Columbia College accomplished its mission of “packing the pavilion” on Saturday night as hundreds of fans filled the seats of Oak Pavilion to watch the Claim Jumpers take on the Fresno City College Rams in their final game of January.
The Claim Jumpers had already celebrated a new chapter in the program’s history, as freshman forward Ahsan Huff surpassed the team’s season rebounding record on Wednesday (345) against the College of the Sequoias.
“It was amazing getting to tell everybody and post it,” Huff said after snapping a 43-year-old record in just his freshman season. “I’m looking to get at least 400 (rebounds) and keep the record unbreakable for a long time.”
Columbia College head coach Rob Hoyt has proudly boasted about Huff’s rebounding ability week-after-week, which was on full display once again Saturday night as the Vanden High School alumnus reeled in 18 against the Rams.
The Claim Jumpers are now 18-4 overall, with an unblemished 8-0 record in the Central Valley Conference. They have just six regular season games remaining and appear to be hitting their stride at just the right time.
Columbia’s leading scorer, EJ Cambpell, helped the Claim Jumpers get out to an early 9-0 lead before the Rams answered with their first points of the game five minutes into the contest.
Freshman guard Aharon Young scored the first of his 14 points on a 3-point shot halfway through the first half, and freshman forward Ry Atkins scored 8 straight points on three of the next four possessions for the Claim Jumpers to extend their lead to 27-15.
Campbell drained back-to-back 3-pointers with roughly five minutes left in the first half, and freshman Johnnie Jones converted on a fastbreak layup on the following possession to go up 37-17.
Campbell would also finish the game with 14 points coming off of a 4-for-9 performance from the 3-point line.
It was Jones’s inspired second half performance, however, that helped maintain the Claim Jumper lead in the final stretch of play.
“Going into the locker room (at half) I was a little bit in my head,” Jones said. “Going into the second half I just told myself, ‘Get out of your head and move forward,’ and the results came.”
Jones was naturally emphatic after the win, but even in between signing Junior Jumper jerseys and autographs, he said their only focus is their next game on Wednesday.
Jones would go on to lead the team in scoring with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting, while adding a fiery defensive element to the game as well.
Despite limited scoring output from scoring leaders Campell and freshman Dylon Hanna, the Claim Jumpers still found a way to score 85 points, winning by a 25-point margin.
“It’s a blessing that, if a guy’s number isn’t called that night, to have options and be able to plug and play,” Hoyt said after the game. “They’re all really good, so sometimes one guy is better in this type of game, or maybe they’re better in that type of game. But it’s a luxury to have depth and have the skillset we have of the guys who might not necessarily be ‘starters.’ ”
In terms of how to keep the team motivated over the next several weeks and through the remainder of the season, Hoyt said it’s as simple as the age-old cliche “one game at a time.”
Before the first whistle blew in a game this season, Hoyt foreshadowed that this recruiting class may just be the best the program has had in years. With each of their 11 freshmen adding valuable minutes in games this season, the Claim Jumpers have options up and down the lineup.
With just six more games in the season, Columbia has the second-highest scorer in the CVC (EJ Campbell, 18.8 ppg), the conference’s best rebounder (Ahsan Huff, 17.3 rpg), one of the league’s peskiest defenders in Hanna (41 steals, third in CVC) and the second-best point guard in the league in freshman Derron White with 118 assists.
Scoring, passing and defending: the Claim Jumpers can do it all.
The Claim Jumpers will travel to Merced for their next game to take on the 9-13 Blue Devils at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Contact Travis Bradley at tbradley@uniondemocrat.com or (209) 588-4526 for news tips or story ideas. Follow him on X at @howaboutTravis.