Sutter hoops set to defend section title
It took a while, but first-year coach Bernie DiDario and the Sutter High boys basketball team have hit its stride at exactly the right the time of year.
After starting the year with a key injury to senior forward Leszek Ratajczak and struggling to a 9-8 record one game into their Butte View League schedule, the Huskies regrouped to turn it around and win seven of their final nine games to end the regular season.
And after a 53-45 win over West Valley in their playoff opener and a 79-68 victory over rival Gridley in the semifinals on Wednesday, the Huskies find themselves right where they expected to be all along — playing for a championship.
Today at 12:45 p.m., No. 4 seeded Sutter defends its Northern Section Division IV title when they take on BVL foe and No. 2 seeded Orland at Chico State's Acker Gym.
The Huskies (17-11) will once again be led by the dominant inside presence of center Isaiah Bohmann. The 6-foot-7 senior leads Sutter with an average of 18.3 points per game and his 18.4 rebounds per contest rank him among the best in the state.
Ratajczak has bounced back from an injured shoulder and had his best game of the season with his 18-point performance against the Bulldogs on Wednesday. The senior has upped his scoring average to 9.9 per game as the season has progressed and the Huskies have improved along with him.
Rocky Khera is averaging 9.2 points per game and with the defense and slashing ability of Cameron Brown, the playmaking of point guard Ben Eisenbarth and outside shooting of sophomore Elijah Smith, Sutter has strong together five straight wins entering today's contest
Orland (20-8) is led by Stephen Batchelder, whose 12.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game are tops on the team. Jud Salisbury is second with 10.3 points per game for the Trojans, who are balanced on the offensive end.
Sutter took the first meeting between the teams with a memorable 51-49 victory at home on Jan. 19. Bohmann had 13 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth period. Sutter saw a double-digit lead disappear in the final minutes, but were bailed out when Khera sank two free throws with seconds remaining.
The Trojans won the second meeting 60-48 on Feb. 9. Bohmann had 25 points and 17 rebounds in that game, however no other Sutter player reached double digits in the scoring column.
