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2006-07

team photo of the Shasta Collelge men's basketball team for 06-07

(above) Team picture from 2006-07
Ford Layup Wins It!
KNIGHTS SWEEP SEASON SERIES
(Oroville-2/17/07) Shasta 63, Butte 61 -- David Ford scored a layup with four seconds left to give the Knights the win. Sean Jergo scored 12 points, Darren Brous had 11 and Ford had seven for Shasta (6-4 GVC, 12-15).
Knight Payback on COS
JERGO WITH 21
(Jeffrey Jen Serachlight article-2/11/07) If the season came to a close early, the Knights made sure they went out winners on their home floor. Sean Jergo scored 21 points as the Shasta College men's basketball team defeated rival Siskiyous 101-76 in a foul-plagued game on Saturday. The game was physical and the referees were whistle-happy. The two teams were whistled for a combined 67 fouls in the game -- 44 in the second half. Through it all, the Knights (5-4 Golden Valley Conference, 11-15) were determined to go all-out after losing at Siskiyous earlier in the season. Knights coach Kele Fitzhugh started five sophomores in the last home game of the season and inserted the only one left on the bench, guard Chad Putnam, minutes into the game. Shasta scored the first six points of the contest, the last two on an alley-oop dunk by Jergo off a pass from Ryan Groom. The Knights never trailed in the contest. Fitzhugh substituted liberally as 12 different Knights scored in the first half, which ended with Shasta up 47-34. Jergo then took over at the start of the second half, scoring 13 of Shasta's first 16 points after the break. The Knights gradually pulled away from there, leading by as much as 31 at one point. Freshman guard Geoffrey Smith had 11 points, while sophomore swingmen Darren Brous and Groom finished with 10 points apiece. The Knights finish the season at Butte on Saturday. Reporter Jeffrey Jen can be reached at 225-8228 or jjen@Redding.com.
Knights Fall in Quincy
HOST COS NEXT
(Quincy-2/9/07) Feather River 87, Shasta 74 -- Keaton Welch had 13 points as the Knights fell on the road. Sean Jergo added 11 for Shasta (4-4 Golden Valley Conference), which hosts the College of the Siskiyous at 7:30 p.m. today.
Need to Win Out
STILL IN HUNT FOR GVC CROWN
(Jeffrey Jen-2/8/07) With three games remaining on the Shasta College basketball docket, the Knights men's team finds itself in a trio of must-win situations. Shasta travels to play Golden Valley Conference co-leader Feather River on Friday before making a quick turnaround and a home date with Siskiyous on Saturday. The Knights then close the season Feb. 17 at Butte. Right now, Shasta is a game behind Feather River and Redwoods. However, the Knights' home loss to the Corsairs last week made things more difficult since Redwoods swept both games between the two teams and holds the tiebreaker.Basically, the only chance for the Knights to win league, and likely get into the postseason, is to win all of their games and hope that Redwoods stumbles twice during road trips to Siskiyous and Butte and a home game with Lassen.Shasta can help itself with a win at Feather River. Though, the Knights delivered a 30-point thumping when the Golden Eagles visited last month, the trip down to Quincy isn't easy. If Shasta can get a win, not only do the Knights tie Feather River, they get the tiebreaker over them with the season sweep.The Knights also would like to make up for a loss at Siskiyous on Saturday, so the weekend allows them plenty of opportunities.While coach Kele Fitzhugh said his team was bigger and more athletic this year, that hasn't translated to being better. The lack of experience or a consistent scorer has hurt the Knights in close games.Having said that, the season could be a good warmup for the next one. Though four of the six sophomores start, the heavy use of the bench has allowed many freshmen to develop.
Knights Fall on Road to COR
BROUS WITH 17 POINTS
(1/10/07-Eureka) Redwoods 60, Shasta 57 -- The Knights came close, but couldn't fend off the host Corsairs in the Golden Valley Conference opener. Darren Brous scored 17 points and Sean Jergo added 16 for the Knights (0-1 Golden Valley Conference, 6-12). Redwoods won the game at the foul line going 16-of-21, while Shasta was 4-of-10. The Knights host Lassen at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Cold Knights
GVC PLAY STARTS WEDNESDAY
(San Bruno-1/3/07) Skyline 62, Shasta 53 -- The Knights couldn't find a way to get a victory on the road. Sean Jergo led the Knights with 17 points, while Brad Tweedy pulled down five rebounds. Shasta (6-11) heads to the College of the Redwoods for their first conference game on Wednesday.
Knights Top Contra Costa
GVC PLAY STARTS JANUARY 11th
(Contra Costa-12/29/06) Shasta 55, Contra Costa 51 -- Alex Ward led the Knights with 12 points in the Safeway Classic at Diablo Valley. Jeff Smith and David Ford each had 10 points for Shasta (6-10), which travels to Skyline on Wednesday.
Knight Lose Lead
BROUS LEADS WITH 19 POINTS
(Santa Rosa-12/16/06) On the road in the Santa Rosa College Kris Kringle Klassic the Knights give up a 12 point second half lead and fall to Yuba College 62-59. Darren Brous lead the Knight's attack with 19 points. Sean Jergo added 10 points for 5-7 overall Shasta.
Knights Fall Twice on the Road
NOT HOME UNTIL JANUARY
American River 79, Shasta 70 -- The Knights fell to the Beavers despite 18 points from Darren Brous. Sean Jergo added 13 points, Alex Ward had 11 and Andrew Schritter chipped in 10. Shasta travels to the Kris Kringle Tourament in Santa Rosa on Thursday.
Sierra 80, Shasta 66 -- The Knights trailed by three going into the third quarter only to watch the Wolverines pull away. Steve Harris scored 22 for Shasta (4-6).
Knights Hang On for Win
JERGO'S JUMPER WINS IT
(Jeffrey Jen-11/26/06) Sean Jergo hit a 6-foot jumper with 4.6 seconds left to lift the Shasta College men's basketball team to a 63-61 victory over Yuba at home on Saturday. The Knights (4-3) squandered a 12-point second-half lead, and the 49ers tied things up at 61-61 with 28 seconds left. But Jergo came through with the game-winner to give Shasta a key non-conference victory. The two teams met in the first round of the NorCal playoffs last season with the Knights pulling out a one-point win in that game. Jergo, a sophomore forward, finished with 18 points. Shasta's points were spread out after his team-high total. Guards Chad Putnam and Alex Ward and forward Jeremiah Batdorf all added eight points apiece and guard David Ford had seven. "We've been doing a good job feeding the post and finishing there," Knights coach Kele Fitzhugh said. Yuba got back into the game by pressing Shasta and the Knights struggled with the pressure, a cause for concern for their coach. But Fitzhugh still has been pleased with his team's performance so far in the young season. "Yuba is a good team," he said. "This was a good win for us. I'm really happy with the strides we're making. Obviously, we have a long way to go, but that's fine. You don't want your team peaking in November or December." Next up for the Knights men is the American River Beaver Classic Tournament in Sacramento. Shasta faces West Valley at 8 p.m. Thursday in its opening game.
Knights Fall to DVC
DARREN BROUS LEADS WITH 17 POINTS
(Jeffrey Jen-11/20/06) Knights coach Kele Fitzhugh dubbed his team's 63-53 loss to Diablo Valley on Sunday as "a learning experience" for his unproven team. Playing in the Shasta Invitational final, host Shasta certainly taught a few things in a game that wasn't as close as the final score indicated. Once again, the Knights (3-3) struggled for much of the game offensively. This time, their defense let them down at times in the second half and the streak of Shasta not winning its own tourney since 2001 remained intact. "Inexperience gets exposed by good teams and Diablo Valley is definitely a good team," Fitzhugh said. "They're athletic and they execute on both sides of the floor." It is the third straight year, the Vikings won the Shasta Invitational and they did it impressively with three straight double-digit wins. Diablo Valley (6-0) did enough early to grab a 31-19 lead by halftime. Then, Mac Peterson hit three 3-pointers early in the second half en route to a game-high 19 points put Shasta away at that point. The Vikings led by as much as 24 before a late Knights run made things respectable. Sophomore wing Darren Brous led Shasta with 17 points, but the next highest scorers for the Knights were Sean Jergo and David Ford with seven points apiece. "We couldn't execute our offense," Brous said afterwards. "We didn't run our sets early on. They were much more intense than we were at the start of the game." The Knights never led in the game and mustered only 10 points in the first 17 minutes of action. Brous' inside basket and an offensive putback from Jeremiah Batdorf finally got the offense going in the final minutes of the first half. Shasta started the second half slightly better and Jergo's two foul shots cut the gap to 33-23 Diablo Valley. However, Petersen was fouled by Alex Ward as he sank a 3-pointer on the next Vikings possession and things went sour on the Knights again. "We played really tentatively for the first25 to 30 minutes of the game," Jergo said. "In the last 10 minutes, we started to show what we can do." By then, it was much too late to go for a win. Instead, Shasta was playing for the future as Fitzhugh and his assistants kept searching for players to jell or provide a spark. A late 10-0 run punctuated by Jergo's three-point play at least gave the Knights something to build on. "These type of games will help us when conference comes along," Fitzhugh said. "What we take away is at least we can compete with these guys when we get over being tentative or scared. "We just have to learn from this game so it never happens again. If we can do that, then I'll take the loss." Shasta has a home game on Saturday, the tail end of a men's and women's doubleheader against Yuba. Tentatively, the game is scheduled for 6 p.m. with the women's matchup at 4 p.m., but the time could be changed due to the Knights potentially hosting a playoff volleyball match the same night. Reporter Jeffrey Jen can be reached at 225-8228 or jjen@redding.com
Knights Cruise into Finals
DEFENSE LEADS THE WAY
(Jeffrey Jen-11/19/06) Offensively, the Knights have a long way to go. Good thing the Shasta College men’s basketball team are showing they can play "D." Despite not having a single player reach double digits in scoring, the Knights were able to fend off Santa Rosa 54-39 in its own tournament, the Shasta Invitational, late Saturday. Shasta once again held an opposing team down to advance to the tournament championship against Diablo Valley at 4 p.m. today. The Knights haven’t won their own tournament since 2001, when the team finished 31-3. Shasta (3-2) got there by hitting enough timely shots to complement a strong defensive effort. The Bear Cubs didn’t have a single player reach 10 points either and never once led the contest. "I’m happy with the team," Knights head coach Kele Fitzhugh said. "I thought we made some strides. We played good defense even though we struggled offensively." Santa Rosa got to within 44-39 after two foul shots from Kelly Berry with 3:27 left in the game, but the Knights held the Bear Cubs scoreless the rest of the way. Brian Long and Ryan Groom both had eight points, while Alex Ward and Darren Brous had seven apiece. Jeremiah Batdorf had six points, but had more of an impact on the defensive end with four blocked shots. David Ford also had six points and hit four foul shots in the final 2:20 to help stave off Santa Rosa. "Our offense will come," Batdorf said. "We’re starting to mesh. Our offense was going through a drought, but our defense is still holding. The more we come along, we’re not going to have droughts like these anymore." The Knights had tough moments shooting in the first half, but still took a 20-16 lead into halftime. Groom would then hit two 3-pointers early in the second half to build the lead to 10. "Good screens got those open shots," Groom said. "We just had to keep working hard to get those kinds of shots and eventually they’ll fall." The Bear Cubs cut the lead to 35-32 with 8:52 left in the game after Jared Heuir hit two 3-pointers of his own. But offensive putbacks by Keaton Welch and Brous helped extend the lead again. After the lead fell to five again, Sean Jergo hit a 14-foot jumper before Ford knocked down a pair of free throws in a 1-and-1 situation. That finally gave Shasta the cushion to escape the semifinal victorious. Up next should be a strong Diablo Valley team that won its own 55-43 defensive struggle over American River earlier on Saturday. Santa Rosa and American River meet in the third-place game at 2 p.m. today, preceded by the consolation championship between Yuba, which beat Foothill 73-58, and Sacramento City, which toppled Siskiyous 78-68. For the Knights to come away with the tournament title, their offense needs to pick up, though not by a single source. "Our scoring is going to have to be balanced," Fitzhugh said. "As long as someone steps up each night, we should be fine." One thing Fitzhugh doesn’t have to worry about is the other side of the ball. He has plenty of depth, or bodies to throw out there and keep the intensity high, and his squad is also more athletic and able to shut down opponents better. If the points come today, that may be enough to walk away with a tourney title. Reporter Jeffrey Jen can be reached at 225-8228 or jjen@redding.com.
Tons of Talent, Any Chemistry?
TALL AND DEEP GROUP OF HOOP KNIGHTS
(Jeffrey Jen-11/17/06) Night and day. Fire and Water. Yin and yang. The Knights men's basketball team of 2005-2006, Knights men's basketball team of 2006-2007. There are many things that are regarded opposite and Shasta College hoops are currently fitting into that group -- at least for now. When the eyes were last cast upon the men's program, the Knights were coming off a Golden Valley Conference title, a 21-11 season that ended in the second round of the Northern California playoffs. Though, Shasta lacked height and overall athletic ability, ball skills and chemistry carried Knights coach Kele Fitzhugh's team to his best season since 2002. Gone from that squad are the top four scorers from last year's team, including league MVP Jon Baird and all-league guard Hayden Heiber. Another all-league guard Trevor Ray had hip surgery in August and is redshirting this season. What is left is a team short on experience with one starter and four returnees from last year -- forward Sean Jergo and center Brian Long were starters for a Shasta team two season's ago. However, this is very deep squad, 15 players, that has more height and overall athleticism. The question will be can Knights version 06-07 be able to capture the chemistry from version 05-06. Given the multitude of newcomers mixed in with returnees from different teams, Fitzhugh is under no illusions his team will come storming out of the gate. A 1-2 record at the Ohlone Tournament over the weekend bore that out, though the Knights were competitive in their losses to Ohlone and Hartell. "You always want to win," Fitzhugh said about his team's opening performances. "But, we're still at the stage of trying out different lineup combinations and figuring out who goes best where. I was very happy with how well they competed for their first time out." The answers should continue starting today when the Knights host the annual Shasta Invitational. Shasta's home opener is at 6 p.m. against Sacramento City. Fitzhugh is expected to start five sophomores tonight with point guard Brad Tweedy, wings Darren Brous and Ryan Groom and Jergo and Long in the frontcourt. Shasta likely will be without the services of the sixth soph, shooting guard Chad Putnam, who has a pulled hamstring, for the tourney. Tweedy is a steady ball-handler, but he should be pushed at the point by a pair of freshmen, David Ford out of Foothill and Geoff Smith of Mount Shasta, both of whom are quick and athletic. Also in the mix in the backcourt is Max Perez of Crescent City and Grant Moody of Burney. Brous and Groom, last year's lone returning starter, spent much time playing the 4 last year, which meant they had to guard bigger players. With a taller team, they now can move outside more and Fitzhugh is expecting bigger things from them on the perimeter. Backing them up are a pair freshman guards in Alex Ward of Shasta and Andrew Schritter, a redshirt from Liberty Christian. Both bring height and versatile skills as players who can shoot or post up smaller opponents. At 6-9, Jergo, wh spent last season recivering from back surgery, could provide matchup problems with his ability to play down low or step outside. Long is more of a low-post threat who gives the lead maturity and leadership. A trio of freshmen are behind them, including forward Jeremiah Batdorf who played prep ball at Foothill and Enterprise before taking a redshirt at UC Davis. He is scheduled to make his Knights' debut tonight. The other frontcourt players are athletic Steve Harris out of West Valley and the biggest early-season surprise, 6-8 Keaton Welch of Paradise. In all, Fitzhugh has more to work with on this team compared to last year's squad in theory. Now, it is a matter of finding the proper mix in an attempt to approach last year's success. Reporter Jeffrey Jen can be reached at 225-8228 or at jjen@redding.com.
Opening Game Win
JERGO PACES WIN IN OPENER OVER SAC CITY
Shasta 62, Sac City 54 -- Sean Jergo paced the Knights with 15 points as they won their season-opener at the Ohlone Tournament in Fremont. Darren Brous had 13 points while Chad Putnam added 11 for Shasta, which faces Ohlone
at 5 p.m. today, 11/11/06.
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