Central Cali’s Standout Players: South v. North Bakersfield Game

Bakersfield, CA - Last Thursday night, I attended the South Yosemite Mountain League match-up between league undefeated teams South Bakersfield Spartans and North Bakersfield Stars for first place in league. The Spartans and Stars battled it out in a low scoring first half, as South took a one point lead into half, 22-21. After a back and forth third quarter, senior Gavin Christain and the Spartans took over in the fourth quarter and pulled away for the 57 to 41 win and first place in league. In this article I look at 7 players that had standout showings by positions: guards and wing/forwards. I discuss how they played in the game and their relevant statistics, which are my own personal statistics. I will follow this with standout players from the Buchanan v. Clovis West games this past Friday   South Bakersfield Spartans 57 North Bakersfield Stars 41 Standout Forwards:   6'5 Gavin Christian (WF | 2026) South Bakersfield Spartans    Christian was the X-factor in the Spartans win over league rival North Bakersfield, as the victory would place South Bakersfield in sole possession of first place in SYML standings. Both teams entered the game undefeated in league play, and it was a close one going into halftime, with the Spartans holding a one-point lead, 22-21. Christian started to heat up in the second half, and in particular the fourth quarter, as he would score 13 of his game-high 18 points after the break and went to work on the glass as well, finishing with 16 rebounds for a monster double-double. The Spartans had a 3-point lead heading into the final frame, but it was 9 points and 6 rebounds in that quarter that helped extend the lead and seal the deal for South Bakersfield. Christian crashes the boards on both ends, gets putbacks off the offensive glass, limits opponents to single shot opportunities, outlets the ball to run the floor, and has the physical build to score through contact at the basket. He is effective with the 3-ball to space the floor, as was evident with a huge corner three down the stretch to put an exclamation mark on the game.Christian has the moves to attack off the perimeter, gets into the paint, and can score with the pull-up middy or at the basket. Great bounce-back game after a foul plagued outing against Bakersfield High, and putting himself in contention for another league MVP.   6'4 [player_tooltip player_id='3074364' first='Alexander' last='Gomez'] (WF | 2028) North Bakersfield Stars   Gomez has been a critical piece off the bench for the Stars this season, and given its young roster compared to the past few years, he is a player that the Stars can build with over the next few years, with several other sophomores on this roster. Gomez contributed six points for the Stars, connecting on 1 three, and had 4 rebounds to help on the glass. Gomez moves fluidly off the ball to get to his shot spots, has good length to shoot over most perimeter defenders, and has the handles to create off the dribble when defenders over-pursue on closeouts. As Gomez gets more consistent with the jumper, he will be a player that the Stars can go to more often to help put up points in the scoring column.    6'3 Cameron Saenz (WF | 2028) North Bakersfield Stars    Saenz had an outstanding showing with a big double-double, doing all he could to help keep the Stars close, as he would go for 16 points and 11 rebounds. The younger Saenz has been the Robin to older brother Ethan, the Stars Batman, but it would be Cam that had the strong showing against league rival South Bakersfield, in a game that would determine 1st place in league for the time being. Saenz was the only Star to score the ball in the fourth quarter, accounting for all 6 of North's points and left it all on the court. Saenz is active on the glass, gets routine put-backs off the offensive glass, can spread the floor with the 3-ball off the catch or the dribble, has the moves to attack off the perimeter, has the strength to score through contact at the basket, and has touch on the mid-range jumper and floater in the paint. Saenz has continued to show he is capable of defending players taller and bigger than his build, with a relentless motor, diving on the floor for the 50/50 balls, jumping passing lanes to get steals, deflecting passes into the post, and runs the floor well in transition.   Standout Guards:   6'1 Cameron Hernandez (SG | 2027) South Bakersfield Spartans    Hernandez has been one of the better perimeter shooters for his class in the South Valley since entering high school, and has maintained that role for the Spartans over his high school career thus far. Hernandez impacted the game on both ends to help his team get the win over league rival North Bakersfield, as he would score 10 points, connecting on a pair of threes, pull down 5 rebounds, and snag three steals to showcase his impact on the defensive end. More impressive than the numbers was the defense that Hernandez played on standout junior Ethan Saenz, who he would guard most of the night. Hernandez has good length and lateral quickness to stay in front of his opponent, but Saenz is not your average opponent, but Cam did a great job of making it difficult for any off the perimeter players for the Stars to get into a rhythm. Hernandez moves fluidly off the ball, gets to his shot spots, and can fill it up from beyond the arc, as was evident with the two crucial threes in the second and third quarters of the game, when the Spartans needed someone to step up, as senior teammate Cliff Willis had to be more of the facilitator and play-maker with junior point guard Eddie Ramey III sidelined with a calf injury. Hernandez will be relied upon to play this type of game in order for the Spartans to obtain its goals of winning league and earning a high seed in the D3 Section playoffs.   6' Emani Myles (CG | 2026) South Bakersfield Spartans    After missing a number of games due to a bad ankle sprain back on December 19th against Centennial of Bakersfield, Myles had his best game since returning a week earlier and brought that dog-like mentality and physical toughness to the game that was needed for the Spartans to knock off its league rival. Myles would score 13 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and his points were sprinkled throughout the game to be that consistent scoring threat South needed in this low scoring affair for three quarters of the game before senior Gavin Christian took over in the fourth quarter. Myles has solid handles, plays with good pace and control, has a nice burst of speed off the dribble, as well as off-ball movement to get to his shot spots, and kept relentless pressure on the defense looking to attack the paint. Myles has a smooth jumper off the dribble or the catch, is a tough on-ball defender that gets into his opponents dribbling space, and gets out into open space in transition to be available for passes up the court and easy buckets. The confidence and swagger that Myles brings to this Spartan team can't be quantified but is evident when you watch South play with and without him, as he is the heartbeat of this team.    6' Sergio Pinon (SG | 2026) South Bakersfield Spartans   The true unsung hero of the game was senior guard Sergio Pinon, who connected on 3 huge threes in the second and third quarters, at key moments when the Spartans were struggling to score the ball. In particular, the pair of third quarter threes were crucial in South taking a 3-point lead into the final frame. Pinon moves well off the ball, gets to the corner on either side where he was able to hide out from the defense and ready to shoot when the skip pass over the defense came his way. The Stars were looking to take control in the third quarter as Pinon connected on those two threes in back-to-back possessions and gave the Spartans the needed momentum swing.    5'11 Ethan Saenz (PG | 2027) North Bakersfield Stars    Saenz has been one of the top lead guards in the Section for the last two years and a major impact player since his freshman season for the Stars. This year, he has had to put the Stars on his back several times and had some huge scoring performances along the way. In the first of two league match-ups, it would not be the older Saenz night scoring the ball, as he never was able to settle in from beyond the arc, where he has become very efficient this season, and ended the game with 8 points. What separates Saenz from other top players in the Section is his ability to continue to find ways to impact the game and to play through adversity when shots aren't falling. Saenz would look to be more of a play-maker when shots didn't fall in the first half, and made some great reads, but his teammates, outside of younger brother Cam Saenz, didn't make the shots needed to help the Stars pull-out the road win. Saenz finished with 6 assists and 2 steals, and he continued to try and will the ball in, but as hoopers know, there will be some off nights shooting the ball, so you have to find other ways to impact the game. Saenz , one of the best and most reliable players in the Section will bounce back and I would assume he has the rematch game against South at their gym circled on the calendar.

Bakersfield, CA - Last Thursday night, I attended the South Yosemite Mountain League match-up between league undefeated teams South Bakersfield Spartans and North Bakersfield Stars for first place in league. The Spartans and Stars battled it out in a low scoring first half, as South took a one point lead into half, 22-21. After a back and forth third quarter, senior Gavin Christain and the Spartans took over in the fourth quarter and pulled away for the 57 to 41 win and first place in league. In this article I look at 7 players that had standout showings by positions: guards and wing/forwards. I discuss how they played in the game and their relevant statistics, which are my own personal statistics. I will follow this with standout players from the Buchanan v. Clovis West games this past Friday