter game. They’re strong inside, where senior center Kevin Phelps averages nearly 20 points per game in league play, but when Central Valley switched from a man-to-man to a zone defense in the second quarter, the game quickly got away from the Tigers.

“Phelps is our best player, but when teams go zone and put four guys in the key it’s almost impossible to get him the ball.” de la Porte said. “Then, when guys don’t shoot well it makes for a long night.”

Central Valley sharpshooter Jaron Dickson, the coaches’ son, got off to a slow start, but he scored his first six points in an 11-3 quarter-ending run that gave the Hawks a 31-23 halftime lead. He added a 3-pointer and three assists in the opening five minutes of the second half as Central Valley pulled away to a commanding 43-25 lead with 3:10 left in the quarter.

Dickson finished with 17 points, Daevon Brown 15 and Parker Griffin 12 for Central Valley. Gary Bonney had 14 and Gurkirt Heerey 12 for Patterson, while Phelps was held to eight before fouling out.

There’s always the chance for upsets in high school basketball, but the Hawks appear to have a clear path to the title, with a Feb. 13 home date against crosstown rival Ceres the only obvious speed bump.

“We’re on pace and we control our own destiny,” Darryl Dickson said. “The kids are focused, and if we keep our injuries to a minimum we’ll give it a run and get ready for the playoffs”

This story was originally published January 28, 2015 at 10:21 PM with the headline "Central Valley has eyes on first title after handling Patterson."