Bears hoops squad has three players earn SCL honors

Three members of the Mount Shasta Bears boys varsity basketball team came away with Shasta Cascade League honors recently.

Junior Kyle Ellorin and sophomore Darius Smith earned All-League honors, while junior DJ Brown was an honorable mention pick.

With a young squad of mainly sophomores and juniors and only a few players back from last year's team that made it to the CIF Division 5 title game in Sacramento, this group of resilient Bears exceeded expectations.

Mount Shasta went 19-11 overall and repeated as Northern Section Division 5 champs. The No. 3 seed Bears defeated top seed East Nicolaus 58-51 for the title at Butte College in Oroville on Feb. 28. MSHS went 7-3 in the SCL and was third behind Fall River and fellow Siskiyou County squad Weed.

"The kids saw all their hard work pay off this year," first-year head coach Chris Galarsa said.

He said that he was quite proud of all his squad accomplished this year with so many new players on the roster this past season.

Coach Galarsa said that Ellorin was a huge contributor at point guard and made the team runs with his basketball smarts and hustle on both ends of the court. Ellorin was a glue player that did all the little things the team needed, such as playing tough defense and distributing the ball. While his stats may not have lept off the stat sheet, his contributions were invaluable.

"He just leads by example," Galarsa said. "He gives 100 percent and knows what's going on the court at all times."

While he still has a year of high school left, Ellorin plans to be an exchange student for a year in Hungry and will be out of the country when basketball season rolls around. Galarsa said that his contributions will be missed.

Smith was an explosive scorer for the Bears and led the team with 12.1 points per game and was third in the SCL. Smith was a threat to score every time he touched the ball that did a great job driving to the basket and having the ability to creat shots. He is also a good defender and played well on both ends of the court this past season.

"He's a good teammate and a hard worker," Galarsa said. He added he is ecstatic to have him back next season, as well as the majority of the team from this past year.

Brown was a force in the post and was a significant physical presence for the Bears. He was a solid defender and rebounder and a reliable scorer, averaging 7.8 points per game. Galarsa said that Brown has played organized basketball for only three years and has fantastic potential if he keeps working hard and developing his game.

"He can be a man playing against boys if he keeps working," Galarsa said.

Currently, Galarsa is hopeful the team can start casual practices in June to get ready for the 2020/2021 season, depending on what the situation is with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are looking forward to getting back on the court," he said.