Fresno, CA – This past weekend, November 23rd, Demetrius Porter (director of PRONXT Exposure Elite Basketball Club) and Jarvis Turner (head coach at Beverly Hills High School Basketball) hosted the 3rd Annual Heart of California Basketball Classic at Fresno State University’s Save Mart Center Arena. This year’s HOC Classic was condensed back into a one-day showcase that featured 9 games starting at 8:30 a.m. and ending close to midnight. There were four games, in what I have referred to as the morning/early afternoon portion of the event, which featured match-ups between Central Section programs from different regions, leagues, and divisions within the Section. The last five games, or the afternoon/evening portion of the event, featured some of the top programs in the Central Section going against teams from either Northern or Southern California, with a high-level prep school match-up falling right between the 5th and 9th games of the showcase.
Last year’s HOC Classic headliner game between Central Section power Clovis North of Fresno and state powerhouse Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth did not go well for the Broncos, who lost by 40 to the more physically imposing Trailblazers team. However, this loss would be crucial in preparing Clovis North for the St. Joseph Knights in the Section D1 Title game, which the Broncos came out victorious over the much bigger and physically imposing Knights team. This year’s HOC Classic would again be headlined by two games featuring two of the Section’s top programs.
In the final game of the evening, defending D1 Section Champs, the Clovis North Broncos of Fresno, took on the Sacramento Dragons in what appeared to be a quality match-up between a NorCal and Central Cali team. The Broncos, who won a hard fought game the previous night over Weston Ranch, came out aggressive on both ends of the court and took a double-digit lead into the 2nd quarter behind 9 points from junior point guard McKae Amundsen. I had seen enough at that point and given the late start of the game, I called it a day and headed to the hotel. The Broncos would go on to win the game by a score of 63 to 45. The Broncos were led by junior wing/forward Elias Gish, named the game’s MVP, with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Clovis North also got key contributions from their other two top guys, as McKae Amundsen would finish with 16 points and 3 steals, and senior combo guard Loukas Jones with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Broncos’ coach Tony Amundsen said he emptied his bench with a 24-point lead and 3 minutes left to play, as the game was never in contention after I departed the facility.
The second headline game was between Section power, and CalHi’s #40, Clovis West Golden Eagles of Fresno and CalHi Sports preseason #24 Inglewood Sentinels. This game was highly anticipated, as it was set to feature the return of Jason Crowe Jr., one of the nation’s top scorers and a top 10 nationally ranked player for the 2026 class, with his new team in Inglewood High School. Crowe was at the HOC Classic last year and put up 34 points in a win over San Joaquin Memorial. Unfortunately for fans and media in attendance, Crowe was ruled ineligible to play at this current time by the CIF, pending the finalizing of some logistics. I personally have seen Crowe play over 10 times since he entered high school, and although he is fun to watch every time he steps on the floor, this opened the door for someone else to shine on the big stage at Save Mart.
The Golden Eagles took advantage of Crowe being out early in the game and jumped out to a 22 to 9 lead to end the first quarter behind 8 points for Roosevelt Freeman and 5 points from sophomore sniper Spencer Kubit. Inglewood struggled to find a rhythm but closed the gap in the 2nd quarter, as senior forward Parker Jefferson would score 6 of his 8 points in the half and lead guard Danaus Cockrell scored 10 points to lead the Sentinels in scoring going into the break. Chance Hertel for the Golden Eagles got hot from beyond the arc and cashed in 3 threes to lead Clovis West with 9 points going into intermission, but standout senior and Fresno State commit DJ Stickman had yet to get going offensively and was the facilitator in the first half with 7 assists. This appeared promising for Clovis West, who only got 6 points total from its top two players in Stickman and junior lead guard Jace Kellogg, but had a 38 to 29 lead at halftime.
In the 2nd half, Jefferson went to work for Inglewood and made his size and presence felt against a team in Clovis West that lacks a true presence in the paint this season. Jefferson added 9 points in the quarter to give him a game-high of 19 at the end of the quarter, and showed his ability to space the floor with the 3-ball, as well as the back to the basket post moves and accuracy with the face-up mid-range jumper. Steven Arnold Jr. of Inglewood also chipped in 6 points in the frame to help the Sentinels claw back from a big deficit early in the game. For Clovis West, Stickman started to heat up a bit with 6 points in the quarter, as well Kubit continuing to contribute on the scoreboard. Despite more involvement from Stickman in the third, Inglewood would pull even with the Golden Eagles going into the fourth quarter, tied at 53 a piece.
Jefferson continued his dominant level of play and added 13 points in the fourth quarter for a game-high 32 points and helped stretch the lead to double digits with 4 minutes to go in the game. Kellogg got hot down the stretch and poured in 11 of his 14 points in the final frame, but Jefferson was simply too much, as Inglewood would take down the local power in Clovis West by a score of 76 to 71. This was one of the best games of the day and, despite the absence of Crowe, fans were able to get familiar with the Texas transfer to SoCal and his elite ability to score the ball from 3-levels at six foot nine inches tall. Jefferson earned MVP honors for the game with 32 points and 12 rebounds. Andre Nickerson added 11 points and Cockrell had 10 points for Inglewood. The Golden Eagles were led by Kubit with 16 points, Kellogg with 14 points and 10 rebounds, DJ Stickman with 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists, and Hertel with 12 points on 4 threes.
The seventh game of the HOC Classic featured the two prep school programs in nationally ranked #5 Prolific Prep of Napa, CA and Bella Vista Prep-CIA of Arizona. This game was one I was personally excited to watch, as Prolific Prep’s leading scorer and star of this year’s loaded roster, the #3 ranked player in the nation for the 2025 class and recent Kansas commit Darryn Peterson, was set to put on a show. However, hours before the team arrived at the Save Mart Center, I was told by someone in the media that he was having an issue with his foot or ankle and may not be a go for the game against Bella Vista. As the team hit the court to warm up, Peterson was in his warm-ups with no hoop shoes on and would not be playing. Selfishly, I was a bit upset, as I have never seen Peterson live and when I saw he had joined Prolific Prep for this season I was hyped to be able to see the nation’s top guard prospect and projected future lottery pick in the NBA draft. However, once I got over it, I remembered this game was loaded with nationally ranked prospects and someone else would stand out and be the guy of this game and that was in fact the case for a few players.
Despite not having Peterson available to play, Prolific Prep is loaded with nationally ranked talent from various grad classes. In the opening quarter it was junior wing/forward Seven Spurlock that was hitting shots, with 10 points in the opening frame for Prolific. However, Bella Vista got scoring contributions from seven different players in the first eight minutes, led by EPSNs #49 ranked player for the 2026 class, junior lead guard Miles Sadler with 5 points and 2 assists, and led by a score of 23 to 19 after one.
Sadler continued his high level of play with seven more points in the 2nd quarter, as well as a couple of monster dunks from ESPNs #5 ranked player for the 2027 class in 6’10 big man Paul Osaruyi. Not to be outdone, 247s #75 ranked player for the senior class and Michigan commit, shooting guard Winters Grady, scored 10 of his 15 first half points in the 2nd quarter, hitting some ridiculously tough shots from deep. Junior lead guard Rajan Roberts also heated up and scored 7 points in the second quarter to keep pace with Bella Vista. Bella Vista held a one-point lead over Prolific going into the break, 41 to 40.
Coming out of the break, Bella Vista was clicking on all cylinders, Osaruyi continued his dominant play and scored 8 of his total of 18 in the third quarter with a few more big time dunks. Senior combo guard Aginaldo Neto turned it up on defense, which led to a few transition buckets and 6 points of his own in the third quarter to extend Bella Vista’s lead to 14 going into the final frame, with a score of 67 to 53. ESPNs #6 player in the 2027 class, Gabe Nesmith, was one bright spot for Prolific in the third quarter, but the absence of Peterson was evident, as it had no one that could go out and create multiple scoring opportunities.
The game was looking like it might be a blowout but the talented roster for Prolific would not go down without a fight in the final frame. Grady got hot again and added 8 points to his game-high 23, and Roberts chipped in 6 of his own. But it was ESPNs #25 ranked player for the 2025 class and recent Washington commit, Niko Bundalo, that finally got going with 7 points in the fourth quarter to help his squad get back into the game. Prolific would cut it to a one possession game with less than 3 minutes in regulation, and from that point it went back and forth. Bella Vista continued to get contributions from Neto and Osaruyi, but it was the poise and control of the game that Sadler displayed down the stretch, along with a crucial three pointer, that helped Bella Vista edge out the #5 team in the country, by a score of 89 to 85.
Bella vista was led by Sadler with 19 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds, Osaruyi with 18 points, and the MVP of the game Neto with 13 points. Prolific was led by Grady with 23 points, Roberts had 20 points, Spurlock finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Nesmith and Bundalo each had 11 points. Bundalo also pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double. The amount of talent on the court for this one was fun to watch and big Paul Osaruyi is a name to keep an eye on over the next few years as a potential future NBA pick.
The sixth game of the event was between the Buchanan Bears of Clovis and the Fremont Tigers of Oakland. The opening frame of this game saw both teams have a lot of players contribute, with the Bears having 8 players score in the first quarter and the Tigers having 5 players in the scoring column. The game seemed to be evenly matched, as Buchanan took a one point lead into the second quarter, 16 to 15. Senior combo guard Conner Sheets started to heat up in the 2nd quarter and would score 7 points to spark some offense for the Bears. The scoring remained balanced for the Tigers, but junior forward Tyreese West and Zaire Albert led the way with 5 points a piece. Buchanan held a slight advantage going into intermission, with a score of 31 to 27 in favor of the Bears.
Sheets made it clear to anyone watching, and those on the court, that he was the best player in this particular game, as he would add 7 more points to his scoring total, and in a low scoring affair, these points were of value. The Tigers were held to 7 points in the quarter, the same amount Sheets had on his own, and the size and execution of play on both ends of the court was proving to be too much for Fremont to overcome. The Bears took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter, with a score of 44 to 34.
In most games, a 10-point lead is not a huge hurdle, especially in the era of the 3-ball. Yet, given that the Tigers had no one in double figure scoring after 24 minutes of play made it seem like a tall task, which it indeed was. Dax Stout of Buchanan had himself a final quarter of the game, as he would score 8 points. Junior forward Brayden Harris continued to contribute points throughout the game and was big on the boards for the Bears. Fremont continued to struggle to put the ball in the basket and would fall short to Buchanan by a score of 64 to 43. Conner Sheets was named MVP of the game and finished with 20 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. He was helped by Stout finishing with 14 points and Harris with 11 points and 8 rebounds. West led the Tigers with 8 points.
The fifth game of the HOC Classic, and first game of the night session portion of the event, featured the Bullard Knights of Fresno and the Grant Pacers of Sacramento. This game was set to be a good one, as the Knights are a smaller, run and gun style of team, whereas the Pacers have size and athleticism to make it difficult to get up shots for opponents. This was another lower scoring affair that had a slow start, but ended with a game-winner and was a hard fought contest.
The Pacers’ standout junior Andre Gomez was hot from the field early, as he would score 10 of the teams 17 first quarter points. Senior James Miranda Jr. led the Knights with 4 points in the opening quarter, but the team overall struggled to find rhythm and pace offensively and were down 17 to 11 at the end of one. Standout junior guard Dalen Felder led the charge in the second quarter with 6 points for the Knights, and Tyler Franklin chipped in 5 points as well. The Pacers struggled to score the rock in the second quarter, as it would score 9 points as a team but held a two point lead going into the half, 26 to 24.
In the 2nd half, junior wing/forward Nadir Lockhart scored 7 points in the third quarter to lead the Pacers, and the Knights got a spark from Tyler Connors who connected on a pair of threes for 6 points in the quarter. The game remained close as the third quarter came to an end, with the Pacers clinging to a one-point lead, 39 to 38. Both teams struggled to score the ball in the final frame and it had that feeling of the last team with the ball and a shot opportunity would win the game. With less than a minute left in regulation, the Pacers turned the ball over and the Knights got the ball up the court to Felder for a transition layup that would end up being the game winning bucket, as the Knights would edge out the Pacers by a score of 47 to 45.
The Knights were led by Felder with 15 points and Miranda would have a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds, as well as earning game MVP honors. Gomez led the Pacers with 16 points and Demari Hunter had 9 points.
The fourth game of the event featured two Fresno-based teams from two different leagues. The Central Grizzlies against the Sunnyside Wildcats had, on paper, what looked to be an intriguing match-up. However, Sunnyside’s top 3 players are all football guys and played in a semifinal D2 Section playoff game the night before. Therefore, seniors CJ Jones, Malachi Barnes, and Tanner Wilson all sat the game out, which made this game a blowout before it even started. The Grizzlies won by nearly 30 points, by a score of 59 to 30, and look to be a much better squad this year. Eli Graves led the team with 16 points and senior Na’Jae Stevenson had 12 points and 14 rebounds to earn him the game’s MVP honors. Frank Castaneda did all he could for the Wildcats and scored a game-high 18 points but was the only player to score over 5 points for Sunnyside. I hope this game happens at some other point in the season, as it could be a good one but not this year at the HOC Classic.
The third game of the HOC Classic featured the Sanger Apaches and the McLane Highlanders. This would be a game of contrasting styles of play, as the Apaches have size and interior presence to control the paint and the Highlanders rely on guard play and pushing the tempo up the court. Junior lead guard Keyvon Burcher had the hot hand in the opening quarter, as he would lead McLane in scoring with 6 points. Despite the fast pace of play from the Highlanders, the size and athleticism of senior wing/forward Micah Cole was an evident advantage that the Apaches would look to exploit all game, as Cole would have 8 points to lead Sanger after one, with a score of 23 to 14.
Sanger continued to use its size to its advantage on the glass, which provided countless second chance scoring opportunities. Cole continued to control the glass and showed his ability to space the floor with the 3-ball. Fellow senior wing/forward Caleb Ramirez started to heat up as well, scoring 6 points in the second quarter and helping his team increase its lead. Burcher continued to provide scoring for McLane, but the height advantage was taking its toll, as Sanger would take a double-digit lead into the break, 37 to 25.
Brayden Mireno had the hot hand from beyond the arc for the Apaches, as he would add a pair in the 3rd quarter to boost Sanger’s lead. Cole continued to dominate around the basket and connected on his 2nd three of the game to give him 20 points after three quarters of play. Khristian Smith scored a couple of baskets to try and help teammate Burcher but the game was getting away from the Highlanders, as it would be down by 19 points to end the third quarter, 58 to 39. The fourth quarter saw much of the same interior dominance for the Apaches, as Ramirez and Cole would control play in the final quarter of regulation. Despite an 8-point quarter for Smith, Sanger would win easily by a score of 75 to 54.
Micah Cole would end the game with an impressive double-double of 25 points and 13 rebounds, which would earn him game MVP honors. Ramirez had a big game as well, finishing with 19 points and 8 rebounds, and Mireno would finish with 11 points for Sanger. McLane was led by the stellar guard play of Burcher with 19 points and 10 rebounds, as well as Smith finishing with 15 points.
The second game of the HOC Classic featured two teams to keep an eye on this season in their respective divisions, as both have size and quality guard play. This morning session match-up was one of the better games of the day between the Redwood Rangers of Visalia and the Fresno Christian Eagles. I arrived at the facility as this game was in the last 2 minutes of the first half and the Eagles were up by double-digits, as senior guard Aden Millwee was hot in the first two frames.
The third quarter saw the Eagles continue to roll, as Millwee continued to have the hot hand. Junior lead guard Noah Coulton also contributed with a couple of buckets of his own to help keep a comfortable double-digit lead going into the 4th quarter. The Ranger’s senior forward Cole Gilcrest had a few nice baskets around the rim but the depth of the Eagles was preventing Redwood from mounting a comeback up to that point. Fresno Christian had a 56 to 42 lead going into the final quarter.
As the game was looking like smooth sailing for the Eagles, Redwood started heating up behind scoring from standout sophomore Zander Jensen, senior guard Elijah Casas, and the big fella Gilcrest to cut the deficit to six midway through the quarter. Coulton asserted himself in the final quarter with 6 points of his total of 16 in the 4th quarter. Despite the fourth quarter push, the Eagles were able to keep the Rangers at bay and secured the win by a score of 70 to 62. Millwee finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, which earned him game MVP honors. Coulton finished with 16 points, and senior lead guard Jeremiah Mason had 5 points and a huge 12 assists. The Rangers were led by Gilcrest with 13 points and 7 rebounds, Casas with 11 points, senior Moses Saulsbury had 10 points and 8 rebounds, and Jensen finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists.
The opening game of the 3rd Annual HOC Classic was between the McFarland Cougars and the Mendota Aztecs. I was not in attendance for this game, as I arrived in Fresno at 10:30, and this game started at 8:30 a.m. The Cougars got the win over the Aztecs 82 to 71, and Ulises Molina was named MVP of the opening game, as he would have a statline of 18 points, 22 rebounds, and 2 steals.
