On Friday, Feb. 11, for the first time in Bear Creek's ten year history, the varsity basketball team became league champions with a 60-57 win over the Lincoln Trojans.
Senior forward Herb Joseph contributed with a game high 20 rebounds and 16 points while senior Myron Jordan led the game with 20 points plus six rebounds of his own. Despite the high numbers put up by Joseph and Jordan, the game came down to a final three-point attempt by Lincoln's David Loring that missed the basket entirely.
"We just kept it strong and stayed focused," Joseph told The Record. "We knew they were going to make a run. We saw what they did the other night when they beat Tokay. But we pressed on."
The Bruins needed one victory in their final three league games to claim the San Joaquin Athletic Association (SJAA) championship. The victory over Lincoln proved extremely important as the Bruins lost their final two games to Lodi and then Stagg, but with the Lincoln victory held on to the SJAA title.
Despite earning the championship title, the Bruin squad failed to climb the playoff ladder any higher than previous Bear Creek teams. The Nevada Union Miners were the first team the Bruins had to face in the playoffs; they were also the last. Although the team played a tough game and kept the score close throughout the matchup, they were unable to overcome the strong Miner team. A playoff victory is still a goal untouched by past Bruin teams and gives future squads something to shoot for.
"The seniors this year wanted to start a basketball tradition at Bear Creek and I think we have," senior guard Mike Willens said.
Jordan contributed an all-star performance to help his team earn the SJAA title and a playoff spot. Talk about Jordan earning league MVP has been going on since the beginning of the season and after winning the championship, awarding it to Jordan seems inevitable.
"It's been a magical season," assistant coach Mike Crutchfield said. "Most people don't realize how difficult it is to win over 20 games in a high school season. The players have worked very hard to accomplish the goal."
The championship is a great award to the coaches and their effort as well.
"Since this goal appears on every coach's list at the start of the season, it is great to be involved at the end of the year," head coach Rick Seely said.
Next year the team faces a rough challenge when Jordan, Joseph, and guard Toan Tran leave the team. But strong juniors like E.J. Edmerson and Gerald Williams hope to fill their shoes and take their team back to another SJAA championship.
"I think we have really good chances of another successful season next year," Williams said.