From the Sacramento Bee

By Bill Paterson

At one point during tonight’s Delta River League boys basketball showdown between No. 2 Jesuit and No. 3 Pleasant Grove, a Pleasant Grove fan bellowed, “Where’s Uu!”

It wasn’t in the form of a question.

It was a frustrated plea to Pleasant Grove’s on-their-heels defenders to keep their eyes on Jesuit senior sharpshooter Parker Uu.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard seemed to be everywhere on the floor, hitting bombs from long range or using his sturdy frame to score inside.

He finished with a game-high 18 points in leading the Marauders past the visiting Eagles 75-57, snapping Pleasant Grove’s 12-game winning streak and forcing the Eagles (18-2, 3-1) into a three-way tie for first with the Marauders (17-4, 3-1) and top-ranked Sheldon.

The Huskies were a 39-35 upset loser to No. 12 Oak Ridge tonight in what is one of Northern California’s toughest leagues.

“They came out swinging, and we came out swinging,” said Uu, who survived a hard foul that caused him to land on his backside and elbow with 44 seconds to play. “But shooting well really helped us. It helps out our defense and our offense on the break.”

Uu wasn’t alone.

Jesuit shot a collective 58 percent (24 of 43) from the floor and made 22 of 28 foul shots.
Akachi Okugo and Kurt Parker each had 14 points, Brian Glodowski 12 and Bryce Pressley 11.

“We had a lot of guys step up and make some great plays,” said Jesuit coach Greg Harcos. “Kurt Parker made some big shots, and Brian drove well to the basket. We shared the ball really well.”

As for Uu?

“Parker can really shoot it,” Harcos said. “And he seems to shoot his best the bigger the game.”

Jesuit set the tone early, jumping out to a 17-4 lead late in the first quarter. Pleasant Grove made several runs and closed to within two points, 36-34, early in the third quarter before Jesuit went on a 15-6 run – Uu had eight points in that span – to pull away for good.

While Jesuit consistently found the rim, Pleasant Grove struggled, especially in the final quarter, where the Eagles made just three of 15 shots from the floor.

Malik Thames led Pleasant Grove with 16 points; Colfax Nordquist had 15.

“To get Pleasant Grove at home is a must win,” Harcos said. “We want to win league.”

The performance was a breath of fresh air for a team that has been up and down in recent weeks, especially on their home court. The Marauders lost to Newark Memorial 56-50 on Jan. 7 in their own Father Kelly Tribute and got hammered by Sheldon 88-70 Jan. 13.

Harcos said there was no big halftime talk with Jesuit up 36-30 against Pleasant Grove.

“We’ve got a senior-ladened team and it’s there as far as what they want to make their season about,” Harcos said. “I told them tonight I’m pulling back the reins. They came out and played really focused.”