Colton, CA—It has been 11 years since Colton High’s boys basketball team made the CIF playoffs. The last time they saw postseason play was in 2013, when the 10-0 (20-5 overall) Sunkist League champion Yellowjackets took on West High from Torrance.
West walked away with the 62-44 victory in the division 3 CIF matchup, and nearly three generations of Yellowjackets have passed by since without a playoff appearance.
This season’s Yellowjackets had an up-and-down season. They finished the season 11-15 overall, and placed second in the Skyline League with a 3-3 record. Their play in the Skyline League tournament, however, earned them a spot in the division 5A CIF bracket.
This year’s team faced Rancho Alamitos (18-11, 6-4) on Wednesday night at the Hubbs. The Vaqueros came in as the third place team in Orange County’s Garden Grove league. They came in, ready to play, and with a potent shooting performance in the second half, defeated the Yellowjackets 69-51.
Colton struggled all night with their shooting, missing a ton of open looks. On defense, they found it hard to fight through the waves of screens that got the Vaqueros free for open threes.
In the first half, it looked like Colton was going to keep this close. Andres Elenes scored 6 points in the first quarter, and Josiah Diggs kept Rancho off the boards. Once the teams settled down in the second, Aaron Valencia got into foul trouble and the Vaqueros took advantage, taking a 10-point lead.
Colton fought back, with Zay Stuart and Patrick Angulo playing strong down the stretch and cutting the lead to four at the half, 28-24.
The second half was another matter. Rancho’s screens opened up the three point line and they knocked down 7 threes in the half. Colton fell behind early 35-24, and never recovered.
The team fought hard late in the fourth quarter, going on an 8-0 run, but by then it was too late, and a couple baskets by Rancho stopped the Yellowjacket’s momentum.
Loss or not, this was a huge step forward for the boys basketball program. Josiah Diggs held his head high after the game. “I left it all out on the court,” the senior said.
That was all anyone could ask for.
