Condors open 2026 at home vs. San Jose; BC men's hoops win big; high school recaps

The Bakersfield Condors will open 2026 with a pair of 7 p.m. games against the San Jose Barracuda at Dignity Health Arena today and Saturday.

Bakersfield enters the weekend series after finishing 2025 with a game on New Year’s Eve with Coachella Valley.

The Condors start the new year with a few players who are back in Bakersfield following a stint in the NHL with the parent club Edmonton Oilers.

The most notable names skating in the AHL again are right wing Quinn Hutson and left wing Connor Clattenburg. The Condors also have defenseman Tyson Feist on the roster, after he was just called up from the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets.

Going into Wednesday’s game with Coachella Valley, the Condors had a 13-10-5 record and 31 points. They are alone in eighth place, but to show how tight the standings are, a win Wednesday and a loss by San Diego would have the Condors tied with the Gulls for sixth place. The games with third-place San Jose (17-10-1, 36) offer a chance to see some strong hockey.

After this weekend, the Condors will be on a three-game road trip starting Tuesday and Wednesday at Canada’s Abbotsford Canucks and Jan. 10 at San Jose before returning home for a 4 p.m. meeting with Ontario Reign on Jan. 11.

BC MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Bakersfield College men’s basketball team closed the 2025 portion of its schedule with a 99-80 non-conference road victory against L.A. Pierce on Tuesday.

The Renegades just missed having back-to-back 100-point games as they had defeated Oxnard 100-88 on Dec. 20. It would have been BC’s third 100-point game as it beat Victor Valley 108-82 on Dec. 2. Nevertheless, BC is scoring at a great clip in recent games. This was BC’s sixth game this season scoring at least 90 points.

Against Pierce, Markell Brooks led BC with 21 points and he had 10 rebounds. Zykiar Henderson had 20 points and 14 rebounds. Three Renegade reserves — James Miller, Damari Davis and Godwill Fomusoh — came off the bench to give the team five players in double-figure scoring. Miller had 11 points and Davis and Fomusoh each had 10.

BC (8-6) hosts Santa Monica at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

The holiday tournament schedule closes this weekend. Several teams have finished or will be finished by Saturday before gearing up for league games.

Here’s a few updates from tournaments played in Southern California and the Central Valley and a look ahead at others.

South, Bakersfield and Bakersfield Christian boys teams wrapped up play in The Classic at Damien High in La Verne on Dec. 30.

Bakersfield played Alameda in the Emerald Division championship game late Tuesday night.

The Drillers came into the game with an 8-5 mark and were seeking their eighth straight win.

BHS had already defeated Arrowhead Christian, Vista Murrieta and Valencia to reach this division’s title game.

Bakersfield Christian won the consolation final of the Gold Division bracket, gaining a 59-44 victory over Mayfair.

The Eagles went 3-1 in the tournament with wins over San Joaquin Memorial and Rancho Christian after a first-round loss to Loyola.

BCHS is now 7-7 and has a 4 p.m. game against Redondo Beach on Saturday.

The game will be played at Pacifica Christian High in Newport Beach as part of the day-long BSN Showcase.

South concluded play in the Green Division of the Damian tournament with a 2-2 record.

On Tuesday, the Spartans lost 56-50 to Claremont in the consolation title game. South is now 12-5 and is also playing its next game Saturday, also in the BSN Showcase.

The Spartans will play Las Vegas Desert Pines in a 2:30 p.m. game, also at Pacifica Christian in Newport Beach.

The Reedley High tournament includes Golden Valley.

The tournament, which began on Monday and runs through Saturday, saw the Bulldogs lose to Reedley 67-44 in Monday’s opener, but Golden Valley topped Golden West 48-42 in overtime on Tuesday. Tournament action continues with a 4:30 p.m. game today against Sierra to determine who and when Golden Valley will play its tournament finale on Saturday.

HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER

Several local boys soccer teams traveled to Santa Clarita to participate in the Hart High School Showcase on Monday and Tuesday. Each team played three games in the event.

Independence won two of three, falling 2-0 to Dos Pueblos before a 1-0 victory against Canyon Country Canyon 1-0 on Monday and a 4-0 triumph against Verdugo Hills.

Liberty went 1-1-1, dropping a 3-0 decision to Palmdale but tying tournament host Hart 2-all on the first day.

The Patriots came back the next day to finish with a 1-0 victory over Dos Pueblos.

Stockdale and Centennial each earned a tie, but both lost two games.

The Mustangs tied Saugus 1-1, but lost 4-1 to Valencia and 2-1 to Pacifica. Centennial lost 6-1 to Palmdale, went to a 1-1 tie with Valencia but lost 2-0 to Saugus. Highland opened with a 1-all tie against Dos Pueblos, but struggled in a 6-1 loss to Valencia. Highland also played Palmdale.

In addition to that tournament, there was one local non-league boys game played, as Foothill got a 4-1 victory over South on Monday.

The girls soccer teams also met with South prevailing 4-1 over Foothill.

In another non-league girls’ game on Monday, Bakersfield Christian edged Porterville 2-1.

On Tuesday, San Luis Obispo traveled to Stockdale and came away with a 4-1 girls soccer win.

There is a Frontier High soccer tournament with games today and Saturday.

There’s also a 559 vs. 661 Showcase girls soccer event today with Garces and BCHS participating.

Games begin at 11 a.m. On Saturday, there’s a boys soccer 559 vs. 661 Showcase with South, Arvin, Centennial, Garces, Foothill, Liberty, Mira Monte and Ridgeview all playing.

First game is at 9 a.m. Both 559 vs. 661 events will be played at Lindsay High School’s Frank Skadan Stadium.

Condors open 2026 at home vs. San Jose; BC men’s hoops win big; high school recaps

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