Ryan Buttner, Adam McKenzie and Vince Inglima combined to help the Carson High School boys basketball team win the Sierra League championship as seniors last year.
Saturday night, they will be back together on the same floor, only on opposite sides when Feather River hosts Cabrillo in the first round of the California State Community College State Tournament in Quincy, Calif. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
Buttner and McKenzie play for Feather River, which comes in with a 23-8 record and seeded No. 5 in the state tournament's Northern California bracket. Inglima plays for Cabrillo (Aptos, Calif.), which is 13-17 and seeded No. 28.
Buttner, a 6-foot-4 forward, has emerged as a serious scoring threat for the Golden Eagles late in the season, highlighted by a 39-point outburst at home against Shasta last Saturday in the final regular season game. Buttner connected on 13 bombs from beyond the 3-point arc in a game Feather River won, 119-93.
Inglima is also a starter for the Cabrillo Seahawks, who finished their regular season by winning four of six games.
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to the second round next Wednesday against either No. 12 Skyline or No. 21 Reedley. If Feather River wins, it will host the second round game at 7 p.m.
Feather River defeated Cabrillo 82-68 in a game played at the Diablo Valley tournament on Nov. 29.
The top four teams from the Northern California bracket move on to play four from Southern California in the state finals March 13-15 at the University of San Diego.
Carson City's Erin Stieber also plays for a Lassen women's squad that opens in the state tournament tonight at home in Susanville, Calif., against San Francisco. Lassen is 20-11 and seeded No. 14. San Francisco is 17-11 and No. 19.
Stieber helped Carson to the Nevada 4A state tournament semifinals as a senior last year and has stepped in to contribute for Lassen this season.
