For 41 years, Colusa’s Georgia Raczniak Tournament has been a holiday season classic and that tradition continued this year as the hometown RedHawks hosted teams from Pierce, Williams, Gridley, Yreka, Sutter, and Paradise in the three day event that ran Dec. 15-17.
It was an overwhelming success for Colusa, who for the first time in more than a decade, claimed the championship with a 73-48 trouncing of Yreka.
While the Miners were the defending tournament champions, they proved no match for the RedHawks this year as big men Isaiah Travis and Leo Bedolla took control of the inside, finishing with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Yet, Colusa also struck from the outside, with Seth Kalisuch tallying 11 points.
However, the engine that makes the RedHawks go is Landon Humphrey, the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, who scored 11 points against the Miners and has what head coach Brian Davis calls the “it factor.”
“Landon has the will to win,” said Davis, about his junior guard. “He’s tough, competitive, and puts this team on his back.”
To get to the championship game, Colusa first beat Corning 58-49, then held off a scrappy Williams squad 50-43.
Against the Cardinals, Humphrey dropped a game-high 25 points, while Travis posted his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 14 rebounds, and Kalisuch chipped in with an additional 10 points.
The following evening against the Yellowjackets, Humphrey again led Colusa, finishing with 17 points and seven rebounds. Travis went for 12 points and grabbed eight boards, and Bedolla contributed six points to go along with eight rebounds.
Bedolla and Kalisuch earned All-Tournament honors for Colusa (7-4), who put its seven-game win streak on the line Tuesday when Gridley came to town, and welcomes Las Plumas to Don Bransford Gymnasium tonight.
A short-handed Williams squad turned in a commendable effort, after suiting up just seven players in its final two games to finish in third place.
Opening the tournament against Gridley last Thursday afternoon, the ‘Jackets were not intimidated by the Bulldogs’ distinct height advantage and instead used pressure defense to come away with a 63-54 win.
Leo Trujillo poured in a game-high 26 points and Daniel Brunner had 11 points to lead the Yellowjackets.
Facing Colusa in its second game, Williams struggled early against the taller RedHawks and shot poorly at the free throw line, but rallied in the fourth quarter to make things interesting, cutting the lead to four points with a minute remaining, although it could get no closer.
Brian Rosales, the Yellowjackets’ All-Tournament selection, led all scorers with 18 points, while Kyden Bowen netted nine more.
On Saturday, the ‘Jackets played an uninspired first half, but came alive after intermission to defeat Pierce 53-43.
Trujillo, despite being in early foul trouble, struck for 17 points and rebounded well in the second half, while Rosales and Brunner tallied 10 and nine points, respectively.
Overall, Coach Jeff Lemus was more than satisfied with his team’s effort saying, “This was a good win for us. We made an adjustment at halftime and after that played well, especially for having just seven guys.”
Williams (6-5) is off for winter break and resumes play on Jan. 3 when it hosts Esparto.
Pierce, which is still working to develop chemistry on the court, was able to hold off Sutter 52-51 in the opener, gave Yreka a run for its money in the second game before falling 53-49, then watched its first half lead dissipate in the loss to Williams.
Joseph Saavedra led the Bears with 17 points in the win over Sutter and got help from Brayden Hoebel and Drew Burnum who correspondingly ended the night with 12 and 11 points.
The following evening, Saavedra accounted for 18 points, while Burnum pitched in with 10 points, although it wasn’t enough to offset the Miners’ balanced attack.
Against Williams, Burnum recorded a team-high 11 points, Saavedra, who was named to the All-Tournament team, had 10, and Roberto Ramirez dropped in nine more points.
Now, 2-7 on the season, Pierce takes a short break for the holidays then travels to Dixon for the Ram Jam Tournament, which runs Dec. 28-30. ■
