At the top of the new year, there has been a shift in the Foothill League boy’s basketball standings due to West Ranch having to forfeit previously won league games.

Due to West Ranch’s misfortune, it leaves Saugus atop the league, but with half of the season still left to be played, there very well could be another shift in the rankings.

Saugus (13-4, 5-0):

The Centurions currently are ranked number one in the Foothill League with a 5-0 record in league play.

In their most recent Foothill victory, Saugus defeated Golden Valley 82-68.

Senior Justin Perez scored 19 points to pair with his 11 rebounds and five assists.

Aiding Perez in his scoring affairs was Matt Correa, who had 20 points and five rebounds and assists.

Throughout the season, the Centurions have beaten everyone in the league except for Castaic, who are yet to play each other this season.

Until then, Saugus is getting ready to play Blair at 3 p.m. Friday.

Hart (13-6, 3-1):

Sitting as the number two team in the Foothill League are the Indians, whose only league loss was to Saugus nearly a month ago.

Since the loss to the Centurions, Hart went on to win 9 out of 10 of their next games and is currently on an eight-game win streak.

Within their flurry of wins, the Indians even won their very own Hart Tournament, beating out Moorpark 58-55 in the finals.

Following their tournament win, Hart continued to dominate when they beat Castaic 81-58.

The boys in black and red turn their attention to West Ranch with their eight-game win streak on the line Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Valencia (8-7, 3-2):

Thus far, the Vikings have held their own and remained above .500 on the season.

In their most recent matchup against the Cowboys, Valencia cruised to a 70-55 win with Bryce Bedgood, Jacob Michel-Zavala and Ashton Carraway all having double-digit points.

Carraway had 10 points, while both Michel-Zavala and Bedgood put up 17 points.

Along with Bedgood’s 17 points, he had 10 rebounds to go with it.

Before their run-in with Canyon, Valencia participated in the Damien Classic Tournament, winning two of their four games.

Now that is behind the Vikings, they are focused on beating Golden Valley Friday, Jan. 5 at 6:30 p.m.

Golden Valley(12-6, 2-2):

The Grizzlies are off to a strong start to the season with 12 wins on the season.

Golden Valley is two games shy of tying their previous season’s game wins of 14, with half the season yet to be played.

To open their season, the Grizzlies beat Lakeview Charter 95-20, then swept Excelsior Charter 100-15.

One thing holding Golden Valley back is their league record of 2-2, but the season is still young.

While there is plenty of time left in the season to improve it is already clear that Tristian Tiu. Angelo Samson and Kenyen Andrews are the stars of the team.

All three players lead the team in points per game, steals per game and total steals.

Another stand-out player is Wyatt Printz, who leads the team with six blocks and has 49 rebounds on the season, which is the second most on the team.

The Grizzlies have a shot to move up the rankings with a win over Valencia on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Canyon (11-7, 1-2):

The Cowboys find themselves in a similar situation as Golden Valley, where their non-league play has been better than against league teams.

Lucky for the Cowboys they can also turn things around and make a push to move up the ranks within the Foothill League.

Just before the new year, Canyon beat Calvary Baptist, Temple City, United Christian Academy then Los Altos to win the Valley Temple City tournament.

This was the first time since 2014 that Canyon has won a basketball tournament.

To add to their success, Eric Kubel was named tournament MVP with 23 points and five assists in the final game.

Throughout the Valley City Temple City tournament, Kubel had a total of 87 points throughout four games.

Canyons look to replicate their tournament performance when they play Castaic Friday at 6:30 p.m.

West Ranch (7-9, 1-3):

After being one of the top-ranked teams in the Foothill League, the Wildcats now sit towards the bottom of the totem pole after being forced to forfeit three league wins for CIF violations.

Despite the setback, the Wildcats still have the opportunity to work their back to the top of the league.

With a good non-league record and only three league losses, they can very well do so.

West Ranch has the athletes to do so, with four players averaging 12 points or more per game.

Not to mention the Wildcats have the two best blockers in the Foothill League in Jaeden Robley and James Evans.

West Ranch’s fight to regain their spot atop of the Foothill League begins Friday at 6:30 p.m. when they challenge Hart.

Castaic (13-6, 0-4):

Even though the Coyotes have surpassed last season’s total wins they still rank at the bottom of the league.

That is due to their 0-4 record against league teams which crippled Castaic last season when they went 0-12 against league opponents.

If the Coyotes can improve their league performance, they will have no issue rising through the ranks since they have a strong non-league record.

Castaic’s next league opponent is Canyon, but before then, they have Amino Venice on Wednesday with tipoff at 4 p.m.
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