From Carmichael Patch

By Justin Lawson

Jesuit senior guard Parker Uu has been on the other side of the rivalry with Rio Americano.

Uu played for the Raiders as a freshman before transferring to Jesuit, located less than a mile away, in his sophomore season.

So when the Marauders student section erupted as if it witnessed Jesuit capture a state title when Uu hit the first two free throws in the first quarter on Friday night, the now senior felt the full force of what this rivalry means.

“I know almost all the kids at their school, all the fans out there, so it’s just a big game for everybody,” Uu said.

Jesuit kept “The Battle of American River Drive” one sided as its defense and size led the Marauders to an 81-44 win and its fourth straight victory against Rio Americano. The Marauders last lost to the Raiders came in 2007.

It took a couple of minutes for the Marauders to find their momentum as they fought to grab a lead until they pulled away at the 2 minute, 31 second mark in the first quarter when they started an 11-4 run. Uu scored eight points in the quarter along with a six-point effort from Bryce Pressley.

The Raiders, meanwhile struggled to find second-chance opportunities against the taller Marauders. The Raiders also had trouble at the foul line where they went 7-for-13 in the first half.

“They’re a big team, they’re strong, they’re bigger than us and they game planned to just crash the boards on us with everyone all night,” Rio Americano coach Chris Jones said. “Offensively, they were just too much on the size and their strength. We fought hard, we just couldn’t get any rebounds. If we could have gotten some rebounds maybe we could have gotten some chances to open up the floor.”

Uu topped all scorers with 16 points.

Zach Suarez led the Raiders in scoring with 11 points.

Brandy Anderson started the 11-4, first-quarter run with a three-foot jumper to give the Marauders a 16-12 lead. Uu hit a three-footer of his own before Kurt Parker nailed a three-pointer from the elbow followed by a layup. Anderson capped the run with a four-footer to end the quarter 25-16.

The Marauders early inside game opened up the outside shot for the rest of the game. Jesuit hit six three-pointers in the second and third quarters before giving way to the bench players in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.

“I just think we need to learn not to start slow,” Jesuit coach Greg Harcos said. “We started a little slow and once we got a little momentum and started doing things the right way, started getting after them, the defense picked up and your defense spurs your offense.

“It’s one of those things, momentum’s a big deal with high school kids and once momentum starts going the right way it just takes you to the next level.”

Jesuit is out to an 8-1 start with only a 51-49 loss to Salesian (Richmond) keeping it from a perfect record. Rio Americano is 3-4.