Basketball roundup: Mustangs, Bear Cubs earn weekend wins

The St. Vincent de Paul boys basketball team hasn’t lost a single game this season this far, continuing that trend this weekend at the Mustangs’ Winter Classic tournament, going undefeated at home.

The Mustangs (8-0) defeated Credo of Rohnert Park on Friday 35-25, edged out Apostles Lutheran 44-43 on Saturday afternoon and cruised in their final game Saturday night, 50-25 over Point Arena.

In the final game, Jake DeCarli had 13 points and Matt Kropelnicki had 11. Killian Collins and Kyle Ghisletta both had 8.

It is a stark turnaround for St. Vincent, who welcomed former Cardinal Newman coach Tom Bonfigli to the team last year. Despite leaving Newman on a tumultuous note, one of the more renowned coaches in Northern California has started over with a new program and has taken his new opportunity and run with it.

“I think we have some pretty athletic kids. We have some pretty good depth,” Bonfigli said.

The coach touted his team’s defense, but understands bigger challenges lie ahead.

“I really don’t think we’ve played teams of the level that are in the (North Bay) Redwood League,” he said.

Bonfigli said in a statement announcing his Newman departure that he had no intention of retiring, seeking to add to his 800-plus career wins. Saturday was 826 for Bonfigli. Rudy Cjanovich has 829 and is eighth all-time. Tom Orlich is seventh all-time at 832.

“The numbers speak to two things: I’ve had really good teams and really good players,” Bonfigli said.

Former NFL great and Newman alum Jerry Robinson visited with the Mustangs players during the tournament. The former first-round pick and UCLA star gave the players a pregame talk.

“My players are like my family. They come back to my games all the time,” Bonfigli said.

Bear Cubs win Kris Kringle Classic

The Santa Rosa Junior College men’s basketball team fought its way into Saturday’s final of the Kris Kringle Classic with an impressive win the night before. That gave the Bear Cubs a ticket to the championship game against Yuba College, which they won 82-59, a night after beating previously undefeated and Top 25-ranked Los Medanos College..

Santa Rosa had a four-point lead at the half and pushed it up past 10 by the start of the fourth quarter. The Bear Cubs pushed it to 15 points with nearly 3 minutes left and more than 20 as the clock hit 60 seconds to go in the contest.

Santa Rosa coach Craig McMillan said his team is starting to hit its marks.

“All the guys are coming together at the right time,” he said.

Shannon Ferguson had 23 points and Casa Grande grad Garrett Siebels had 17. Aaron Porcil had 13 points and earned tournament co-MVP honors with Ferguson. Tyler McLain had 12 and Windsor grad Riley Smith had 13.

It’s the Bear Cubs’ (7-5) first Kris Kringle Classic win since 2018. They lost in the finals in 2019.

Los Medanos was previously undefeated and the win on Friday night was their third win a row. The Antioch-based junior college was ranked No. 13 in the state in the California Community Colleges Athletic Association poll. The Bear Cubs were unranked as of that Dec. 7 poll.

Santa Rosa plays at Delta College of Stockton on Tuesday at 7 p.m.