Columbia, CA — The Columbia College Claim Jumpers were victorious on Wednesday evening in the opening round of the California Community College Men’s basketball state championships.
Columbia jumped out to an early lead after an impressive scoring barrage and held off a scrappy Napa Valley 81-68 at the Oak Pavilion.
Several hundred fans gathered to see the 12th-ranked Claim Jumpers. The win tied Coach Rob Hoyt with Hall of Famer Denny Aye for most wins in program history.
EJ Campbell, Blake Colbert, Dylan Hanna and company had a strong showing. There were also important contributions from Ahsan Huff, Dan Footman and Ry Atkins. The Claim Jumpers did run into some challenges, including uncharacteristic foul trouble and some streaky shooting.
The Squabble Town team will travel up to Cosumnes River on Saturday to take on the 11th-ranked Hawks (23-5) in the second round of the state playoffs. Columbia is the 9th seed and Consumnes River is the 8th seed.
