Amir Sabir makes a layup against Foothill.

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - The 2023 Cordova Basketball season came to an end after 28 hard-fought games. The Lancers finished with an overall record of 17-11. They finished league play in 2nd place with a record of 9-3, one game behind Natomas that finished with a 10-2 record.

The Lancers made it to the first round of the Division 2 CIF-SJS Section Championships after defeating Bear Creek of Stockton in a play-in game at home on February 12th. The exciting overtime victory ended with a score of 65-60 much to the delight of the hometown crowd.

Roman Panasyuk shoots a layup against Bear Creek.

Unfortunately, the Lancers had to face the No.1 seeded Jesuit Marauders across the river in Carmichael. The game played on Valentine’s Day ended in a 63-94 loss. Jesuit was upset by #4 Del Oro by a score of 66-62 in the semifinals. The Vanden Vikings took top honors with a victory against Del Oro 64-52.

Baron Sabir makes a hard shot against Bear Creek.

The Lancers saw six of their players achieve league honors. Seniors Amir Sabir and RayShawn Johnson were named by the league coaches to first team All-League. Amir also finished in 2nd place for the league MVP honor. Named to the 2nd team All-League were freshman Baron Sabir and sophomore Da’Mareya Griffin. Taking Honorable Mention honors were senior Roman Panasyuk and junior Malachi Gorman.

Cordova had three players making it in the top 10 for total points scored during the season. Amir Sabir was in 5th place with 276 points, Johnson was in 8th place with 261 points and Baron Sabir was in 10th place with 249 points.

Da’Mareya Griffin looks for an open teammate to pass to against Bear Creek.

I was really impressed with the way the Cordova Lancers competed during this season. I saw more passing, more energy on defense and overall, more team play. They fought hard against taller opponents and were still able to get many second efforts underneath with offensive rebounding. Head Coach Fletcher Johnson said, “This year was a very special year. The players really bonded as a team and played some incredible basketball. With each player believing and encouraging each other to play their best, they were able to pull out some amazing wins”.

Malachi Gorman gets fouled underneath against Bear Creek.

The Lancers will be saying goodbye to 6 seniors.  Looking at next year, the Lancers are looking very good with some returning talent. Coach Johnson said, “Next year’s team will have the potential to be pretty good with some nice athletic players from JV and freshman teams. Also, there should be some talented incoming freshmen from Mills and Mitchell Junior High.”

GO BIG RED!

 RayShawn Johnson shows his talent against Bear Creek.