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Weekend CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield Baseball — Red Bluff at Central Valley Pre-Season Classic Soccer — Red Bluff at Spring Soccer Classic at Redding SAT—NBA—Kings at Jazz, 6 p.m., CSNC PGA—The Honda Classic, 10 a.m., TGC, Noon, NBC SUN—NASCAR—Kobalt Tools 400, Noon, FOX Sports 1B Twice as nice Daily News photo by Rich Greene The Northern Section Division VI boys basketball champion Mercy Warriors pose for pictures following their championship game win, Friday, at California State University, Chico’s Art Acker Gymnasium. Mercy repeats as section champions BOYS HOOPS Mercy 61 Paradise Adventist 52 By RICH GREENE DN Sports Editor CHICO — The Warriors ran off the court with two fingers in the air. They were still No. 1. Mercy defended its Northern Sec- tion Division VI basketball title, Fri- day, with a 61-52 win over Paradise Adventist Academy at California State University, Chico’s Art Acker Gymnasium. The Warriors built up a 19-point lead early in the third quarter and then held off a late Cougars’ rally to give the school its fourth Division VI sec- tion title. “It’s better than the first one,” senior point guard Mitchell Lopez said. “Especially doing it with the teammates I have and the coach I have.” Despite losing the depth from their 2010 championship team to gradua- tion, the Warriors preached their closeness as a team this go around with a roster consisting of just eight players. It paid off in a big way, Friday, with four Warriors reaching double-digits as Mercy’s multiple options and unselfishness on offense was a key component of their victory. Lopez finished with 15 points. Royce Crane had 14 points, Steven Rodriguez added 12 points and Jere- mie Jones chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds. Michael Wang added 11 rebounds and seven points in a tremendous per- formance against Paradise Adventist Academy’s 6-foot, 7-inch center Brad Manuel. Isaac Williams had two points and Jarrett Gash came off the bench to contribute solid defensive work. Leon Liu had the distinction of holding the ball as the buzzer sounded. While coach Steve Shellabarger’s team first mentality was key, so was his game plan to combat Manuel. At every opportunity the Warriors drove straight at the Cougars’ big man hoping to put him into foul trouble. It worked. Manuel picked up his second foul early in the second quarter and went to the bench with the game tied. With Manuel gone the Warriors took advantage. Sparked by a couple of Crane forced turnovers and layups, Mercy took a 29-20 lead into halftime. The momentum carried over to the beginning of the third period as the Warriors continued to drive to the bas- ket and expanded their lead to 39-20. By the end of the third quarter, the Warriors had a 48-31 lead. As comfortable as the 17-point lead might have looked on the score- board — it wasn’t. Slowly the Cougars started clawing their way back into the game led by Sergio Parendes who scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. Manuel would come back to grab 12 rebounds in the second half. He fin- ished with six points and 17 boards. Then Mercy started helping the Cougars, by missing layups and the gap continued to narrow. The Mercy faithful was back to sit- ting on the edge of their seats. With 2:30 remaining Bin Lee tripled for the Cougars to pull the score to 53-45. After trading points on both ends, Paradise climbed even closer as Lee scored again to make it 55-49 with 1:15 left. But that’s as close as they would get. Jones and Lopez each split one- and-one free throw opportunities to boost the score to 57-49. Then Jones came away with the ball in the Cougars’ backcourt and found a streaking Rodriguez who pushed the Warriors lead back to 10 and sealed the repeat. “I got another one,” Jones said after the game. “I’ll graduate with a smile on my face.” As with any championship team, the title stirred different emotions for each individual player. Crane, a part of the 2010 champi- onship team, said this title meant more to him because he played a bigger role in helping the Warriors win it. For Michael Wang, who along with Liu is an exchange student from China, Mercy’s first back-to-back titles meant being a part of history dur- ing his years in the U.S. “I feel so good,” Wang said, show- ing off his two state patches he will take home with him. Just like a season ago, the Warriors were given a low seed to start the play- offs. This year it was the No. 7. Along their way to the title the Warriors knocked off the No. 1, 2 and 3 seeds to finish a 17-13 season. And they ended their season how they started it — as champions. Central Valley Pre-Season Classic After a dismal offensive performance in their season opener, the Spartans’ bats came alive Thursday in a 10-0 win over Central Valley. The game was called after five innings due to the mercy rule and was Red Bluff’s first game of the Central Valley Pre-Season Classic. Modesto Ramirez went 2-for-3, with three RBI and a run scored. Joel Duggins also drove in three runs and had a triple and a run scored. Gerald Baker doubled and scored two runs and Robby Lasby went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Tyler Reed and Mitch Robison also drove in runs. Cole Robinson had a hit and a run scored. Jordan Fox had a hit and Casey Hilsee, Richard Penne and Taylor Figgs all scored runs. Figgs also struck out three batters in one-and one-third innings of relief work. Stephen Jensen started the game and struck out five batters to pick up the win. Cody Case also worked from the mound. YOUTH FOOTBALL The Red Bluff Jr. Spartans are looking for peo- ple interested in being a head football or cheer- leader coach for the upcoming season. Coaches will be selected March 22 at 6 p.m. a the Elks Lodge. For more information contact Eric Coates at 209-0232. GIRLS AAU HOOPS Tryouts for fourth through seventh graders will be held for the Nor Cal Hot Shots on Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Lassen View School. The season runs through May 9 and the cost is approximately $150. For more information contact Kathy Brandt at 354-4775. Scoreboard NBA Friday’s results Boston 107, Golden State 103 Chicago 89, Orlando 81 Cleveland 119, New York 115 Dallas 116, Indiana 108 New Jersey 116, Toronto 103 New Orleans 98, Memphis 91 Oklahoma City 111, Atlanta 104 Philadelphia 111, Minnesota 100 Phoenix 102, Milwaukee 88 San Antonio 125, Miami 95 Charlotte at L.A. Lakers, late Saturday’s games Sacramento at Utah, 6 p.m., CSNC Toronto vs. New Jersey at London, England, Noon, NBATV Minnesota at Washington, 4 p.m. Indiana at Houston, 5:30 p.m. Charlotte at Portland, 7 p.m. Denver at L.A. Clippers, 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s games Golden State at Philadelphia,3 p.m.,CSNB Chicago at Miami, 10 a.m., ABC L.A.Lakers at San Antonio, 12:30 p.m., ABC Washington at Detroit, 3 p.m. New Orleans at Cleveland, 3:30 p.m. New York at Atlanta, 3:30 p.m., ESPN Phoenix at Oklahoma City, 4 p.m. Memphis at Dallas, 4:30 p.m. Boston at Milwaukee, 6 p.m., ESPN Thursday’s late result Denver 103, Utah 101 NCAA Saturday’s Top 25 games No.2 Kansas at No.22 Missouri, 9 a.m., CBS No. 3 BYU vs.Wyoming, 12:30 p.m. No.4 Pitt vs.No.19 Villanova, 1 p.m., CBS No.4 Duke at No.13 N.Carolina, 5 p.m., CBS No. 6 Purdue at Iowa, 1 p.m., ESPN No. 7 Texas at Baylor, 6 p.m., ESPN No.8 N.Dame at No.16 UConn 11 a.m., ESPN No.9 San Diego State vs.Colorado St., 7 p.m. No.11 Louisville at West Virginia, 9 a.m., ESPN No. 12 Syracuse vs. DePaul, 1 p.m. No.14 Florida at No.21 Vandy, 3 p.m., ESPN No. 15 St. John’s vs. South Florida, 5 p.m. No. 17 Georgetown at Cincinnati, 11 a.m. No.18 Arizona vs. Oregon, 11 a.m., CBS No. 23 Xavier at Saint Louis, 11 a.m. No.24 Texas A&M vs.Texas Tech, 10:30 a.m. No. 25 Utah State at Louisiana Tech, 4 p.m. Saturday’s Championship Games Atlantic Sun Conference Belmont vs North Florida, 3 p.m., ESPN2 Big South Conference UNCAsheville vs Coastal Car., 1 p.m., ESPN2 Ohio Valley Conference Tennessee Tech vs TBD, 5 p.m., ESPN2 Saturday’s other televised games Virginia Tech at Clemson, 9 a.m., ESPN2 South Carolina at Miss.St., 11 a.m., ESPN2 UNLV at Utah, 1 p.m., VS UCLA at Washington St., 2:30 p.m., CSNB Southern Cal at Washington, 7:30 p.m., CSNB Sunday’s Top 25 games No.1 Ohio St.vs.No.10 Wisconsin, 1 p.m., CBS No.20 Kentucky at Tennessee, 9 a.m., CBS Sunday’s Championship Games Missouri Valley Conference, 11:05 a.m., CBS Sunday’s other televised games Florida St. at N.C. State, 3 p.m., CSNC West Coast Conference semi, 5 p.m., ESPN2 West Coast Conference semi, 7 p.m., ESPN2 NHL Friday’s results Calgary 4, Columbus 3 Chicago 5, Carolina 2 New Jersey 2, Pittsburgh 1, OT N.Y. Rangers 4, Ottawa 1 Dallas at Anaheim, late Saturday’s games Daily News photo by Rich Greene Mercy’s Jeremie Jones and Mitchell Lopez are all smiles following their championship win. Dallas at San Jose, 7:30 p.m., CSNC Buffalo at Philadelphia, 10 a.m., CSNC St. Louis at N.Y. Islanders, 10 a.m. Vancouver at Los Angeles, 1 p.m. Chicago at Toronto, 4 p.m. Florida at Atlanta, 4 p.m. Sunday’s games Philadelphia at N.Y.Rangers, 9:30 a.m., NBC New Jersey at N.Y. Islanders, Noon Washington at Florida, 2 p.m. Buffalo at Minnesota, 3 p.m. Nashville at Calgary, 5 p.m. Vancouver at Anaheim, 5 p.m. Thursday’s late results San Jose 3, Detroit 1 Los Angeles 1, Phoenix 0 Nashville 3, Vancouver 0 PGA Honda Classic At PGA National Resort and Spa (Champions Course) Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Purse: $5.7 million Yardage: 7,158; Par: 70 (35-35) TV: 10 a.m., TGC, Noon, NBC Second Round Leaders Kyle Stanley 68-66— 134 -6 Rory Sabbatini 71-64— 135 -5 Charl Schwartzel 68-69— 137 -3 Ricky Barnes 70-68— 138 -2 Jerry Kelly 71-67— 138 -2 Stuart Appleby 68-70— 138 -2 Tommy Gainey 71-67— 138 -2 Matt Kuchar Y.E.Yang 69-70— 139 -1 68-71— 139 -1 Gary Woodland 71-68— 139 -1 Spencer Levin 67-72— 139 -1 Lee Westwood 70-69— 139 -1 MLB Spring Training Friday’s results San Francisco (ss) 5, L.A. Dodgers 3 San Francisco (ss) 7, Milwaukee 2 Texas 6, Oakland 3 Atlanta (ss) 6, Washington 4 Baltimore 6, Detroit 2 Boston 5, N.Y.Yankees 3 Cincinnati 3, Seattle 1 Cleveland 6, Colorado 2 Kansas City 5, Chicago Cubs 4 L.A. Angels 3, Chicago White Sox 1 Minnesota 5, Tampa Bay 4 N.Y. Mets 4, Florida 3 Philadelphia 7, Pittsburgh 4 San Diego 3, Arizona 2 St. Louis 10, Houston 2 Toronto 7, Atlanta (ss) 5 Saturday’s Games San Francisco vs. Oakland, 12:05 p.m. Boston (ss) vs. Baltimore, 10:05 a.m. Detroit (ss) vs. Houston (ss), 10:05 a.m. Detroit (ss) vs. Toronto, 10:05 a.m. Florida vs. Boston (ss), 10:05 a.m., MLBN Houston (ss) vs. St. Louis, 10:05 a.m. Minnesota vs. Tampa Bay, 10:05 a.m. N.Y. Mets vs. Atlanta, 10:05 a.m. Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia, 10:05 a.m. Washington vs. N.Y.Yankees, 10:05 a.m. Chi.White Sox vs.Cleveland (ss), 12:05 p.m. Cincinnati vs. L.A. Dodgers, 12:05 p.m. Cleveland (ss) vs. Seattle, 12:05 p.m. Colorado vs. Kansas City, 12:05 p.m. L.A. Angels vs. Milwaukee, 12:05 p.m. San Diego vs. Chicago Cubs, 12:05 p.m. Texas vs. Arizona, 12:10 p.m. Sunday’s games Milwaukee (ss) vs.Oakland (ss),12:05 p.m. Oakland (ss) vs. San Diego, 12:05 p.m. Seattle vs. San Francisco, 12:05 p.m. N.Y.Yankees vs. Houston, 10:05 a.m. Tampa Bay vs.Philadelphia (ss), 10:05 a.m. Toronto vs. Pittsburgh, 10:05 a.m. St. Louis vs. Florida, 10:05 a.m. Philadelphia (ss) vs. Detroit, 10:05 a.m. Baltimore vs. Minnesota, 10:05 a.m. Atlanta vs.Washington, 10:05 a.m., MLBN Boston vs. N.Y. Mets, 10:10 a.m. L.A.Dodgers vs.Cubs (ss), 12:05 p.m., WGN Milwaukee (ss) vs. Texas, 12:05 p.m. Chicago Cubs (ss) vs.Cincinnati, 12:05 p.m. Kansas City vs.Chi.White Sox, 12:05 p.m. Arizona vs. L.A. Angels, 12:05 p.m. Cleveland vs. Colorado, 12:10 p.m. Weekend March 5, 2011 Tehama Tracker BASEBALL Montreal at Tampa Bay, 4 p.m. Pittsburgh at Boston, 4 p.m., NHLN Detroit at Phoenix, 5 p.m. Edmonton at Colorado, 7 p.m.