Hoopsters Perform Well in Historic Tourney!
Jan 05, 2023 12:00AM ● By Story and photos by Rick Sloan
Sophomore Malachi Gorman draws a crowd of Grant Defenders under the basket during the 46th Annual Cordova Christmas Classic on Friday, December 30.
46th Annual Cordova Christmas Classic is in the Books!
46th Annual Cordova Christmas Classic is in the Books!
RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - On Wednesday, December 28, eight teams showed up at Cordova High’s gym to compete in a basketball tournament that started back in 1976.
To put the Annual Cordova Christmas Classic tournament into historical perspective, the President of the U.S. was Gerald Ford, a gallon of gas cost $0.59, and Apple computer was just invented.
The 46th annual competition featured the following teams: Bradshaw Christian, Luther Burbank, Cesar Chavez, El Dorado, Fortune, Grant, Will C. Wood and your tournament host Cordova.
Our Cordova Lancers played well as they successfully beat Chavez by a score of 64-60 on day one and Burbank by a score of 72-60 the next day.
On the 3rd and last day of the tournament Cordova put up 74 points against the Grant Pacers in the championship contest. One would think that any team that put up 74 points in a game would be victorious. Well, that would be correct except for the fact that the fast-paced play and hot shooting of the Grant Pacers successfully put up 107 points on the scoreboard. Grant was hot from the start and never trailed the Lancers who struggled on defense most of the contest.
But looking at the glass half full, our Cordova Lancers took home 2nd place honors. Burbank took 3rd place and Fortune finished in 4th.
Against the Pacers, the Lancers were led in scoring by junior RayShawn Johnson with 23 points, senior Louis Griffin with 22 points and freshman Jae’lon Bell with 14 points. Bell hit four 3-point shots during the contest. Other standouts in the game and throughout the tournament were seniors Layvyn DeVera, Cody Jones and Evan Lee. Sophomore Malachi Gorman also played well on both offense and defense.
Both Griffin and DeVera were given All-Team honors for their tournament play.
Fletcher Johnson, in his 12th year as Cordova’s head coach said, “The Cordova Christmas Classic is the staple of every Cordova basketball season, and I’m very happy with how we played and now it’s time for league games. The players are excited and ready to start.”
The Lancers now 8-3 take on Florin January 9th and West Campus on January 13th. Both games are away. The next four games will be at home as the mighty Lancers go up against Natomas on Wednesday, January 18th, Foothill on Monday, January 23rd, Johnson on Wednesday, January 25th and Florin on Friday, January 27th.
Come on out, root your Big Red Lancers on to victory and enjoy a hot dog from the snake bar.
GO BIG RED!
