Columbia College basketball beat Merced 75-56 on Saturday night in Sonora. Guy Dossi/Calaveras Enterprise

After a tough preseason schedule in which the Columbia College Claim Jumpers went 10-4, the Jumpers opened Sierra Valley Conference play with two convincing back-to-back victories.

On Jan. 7, Columbia went on the road and defeated perennial conference powerhouse Fresno City 107-65, then followed that performance with a 75-56 home win over Merced on Jan. 10 at Oak Pavilion in Sonora.

With the difficult preseason schedule behind them, the Jumpers and head coach Rob Hoyt were pleased to begin conference play with a pair of lopsided victories.

Guy Dossi/Calaveras Enterprise

“It’s always great,” Hoyt said following Columbia’s win over Merced. “You like to be battle tested, and our non-conference schedule was really tough. We had the sixth-highest strength of schedule in the non-conference in Northern California out of 43 teams. So, we did a good job in those 14 games. To see everybody that puts work in, that people don’t see, these guys get here at 4:30 a.m. all September, and we put in all this work, so it’s nice for them to be able to sweat and get on the floor and contribute to a win.”

In both victories, Hoyt was able to clear his bench and give all of his players quality minutes on the floor. When that happens, Hoyt does not put limitations on his players regardless of the score. When he puts a player into the game, he expects them to compete at a high level and not let the scoreboard dictate their performance.

“I feel like, especially at this level, if you’re worried about running the score up, that means you’re worried about somebody else’s feelings,” Hoyt said. “I could care less about the feelings of the opponent. I don’t care about their feelings. I care about the feelings of the guys I see every day. So, yeah, they need to play as if it was 0-0 because otherwise it’s unfair to them. Just go in there and hold the ball; that’s not fair to them. Why would they want to go in at that moment? There are people here supporting them, and they put that work in, so no matter what the score is, I’m going to tell them to shoot. We don’t need to hold the ball at the end, and I’ll manage the guys if something happens. But no, the shackles are off.”

Guy Dossi/Calaveras Enterprise

In the road victory over Fresno City, Columbia outscored the Rams 54-37 in the first half, then scored 54 points in the second half while limiting the home squad to just 28. Derron White scored 24 points with nine assists; Dylon Hanna had 22 points with eight assists; E.J. Campbell scored 12 points; and Ahsan Huff added 12 points and 19 rebounds. Jonnie Jones came off the bench to give Columbia 14 points and six rebounds.

Against Merced, Columbia led 40-23 at halftime. With 11:26 to play in the opening half, Columbia held a slim 14-11 lead. The Jumpers did not allow Merced to score until 6:04 remained, and during that stretch went on a 12-0 run that took away any momentum Merced had built.

“This team has had a tendency to go on like an avalanche worth of a run where it’s not just like a 6-0 run, it’s massive,” Hoyt said. “And I think we’ve had one about every game, win or lose, we’ve had one. So, it’d be nice if we’re in the lead when we get to extend it. I think it was 18-11, and it felt like we missed two or three threes, but we stayed strong defensively, and eventually, yeah, we ran away with it.”

Guy Dossi/Calaveras Enterprise

The Jumpers did not let up in the second half and outscored Merced 34-33 to secure the 19-point victory. Hanna scored a game-high 20 points, Campbell finished with 19, Jones added 13 points, and Huff scored eight.

Columbia is now 7-1 on its home floor, and the victory over Merced was played in a packed gym. While Hoyt places most of his focus on the product on the court, he still takes time to look around and appreciate the full stands, something that was not always the case.

“It’s super special, and it’s because of the history that you’re aware of,” Hoyt said. “You wrote an article, I believe it was my third year, and I thought we were doing great because we had a winning season and the school hadn’t had one in so long, and you wrote an article like, ‘Where is everybody,’ and there was this picture of the bleachers, and no one was in there. And I had local guys on that team. So now it’s where people are showing up an hour before the game. And now we have a youth program and we’re more connected with the community. It’s special to have that support because you don’t always have support within these walls here. So, to have it outside the walls, it’s really special.”

Guy Dossi/Calaveras Enterprise

Following the two conference victories, Columbia improved to 12-4 overall and 2-0 in conference play. While Hoyt would like to end the season as conference champions, his main focus remains having his team play to the best of its abilities. If that leads to another conference title, he will gladly accept the result.

“The goal is to be playing our best basketball, it’s not to win conference,” Hoyt said. “Do we want to win conference? Yes. So, winning conference is special, the goal itself is not. It’s meaningless. Everybody wants to do that, so it’s worthless. But if we can pick our heads up after that 14th game and maybe put a banner on the wall, that’d be extremely special. We’re getting closer because we’re playing a better brand of basketball, so that’s exciting right now.”

For more pictures from Columbia vs. Merced, click the link below.
https://calaverasenterprise.smugmug.com/2026-1-10-Columbia-Basketball-vs-Merced
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Columbia College 2025/26
Nov. 6 vs. Cosumnes River (L) 87-84
Nov. 7 vs. Siskiyous (W) 85-60
Nov. 8 Butte (W) 77-70
Nov. 15 vs. Feather River (W) 73-65
Nov. 16 vs. Butte (W) 95-86
Nov. 26 vs. Cabrillo (W) 78-73
Nov. 29 vs. Redwoods (W) 102-83
Nov. 30 vs. Folsom Lake (W) 81-70
Dec. 5 vs. Foothill (W) 80-79 (OT)
Dec. 6 vs. Yuba (L) 75-67
Dec. 7 vs. Butte (L) 77-74 (OT)
Dec. 13 vs. Contra Costa (W) 74-71
Dec. 20 vs. Modesto (L) 85-82
Jan. 2 at Gavilan (W) 90-81
Jan. 7 at Fresno City (W) 107-65
Jan. 10 vs. Merced (W) 75-56
Jan. 14 vs. Reedley, 6 p.m.
Jan. 17 at Lemoore, 3 p.m.
Jan. 21 vs. Porterville, 6 p.m.
Jan. 24 at Coalinga, 6 p.m.
Jan. 28 vs. Sequoias, 6 p.m.
Jan. 31 vs. Fresno City, 6 p.m.
Feb. 4 at Merced, 5 p.m.
Feb. 7 at Reedley, 2 p.m.
Feb. 11 vs. Lemoore, 5 p.m.
Feb. 14 at Porterville, 3 p.m.
Feb. 17 vs. Coalinga, 6 p.m.
Feb. 20 at Sequoias, 5 p.m.

Central Valley Conference Standings
Columbia 12-4 (2-0)
Sequoias 11-5 (2-0)
Lemoore 9-7 (2-0)
Fresno City 6-10 (1-1)
Merced 4-12 (1-1)
Reedley 9-7 (0-2)
Porterville 3-13 (0-2)
Coalinga 2-14 (0-2)