Polly Wilhelmsen Semifinals: Recap and Top Performers

This past Friday, December 26th, I went back to Visalia to watch the two semifinal games of the Polly Wilhelmsen Tournament, which featured match-ups between the North Bakersfield Stars (the two time defending Polly champs) and the Kingsburg Vikings, followed by the Tulare Union Tribe and Sanger Apaches. Both games were great and went down to the wire. This article takes a look at the top players from each game, their respective statistics that I personally recorded, and how they impacted each of the two games. Tulare Union would win the Polly on Saturday night over Kingsburg, but I was not in attendance for that game, only the semifinal games held at Mt. Whitney of Visalia.   Kingsburg 66 North Bakersfield 62   Kingsburg Vikings Players:   Alex Hanzak (6'2 | 2027) was on go from the moment the ball was in play off the opening tip, and that was exactly what the Vikings needed to get things going in the right direction. When I watched Kingsburg on Monday for Day 1 of the Polly, it took a 4th quarter surge to ensure the win to advance and it would have to be different against the defending Polly champs North Bakersfield. No one seemed to get that message more clearly than Hanzak, as he scored 13 points in the first half and controlled the flow of the game playing on and off the ball to give the Vikings a 36 to 30 lead at half. In the second half Hanzak continued to score the ball, but also took over the playmaking responsibilities, with 6 assists to teammate [player_tooltip player_id='3271513' first='Peyton' last='Swiney'] who would lead the charge in the 4th quarter again, as he did on Monday. Hanzak would finish the game with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists, and showed his ability to space the floor with the 3-ball, the court vision to make plays to open teammates off the drive and kick pass, as well as up the court to open players off the defensive rebound. Hanzak has been the most consistent perimeter player for the Vikings this season, and has eased the responsibilities placed on freshman lead guard Izayah Perez, who played against North Bakersfield but was also under the weather.    Jensen Hirschkorn (6'7 | 2026) continued to show he is one of the top forward/centers in the Section and impacts both ends of the court in countless ways. Hirschkorn brought the ball up for the Vikings routinely, provided interior scoring to open force the defense to collapse on him, which allowed perimeter players to get open looks, and was an absolute force on the glass, as well as the defensive instincts to deflect passes and generate steals to get out in the open court. Hirschkorn has great footwork in the paint, the court vision to find open teammates on kickout passes from the post or the top of the key, and is able to muscle and score through contact. Hirschkorn had an impressive double-double of 17 points and 18 rebounds, to go along with 5 steals and 4 assists. The standout baseball prospect has shown that he is the key to the success of the Vikings this season, as he gives them an athletic and physically gifted player to anchor both ends of the court and is an underrated rim protector.   [player_tooltip player_id='3271513' first='Peyton' last='Swiney'] (6'2 | 2026) got going earlier in this game compared to Monday's opening round win at the Polly, and had 7 points going into the break. Cam Saenz of North Bakersfield got hot in the 4th quarter and the Stars would close the gap on Kingsburg's lead. That was when Swiney got it going from the perimeter, as he would score 10 points in the final quarter and connected on a pair of threes to ensure the win over the back-to-back Polly champs. Swiney moves fluidly off the ball, has the handles and moves to create off the bounce, has a quick release on his jumper, and would go for 19 points with 3 threes to help the Vikings advance to the championship game. Swiney has been the consistent threat from beyond the arc and he will be called on all season to be the floor spacer, along with Izayah Perez and Alex Hanzak. Swiney's fourth quarter scoring was a huge reason Kingsburg made the run the Polly title game.   North Bakersfield Stars Players:   Cameron Saenz (6'2 | 2028) had a slow start to the game and was in foul trouble within a couple of minutes of play, picking up two fouls less than 3 minutes into the game. Despite his absence, the Stars held it close and were only down 8 going into the 4th quarter before Saenz flipped the switch and was unstoppable. He would score 14 of his 18 points in the final quarter, to go along with 7 rebounds, but the foul trouble caught up and he got his 5th foul with nearly three minutes left in the game. Saenz does a great job on the boards, plays bigger than his listed height, moves well off the ball to get open for shots on the perimeter, but especially around the basket, and is a 3-level scoring threat. He is able to defend players that are bigger than him with good physical strength, relentless motor, and that dog mentality needed to bang amongst the bigs with the ability to score through contact and get putbacks routinely.   Ethan Saenz (5'11 | 2027) was stellar all week long at the Polly and would earn All-Tournament honors, as he would lead the Stars to the win in the 3rd place game. In the semifinals, against Kingsburg, the older Saenz brother would literally put the team on his back for 3 quarters of the game, as he would score 15 of his 23 points before halftime, which accounted for half of the team's 30 points going into intermission. Saenz chipped in 3 points in the final quarter, but it was his playmaking and on-ball defense that stood out down the stretch, as he would find the younger Saenz on several plays with precision passes either up the court or in the half court setting. He would add 5 assists and 3 steals to go with his 23 points to make it close but not enough in the end to defeat a physical Kingsburg team that was on the attack from the jump. Saenz plays with great change of pace and direction with the ball in his hands, the use of the hesitation to freeze his defender and an underrated burst of speed off the bounce to attack the defense quickly, and the savvy and creative ways to score the ball around the basket, are all reasons opposing defenses have a hard time containing him. Saenz continues to show accuracy with the 3-ball off the bounce or the catch and his court vision is top notch, as well as his rebounding for his position and size. He finds ways to impact the game and the effort and poise in clutch moments are fun to watch.   Tulare Union 62 Sanger 59 Tulare Union The Tribe Players:   Damaje Riley (5'10 | 2027) was cooking from the field all game long and had the single best scoring performance of the semifinals, as he would go for 30 points connecting on 4 threes, along with 3 steals, to lead The Tribe to a nail biting win that came down to the wire to earn a trip to the championship game. Riley had a hot start with 9 points in the opening quarter, and 10 more points in the second quarter to give Tulare Union a 12 point lead going into the half, 38 to 26. It looked like Sanger was on the ropes and the Tribe were imposing its fast style of play with tough full court on-ball pressure to wear down the opposing perimeter players and create turnovers and transition points. Sanger was able to slow the game down and the ball pressure started to ease a bit, as Riley and fellow backcourt mate Brayden Stevenson started to look a bit gassed. Riley would score 8 points in the 3rd quarter with a pair of threes in that scoring stretch, but the Tribe were getting limited scoring beyond him and the Apaches took a 1-point lead late in the 4th quarter. Riley got a huge and-one bucket in the last minute of the game to seal the win for the Tribe and ultimately a title win at the Polly. Riley has dynamic handles, great change of pace and direction with the ball in his hand, body control on shots within 20 feet of the basket, and accuracy on the jumper from the mid-range to the 3-point line. He is a creative scorer at the basket with the reverse and up-and-under lay-ups, and great lift and control on the middy, with the spin-fade in his arsenal. Impressive multiple sport athlete that is underrated as a basketball player in the Section.    Brayden Stevenson (5'9 | 2026) put on an elite display of lock-up defense in the semifinal game against the perimeter players from Sanger, as he was picking up 94-feet and displaying elite footwork, lateral quickness, active hands, and relentless energy to stay glued to his opponent and get into their dribbling space to create turnovers and bad decision making from opposing players. Stevenson displayed his ability to be a great positional rebounder, a playmaker with the ball in his hands, and the ability to score through traffic at the basket with the hesitation, Euro-step and reverse lay-ups, and elite athleticism to hang in the air on the jumper. Stevenson had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists, and had a key drive to the basket that gave the Tribe the lead back down the stretch. Stevenson uses the crossover, between-cross, and hesitation, and the spin-move to get by his defender, has an elite burst of speed off the bounce, and can score in various ways around height in the paint. Stevenson was a key reason the Tribe earned a spot in the Polly title game, which it would win over Kingsburg. The backcourt duo of Riley and Stevenson is one of the most dynamic and athletic in the Section and it will be a team to beat in the D3 playoffs.   Sanger Apaches Players:    Caleb DeLong (6'7 | 2027) was a force around the basket on both ends and made life tough for Tulare Union players trying to score around the basket, as well as control the boards to provide his team with second chance scoring opportunities, or limit opponents to single shot possessions. DeLong was in foul trouble, which did limit his minutes, but he made his presence felt when on the court, as he would go for 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocks. His rim protection forced Tulare Union's players to alter their shots, or take bad shots because of his lingering length and instincts to protect the basket. He has nice touch around the basket and does a good job of finding open perimeter players when the defense collapses on DeLong. The Apaches found success against the Tribe when it was able to slow the game down and work through its bigs, one of the main ones being DeLong. He would foul out in the 4th quarter and that took the core interior defense out of the mix, which Riley and Stevenson took advantage of in the last couple of minutes.     Brayden Iniguez (5'11 | 2027) has been the best floor spacer for the Apaches in the two games I have seen Sanger in person, and that was the case against Tulare Union, as he would lead the team in scoring, to go along with his 6 assists. Iniguez has solid handles, uses the crossover, behind-cross, and between-cross to get his defender off balance, gets downhill for paint touches with the court vision to make timely reads to open teammates off the drive and kick pass, as well as finding his forwards diving to the basket out of the pick and roll action, or on the catch off the pop, as the wing/forwards for Sanger shoot the ball well to being a threat from the perimeter. Iniguez was a key factor from the guard position scoring the ball in the second half to get back in the game, as he would score 8 of his 11 points after halftime. Iniguez, and fellow backcourt mate Lucas Lucero, took much better care of the ball in the second half and prevented Stevenson and Riley from getting steals and easy transition points. He was a main factor in the Apaches being able to slow the game down and even take a lead for a possession. The junior guard will be relied upon this season to space the floor and control the pace of play, as Sanger has good size and length in the front court and will need the perimeter players to ensure the ball gets to them to run the style of offense that the Apaches are known for.   The trio of wing/forward and their versatility was a key reason why the Apaches were able to get back into the game in the second half and the advantage they provided Sanger, as there is not a lot of height and size in the Section. Jake Gartner (6'5 | 2027), Tyler Reid (6'4 | 2026), and Justin Hernandez (6'2 | 2026) had 7 points and 5 rebounds; 8 points; and 10 points respectively for the Apaches and provided the interior scoring needed to rival the perimeter scoring coming from the Tulare Union guards. In addition to their scoring in the paint and touch around the basket that all three provided, all three have the ability to stretch the floor with the 3-ball, each would have one three in the semifinal match-up, which pulls bigger defenders away from the basket, and makes it tough to defend each of these players, given they can move well off the ball, and get set for the shots off the catch. Although they made their presence felt on the boards, as well as on the scoreboard, it was not enough to outlast the tenacious Tulare Union squad. Sanger would fall to North Bakersfield in the 3rd Place Game, but look poised to make a run at a high seed in the D2 Playoffs if it wins its league.

This past Friday, December 26th, I went back to Visalia to watch the two semifinal games of the Polly Wilhelmsen Tournament, which featured match-ups between the North Bakersfield Stars (the two time defending Polly champs) and the Kingsburg Vikings, followed by the Tulare Union Tribe and Sanger Apaches. Both games were great and went down to the wire. This article takes a look at the top players from each game, their respective statistics that I personally recorded, and how they impacted each of the two games. Tulare Union would win the Polly on Saturday night over Kingsburg, but I was not in attendance for that game, only the semifinal games held at Mt. Whitney of Visalia.