SACRAMENTO – The Whitney High boys basketball team is beginning to show signs of what they can become picking up their third Capital Athletic League win in a row Friday night.

Four point winners over El Camino Jan. 28, the Wildcats played a different game against the Eagles Friday in an old-fashioned, high-scoring game for a 94-80 victory.

The triumph sealed the ‘Cats bid to make the playoffs, as the ‘Cats took over sole possession of third place with one game to go. Even if Whitney should lose its final regular season game against Cordova, the Wildcats will finish no worse than 5-5 in league play. The top four teams from the CAL advance to the postseason.

Rio Americano could match Whitney’s record if the Raiders win their last two games, but El Camino can do no better than 4-6. However, the Raiders would have to beat Antelope (7-2) in their final game to finish 5-5. A loss to the Titans would likely give the Eagles the postseason nod since they beat Rio Americano twice during the regular season.

It took the Wildcats three quarters and a stern halftime speech from head coach Nick French to get a steady flow on defense. Whitney’s Kyle Creighton then went hard to the boards in the third period to help the defense keep up with the already high-paced offense.

Still, El Camino cut the ‘Cats’ lead to four in quarter three, before Josh Jackson came off the bench to throw gas on Whitney’s offensive fire. Jackson and company answered with five 3-pointers to build a 67-50 lead going into the final stanza.

The Wildcats trailed at halftime 35-34, before exploding for a 33-15 third quarter advantage.

Colin Hawkins led the ‘Cats in scoring with 21 points and Jackson and Creighton each had 15.

WHITNEY 94, EL CAMINO 80

Wildcats         18  16  33  27 – 94

Eagles             20  15  15  30 – 80

CAPITAL ATHLETIC LEAGUE STANDINGS*

Boys Basketball

Week 5, 2014 Campaign

Team (league, overall)             Off. Avg.      Def. Avg.

1. Cordova (8-1, 17-8)              76.1               67.1

2. Antelope (7-2, 16-9)             56.7               51.2

3. Whitney (5-4, 17-10)            61.7               55.0

4. Rio Americano (3-5, 13-12) 53.9                51.1

3. El Camino (3-6, 9-15)           60.6               57.8

6. Mira Loma (0-8, 6-17)          45.3               54.2    

* Top four teams qualify for CIF/SJS Playoffs

Source:  http://www.placerherald.com/article/whitney-boys-light-it-94-80-win-over-el-camino