CONCORD, CALIF. — The 27th edition of the Martin Luther King Classic presented by De La Salle promises to be one of its best. 

For any basketball fan, casual or a junkie, the MLK Classic has been a Bay Area fixture for more than a quarter century with this year’s event taking place at De La Salle on Jan. 20. Seven games will be featured in two sessions, starting at 9 a.m. with two profound Bay Area programs who coincidentally won their only state championships the same year in 2015 — San Ramon Valley vs. Bishop O’Dowd. 

That will begin a three-game set, known as the Nike Session, which will be followed in the afternoon with SBLive/High School on SI session starting at 2:30 p.m. with perhaps the day’s most anticipated showdown between Modesto Christian and St. Joseph of Santa Maria. 

This page will constantly update with scores, box scores and some highlights of each game via senior reporter Tarek Fattal, who is on site all weekend.

(Game recaps in chronological order)

Time: 9 a.m.

Head coaches: Brian Botteen (SRV), Lou Richie (BOD)

2024-25 records (heading into game): San Ramon Valley (12-7), Bishop O’Dowd (9-7))

Terrific trios: SRV —G Luke Isaak, G Thomas Conley, G Mason Thomas. BOD—C Nico Wright, PG Garry Hill-Thomas, SG Josh Green

Pregame notes: Two programs that are rich in basketball history, each won their only state titles in 2015, O’Dowd in the Open Division over Mater Dei and San Ramon Valley over Chino Hills, which featured two of the three Ball brothers. That was Botteen’s first season as head coach. … San Ramon Valley, coming off a CIF Northern California Division 1 title, has played one of the toughest preseason schedules in the Northern California, dropping games to state Top 25 teams Lincoln-Stockton (70-68), Riordan (74-50), Salesian (70-68), Clovis North (53-46), No. 1 Eastvale Roosevelt (84-63) and Los Alamitos (74-71). … All five early O’Dowd losses were to out of area teams. … This is Richie’s 13th season as head coach.

Time: 10:30 a.m.

Head coach: Jay Demaestri (Redwood), Robert Fields (Monterey Trail)

2024-25 records (before game): Redwood (12-4), Monterey Trail (14-4)

Terrific trios: Redwood — G Semetri Carr, F-C Tyler White, G Duke Aarsheim. Monterey Trail — F Devaughn Dorrough, G Rashawn Inglemon, F Ahzell Franklin

Pregame notes: One of the truly intriguing individual matchups, between Carr — one of the state’s top senior guards signed to Cal — and one of California’s top freshmen in Dorrough, who is averaging 19.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game through 13 games. … Carr starred at Branson-Ross for three seasons before transferring to the Giants, who immediately upped their schedule. … The Giants have won nine straight. … Monterey Trail also gets regular double-digit scoring outputs from Inglemon (15.4 per game), a 6-1 senior, and Franklin (10.4), a 6-6 senior. … The Mustangs’ only two early losses were to Central Section powers Clovis West (67-58) and San Joaquin Memorial (66-66 in overtime). MT’s best win was a 71-67 victory over Folsom, which had just defeated perennial state power Mater Dei by 40.  … They lost two more games to state ranked teams last week, Modesto Christian (83-71) and Dublin (54-50).

Time: Noon

Head coach: Frank Knight (Moreau Catholic), Travis Showalter (Poly)

2024-25 records (before game): Morea Catholic (13-2), Poly (14-7) 

Terrific trios: Moreau Catholic — F Kellen Hampton, G Dominic Walker, G Cole Loud; Poly — F JRob Croy, G Chris Holland, G Justyce Lucero  

Prepgame notes: Hampton, a 6-7 senior, returned to Moreau after a one-year stint at Southern California Prep. He played two seasons for Knight at Moreau, as a sophomore he averaged 20.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. … After opening the season losing two of three, Moreau won 12 straight, including four at the Merv Lopes Classic in Honolulu to take the title. … The Mariners also have an impressive early win over Modesto Christian, 79-75. … The Bears have had an up and down season, with win streaks of two, four and three games and losing streaks of two (twice) and three games. … A 6-4 junior combo guard, Croy has offers from Stanford, Washington State, Stetson and High Point.  … the Bears are on a five-game win streak.

Time: 2:30 p.m.

Head coaches: Brice Fantazia (Modesto Christian), Tom Mott (St. Joseph)

2024-25 records (before game): Modesto Christian (14-4), St. Joseph (18-1)

Terrific trios: Modesto Christian — G Gavin Sykes, G Myles Jones, F Ry Atkins; St. Joseph — F Tounde Yessoufou, G Julius Price, G Malcolm Price

Pregame notes: Perhaps the winningest Northern California team over the last two decades, here are Modesto Christian’s records since 2004: 27-7, 28-5, 29-5, 29-5, 23-9, 24-9, 25-6, 28-6, 29-4, 24-9, 30-4, 22-8, 29-4, 26-9, 20-11, 15-0, 30-6, 27-7 and 28-6. … That deserves a wow. … This is Fantazia’s ninth season after taking over for Richard Midgley, who coached two seasons after taking over for legendary coach Gary Porter. … After opening this season 1-3, Modesto Christian won eight straight before a 76-63 loss to Top 25 state squad Crespi. … They’ve won five straight and 13 of 14. … Sykes, a Long Beach State recruit, averages 22.2 ppg and Jones chips in 15.4. … Mott is in his 16th season, winning at least 20 games 10 times, including 30-win seasons in 2023-24 (31-4) and 2015-16 (31-4). … He’s blessed with one of the top players in Central Section, if not state history, in Yessoufou, a Baylor signee, who through 108 career games, totalled 3,114 points (28.8 average) and 1,147 rebounds (10.6 pg). All updated numbers provided on his MaxPreps player page. Through Jan. 6, he ranked ninth all-time in California history in total points and is closing in on the career record of 3,462 set by DeMarcus Nelson of Vallejo and Sheldon, all according to the Cal-Hi Record book. … If the 6-6 power forward continues his 27-point scoring averaging, he’ll break the California career scoring record in the team’s 27th of 29 games against Templeton on Feb. 4. … Julius Price, a 6-3 junior, has also started every game since his freshman season and has poured in 1,427 points. He’s averaging 20.4 points, 6.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game. … These teams split two epic games in 2023 with Modesto Christian winning a De La Salle MLK in overtime (68-67) before St. Joseph got revenge in the playoffs, winning a NorCal title game, 72-58. … This season St. Joseph opened the year with 11 straight wins before a 83-55 loss to Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and have since won seven straight, including a 61-57 game over Holy Innocents Episcopal at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield (Mass.) on Saturday.

Time: 4 p.m.

Head coaches: Marcus Schroeder (De La Salle), Ray Portella (Sunnyslope)

2024-25 records (before game): De La Salle (16-2), Sunnyslope (11-7)

Terrific trios: De La Salle — F Alec Blair, G Ibrahim Monawar, F David Balogun; Sunnyslope — PG Rider Portella, C Darius Wabbington, SG Delton Prescott

Pregame notes: The host Spartans opened the season with 14 straight wins before losing in the finals of the HoopHal West tournament, dropping to two-time defending CIF Open Division championship team Harvard-Westlake 58-54 after posting impressive wins over Duncanville, Texas (65-62) and Chaminade, St. Louis (58-48). … The Spartans opened with a pair of impressive East Bay Athletic League wins, including 51-45 over San Ramon Valley, but dropped a 59-48 game at Dougherty Valley on Friday, so they enter with a slight chip on their shoulders. … Schroeder, the former associate head coach at St. Mary’s College, is 83-22 in his first 105 games as head coach at De La Salle, where he played and won a state title in 2006. … Blair, 6-6 do-everything forward, is ranked the 48th top senior recruit nationally by 247Sports. Remarkably he’s ranked similarly nationally as a baseball player and will play both sports at Oklahoma in 2025-26. … Portela is in his 15th season at Sunnyslope and recorded at least 20 wins in 10 of those seasons including the last five. … Part of his coaching philosophy is: “We stress playing tough man to man defense, sharing the ball offensively and working for the great shot, not just a good shot.’ … After starting 7-2, the Vikings embarked on a tough Damien Classic and HoopHall West swing that saw them lose five of seven, including games to St. John Bosco (54-47) and San Ramon Valley (85-64). … Wabbington, a sophomore, is 6-10 and already has offers from Arizona State, Cal, Washington, LSU and Maryland.  

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Head coaches: Bill Mellis (Salesian), Nicholas Podesta (Clovis West)

2024-25 records (before game): Salesian (17-1), Clovis West (9-12) 

Terrific trios: Salesian — G Alvin Loving, SG Elias Obenah, F Carlton Perrilliat; Clovis West — G Jace Kellogg, G DJ Stickman, G Michael Espinoza

Pregame notes: Salesian, coming off one of its greatest seasons, winning a Northern California Open Division championship before losing in the state finals to Harvard-Westlake 50-45. … In his 26th season, Mellis has won 653 games, which is sixth currently in California according to Cal-Hi Sports. That includes two state championships. ….Since 2004, his teams have won at least 20 games 17 times and at least 30 seven times. … The team’s only loss in the early going was 52-51 to Riordan in the finals of the Gridley Invitational. … Known for its depth, defense and unselfishness, Salesian shares the ball as proven by last year’s squad that didn’t have a single double-digit average scorer. … Perrilliat scored 17 touchdowns on the football team as a wide receiver. … Loving, a rugged defender and clutch 3-point shooter, is a fourth-year starter headed to  is a fourth-year starter and committed to Yale. … Podesta took over for longtime coach Vance Walberg, who is now at Fresno State and a former NBA assistant. … Podesta had coached the previous three seasons at Weston Ranch where the Cougars went a combined 68-26. … Stickman, a 6-3 guard, has signed to follow Walberg at Fresno State. He does it all for the Golden Eagles, averaging 13.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.5 steals per game. … Kellogg, a 6-foot junior, is averaging 18.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He’s scored in double figures in all but one game with a high of 45 in a wild 88-85 loss to Inderkum, making 15 of 25 shots. For the season he shoots 48 percent, including 18 of 58 on 3-pointers and 53 of 68 free throws. 

Time: 7 p.m.

Head coaches: Stephen Pezzola (Salesian), Kelly Sopak (Carondelet)

2024-25 records (as of Jan. 6): Salesian (12-6), Carondelet (13-4)

Terrific trios: Salesian — G Janiya Sawyer, W Jamia Sawyer, PG Vanessa Parilla; Carondelet — G-F Sophia Ross, W-F Layla Dixon, F Niylah Christopher 

Pregame notes: In his 16th season as head coach — he’s also President of the school — Pezzola has won at least 20 games in every season but the first (when 19-10) and the pandemic season. Since 2010-11 the Pride has gone 24-6, 31-5 (lost in state finals), 29-8 (lost in state finals), 30-7 (lost in state finals), 28-4, 27-6, 24-9, 27-6, 25-9, 28-5, 14-1, 21-5 (won state D1 title), 27-5 and 21-11. … The Sawyer twins do it all, with Janiya averaging 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game. … Jamia averages 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals. … Parilla, a 5-5 PG, is fearless and averages 11.5 points and 2.3 steals per game. …. Sopak is nationally known for leading the Cal Stars AAU program and coaching WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu throughout her youth and high school career. He coached 11 seasons at Miramonte, his teams went 398-45, winning four NCS titles and reaching six NorCal finals. …. Since taking over Carondelet in 2020-21, the Cougars have gone 99-21. … There’s not a senior starter on this team has losses to only two-time defending CIF State Open Division Etiwanda (79-56) in the Sabrina Ionescu Showcase, state #9 Moreno Valley (55-46) and Oklahoma power Union (61-54).