RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - On Thursday, December 28th, eight teams showed up at Cordova High’s gym to compete in the 47th Annual Cordova Christmas Classic. The teams competing in this year’s tournament were Rosemont, Luther Burbank, Cesar Chavez, El Dorado, Grant, Will C. Wood, Woodcreek and your tournament host Cordova.      

Our Cordova Lancers easily handled cross-town rival Rosemont by a score of 76-41 on the first day and Burbank by a score of 61-58 the next day. In the game against favored Burbank, senior Amir Sabir hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 13 seconds left. This put the Lancers into the championship game for the 2nd year in a row against the highly favored Woodcreek Timberwolves from Roseville. Woodcreek upset last year’s winner, Grant, by a score of 67-57.

Freshman Baron Sabir shoots jumper against Rosemont.

Cordova brought their “A” game to the contest against the Timberwolves as they kept the game in reach all 4 periods. Down 64-66 with 4.9 seconds left in the contest, the Lancers put up a good shot from the corner for the win that unfortunately hit the front of the rim and bounced out. Three inches to the left and that ball goes through the hoop for the victory. Cordova once again finished with 2nd place honors.  The Grant Pacers finished in 3rd and Burbank took 4th place.

Head Coach Fletcher Johnson said, “This group refuses to quit. They are resilient. They hold player only meetings to make sure they are on the same page. They hold each other accountable to playing hard, playing smart and playing together.”

Freshman Baron Sabir goes in for reverse layup against Woodcreek.

For the season, the Lancers are now 7-6 and begin league play on January 10th at West Campus.  Cordova’s starting five this year are senior forward RayShawn Johnson, sophomore small forward Da’Mareya Griffin, junior forward Malachi Gorman, senior point guard Amir Sabir and freshman point guard Baron Sabir. The “6th Man” this year is senior small forward Roman Panasyuk.  Panasyuk comes in off the bench and his presence is immediately felt on offense and defense. Another player that should make an impact this season is senior point guard Ezra Carolina.

This group of players are constantly improving with each game they play. They are a force to be reckoned with on both sides of the ball. They have the ability to put points on the board when needed, and are “tenacious” on defense, causing turnover after turnover. Coach Johnson said, “I’m looking forward to the next game just to see how much progression they make. Every game has been so exciting to watch and I believe the best is yet to come.  We have shooters and good decision-making players. Most importantly they enjoy seeing each other make plays”.

Senior Rayshawn Johnson makes shot underneath against Woodcreek.

I definitely think this group has the physical ability and the mental maturity to take us to the postseason. Who knows, if they keep improving like Coach Johnson says, there’s no telling how far in the playoffs we can go this year.

Our next two home games will be on Wednesday, January 17th against Valley at 7:30 p.m., and Friday, January 19th against Foothill at 7:00 p.m. Come on out, root your Big Red Lancers on to victory and enjoy a hot dog and some other goodies from the snack bar.

GO BIG RED!