BASKETBALL

Four Weed Cougars hoops players earn SCL accolades

Dave Sjostedt
Jivarqua Jordan-Foster was named to the Shasta Cascade League All-League squad recently. Photo By Dave Sjostedt

Rewarded for their 23-5 season and Northern Section Division 6 title, as well as making it to the NorCal Division 6 championship game, four Weed Cougars came away with well deserved Shasta Cascade League postseason honors recently.

Cougar seniors Jivarqua Jordan-Foster, Grant Lane, and Tripp Rodriguez were named to the SCL All-League squad, while Angel Nicholas was an honorable mention selection.

Weed finished second in the SCL, with Fall River finishing first. The squads met in the NSCIF D6 title game in Redding on Feb. 29, winning the contest 49-47.

Jordan-Foster, a shooting guard, was selected as an all-league pick and “came within a few votes of being named league MVP” said coach Robert West.

Jivarqua was second in scoring for Weed, averaging 10.5 points per game.

He shot 49 percent from the field, and his trademark slashing drives to the hoop through traffic earned him 59 free throws. The 6’1” guard pulled down four rebounds a game.

Part of the Cougar’s hair-on-fire perimeter defense, he had a team-high 34 steals and led in assists with 48.

Leading scorer Grant Lane also made the SCL team. He averaged 14.3 points per game and pulled down 7.1 rebounds. Grant controlled the paint for the Cougars, grabbing 77 offensive boards and getting many second-chance buckets. He scored 400 points this season.

Rodriguez averaged 10 points a game and shot 51 percent from the field. He led the Cougars in free throw percentage, hitting 65 percent of his attempts.

Another player known for slashing to the hoop with abandon, he drew many fouls and went to the charity line 62 times. Another fierce defender, Tripp made 33 steals. A great leaper, he excited Cougar fans with a couple of slams during the season.

Nicholas, a point guard, averaged 4.3 points per game and had 23 steals as part of the Cougar’s manic defense team. Angel was a deft ball-handler. He committed only one turnover a game while often bringing the ball up against a pressing defense.

College of the Siskiyous coach Kyle Heath was seen scouting the Cougar seniors during their playoff run.

“I’m feeling good about it as I communicate with all of them and Dallas Lane daily,” said Heath, though none of the players have committed to COS yet.