Bulldogs Host 66th Basketball Tournament

GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Gridley High School varsity basketball hosted the 66th annual Gridley Invitational Basketball Tournament from Thursday, December 12th to Saturday, December 14th. And just like the past sixty-five years, in his 18th year as Tournament Director, Chris McIntyre, made sure the sixty-sixth tournament lived up to the experience it always brings. Community members, and most often varsity basketball families, open their hearts and lives up to the visiting players; housing them, feeding them, and caring for them during the three days they’re in town. Many housing families have been opening their homes for countless years, oftentimes housing the same players for multiple years in a row. When teams return year after year to the tournament, housing families and visiting players, hope to pair up again for another incredible three days that will forever be cherished. It becomes an experience that everyone involved looks forward to each year.                                                 

The local area gets to see some of the top ranked teams, coaches, and players in Northern California compete at an elite level of high school basketball. Players who participate get to show off their various skill sets, height, and athleticism in front of packed crowds. The home team gets an opportunity to compete with some of the best players, challenging their own skill sets, and identifying areas of improvement as they move into their season.

When the teams began to arrive on Thursday, December 12th, the excitement (and nervousness) was only beginning. Dublin High School (Dublin, CA) tipped off against St. Patrick/St. Vincent High School (Vallejo, CA) to start the tournament. Dublin went on to win the opener 61-45 with Dublin’s, Anthony Roy, scoring 23 points in the game. The second game was a thriller between Archbishop Riordan High School (San Francisco, CA) and Capital Christian High School (Sacramento, CA) that went into overtime. Archbishop Riordan secured the overtime win 63-58, with Capital Christian’s, Darrion Williams, leading the scoring with 18 points. In the third game the home team took the court against the 2018 G.I.B.T. champions, Salesian College Preparatory School (Richmond, CA). Salesian cruised to a victory 72-32, with Salesian’s Shane Bell and Te’Jon Sawyer scoring 14 points in the contest. Gridley’s Grant Tull and Chance Nicolson led the Bulldog’s offense with 9 points each. In the final game on opening day, Campolindo High School (Moraga, CA) took on Weston Ranch High School (Stockton, CA). Campolindo secured the first day victory 60-49, with Campolindo’s, Aiden Mahaney, scoring 20 points in the game. 

The second day of the tournament, Friday, December 13th, started off a bit more relaxed and fun for the players, beginning with the player breakfast in the Gridley Community Center. This year’s honored guest speaker, Stanford University men’s basketball head coach, Jerod Haase, addressed the teams and attendees. Coach Haase had the honor of playing in the G.I.B.T. back in 1990 and 1991 for South Tahoe High School, winning Most Valuable Player in 1990 as the tournament’s leading scorer, and helped lead his team as tournament champion in 1991, in which Coach Haase also won M.V.P.

Later in the morning, the Gridley High School students attended the annual G.I.B.T. rally in which the players from the visiting teams also attended. The Gridley leadership team put together an amazing rally filled with contests which players from various teams participated. The first was a 3-point shooting contest, which was won by a Dublin player. The second was a lip sync battle, choreographed by the teams beforehand, with Archbishop Riordan’s winning performance of Mario’s, “Let Me Love You”. The final contest of the rally, the slam dunk contest, got the most hype out of everyone in attendance. Salesian’s player won the dunk contest jumping over two players for the slam.

When tournament play began later that evening, Capital Christian faced off against St. Patrick/St. Vincent. Capital Christian went on to win by a score of 62-54. St. Patrick/St. Vincent’s, Alexander, was the leading scorer in the game with 20 points. Weston Ranch tipped off against Gridley in the second contest of the evening. This was a much better contest for the host, but Gridley fell by a score of 67-51. Gridley’s Tull led the scoring with 27 points. Dublin and Riordan matched up for the third contest of the evening. Dublin’s Jaden Saunders and Anthony Roy each scored 19 points in the 71-59 victory to advance to the championship game Saturday. In the final game, Salesian battled with Campolindo in a high scoring contest with Salesian pulling off the victory, 76-71, earning a spot against Dublin in the championship game for a second year in a row. Campolindo’s Aiden Mahaney led the scoring with 26 points.

The annual crowning of the G.I.B.T. Queen was also held on Friday evening. Candidates for G.I.B.T. Queen were: Macy McClellan, escorted by Logan Smith, Hannah Norton, escorted by Selso McTygue, Alyra Andes, escorted by Omar Mosqueda, and Abneet Janda, escorted by Chet Gibson. Selected by the student body, the 2019 G.I.B.T. Queen, Alyra Andes, was crowned in front of a packed gymnasium. The G.I.B.T. Queen had the honor of handing out trophies to the championship team, tournament MVP, and All Tourney recipients on Saturday.

Championship Saturday began with the seventh place contest between St. Patrick/St. Vincent and Gridley. St. Patrick/St. Vincent cruised to the 88-39 victory, led in scoring by St. Patrick/St. Vincent’s, Alexander, and Gridley’s Cameron Erickson, with 19 points each. In the consolation game, Capital Christian cruised to victory over Weston Ranch 61-43. Weston Ranch’s, Lindsey led the scoring with 18 points in the game. For the third place game, Archbishop Riordan beat Campolindo, 76-62, with Riordan’s, Bryce Monroe, scoring 44 points in the game. Dublin and Salesian put on a show for the crowd in the championship game. After the first quarter Salesian led by a score of 15-14. Right before halftime, Salesian’s senior guard, Shane Bell, hit a deep three at the buzzer to make it 37-33 in favor of Dublin. The third quarter ended all tied up at 52 apiece before Dublin pulled away in the fourth quarter for the 66-61 victory and championship trophy. Dublin’s Roy had 18 points in the game with help from teammate, Saunders, who put up 17 points. Salesian’s Sawyer led the game in scoring with 20 points, helped by teammate, Bell, who had 19 points in the game.

Dublin’s Anthony Roy won G.I.B.T. Most Valuable Player award. Archbishop Riordan’s Bryce Monroe won the G.I.B.T. Top Scorer award, with 75 points in the tournament. G.I.B.T. All Tourney awards went to: Jaden Saunders (Dublin), Devon Jackson (Dublin), Te’Jon Sawyer (Salesian), Shane Bell (Salesian), Bryce Monroe (Archbishop Riordan), Je’Lani Clark (Archbishop Riordan), Aiden Mahaney (Campolindo), Carter Mahaney (Campolindo), and Darrion Williams (Capital Christian).

A special thank you to the G.I.B.T. Tournament Committee, G.I.B.T. Sponsors, special guest speaker, Stanford men’s basketball coach Jerod Haase, Gridley Unified School District, G.I.B.T. volunteers, G.I.B.T. housing families, G.I.B.T. visiting families, players and coaches, Gridley Bulldogs, and spectators.