Pacifica Christian to gain size on basketball court

Pacifica Christian Orange County will be growing in size this upcoming school year.

Nowhere will that be more evident than on the basketball court.

Two 6-foot-7 transfers are on their way to the small private school in Newport Beach. Solomon Davis, an incoming junior, said he has transferred to Pacifica Christian from Temecula Rancho Christian, and Judah Brown, an incoming sophomore, said he is in the process of transferring to Pacifica Christian from Bermuda Dunes Desert Christian Academy.

With the addition of the two talented players, Pacifica Christian should be a CIF Southern Section championship contender again. The Tritons, in their varsity debut last season, reached the Division 6 finals, losing to a much bigger team in Riverside Carnegie.

Size will not be an issue anymore for Pacifica Christian with Davis and Brown, and they know what it takes to win a section crown. They have been a part of section championship teams, Davis winning in Division 5A as a freshman with Rancho Christian in 2015-16 and Brown in Division 5A with Desert Christian Academy last season.

Davis said he can play all five positions, but he’s at his best at shooting guard or small forward. He averaged 16.6 points and 6.7 rebounds last season, earning first-team All-South Valley League honors.

Brown received All-CIF Southern Section Division 5A accolades for averaging 10.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game last season. He came off the bench, showing he can produce at small forward and power forward.

Davis and Brown also excel off the court, as they have grade point averages above 4.0. The environment at Pacifica Christian and getting to play with future sophomore Dominick Harris factored into their decisions to make the move to the school, which expects to have an enrollment of 150 students, 55 more than in 2016-17.

Harris, the John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year Award recipient for players in CIF Southern Section Division 6 last season, averaged 25.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, three steals and 2.7 three-pointers per game as a freshman point guard.

Harris has also played on the same Dream Vision Amateur Athletic Union travel basketball team with Davis and Brown. Harris and Brown are currently competing together with the under-15 Dream Vision team at the adidas Summer Championships in Las Vegas, while Davis said he is out this summer recovering from a broken ankle.

Davis said he attended Shivela Middle School in Murrieta with Harris.

“Better opportunities,� Davis said as to why he decided to transfer to Pacifica Christian. “Rancho [Christian] is a fantastic school. I love the school. Great academics, great coach for basketball [in Ray Barefield], great players, but I just feel like for me to develop more, Pacifica [Christian] was the better go-to option.

“I’m very excited. They’re a growing school. They have a great student body, great teachers. But [from] a basketball standpoint, I’m very excited. I believe we can make it [to the section finals] again this year.�

Davis, who lives in Temecula, said he and his family plan to move to Corona or Chino to be closer to Pacifica Christian.

Brown said he and his family are looking for a home in the OC. The family lives in Bermuda Dunes, which is near Indio.

Brown said he has turned in his application to transfer to Pacifica Christian and he will be having his interview with the school next week.

Brown isn’t the only member from his family who had ties to Desert Christian Academy. His father, Jonathan, said he taught at the school. Jonathan said he’s looking into teaching math at a public or private school in the OC.

“We feel like Pacifica Christian will give us a little more exposure,� said Jonathan, whose son was ranked as the No. 36 incoming sophomore in the nation by the Basketball Channel. “I think their competition last year will not be the same this year, [as the Tritons will no longer be a freelance school, joining the San Joaquin League with Saddleback Valley Christian, Capistrano Valley Christian, Orangewood Academy and the Claremont Webb School], and that’s encouraging. We thought their coach [Jeff Berokoff] did a great job with all those freshmen and sophomores [last season] and took them to the finals.�

One of those four freshmen who started for Pacifica Christian last season won’t be back.

Berokoff said Cal Whitney, whose hometown is Newport Beach, has transferred out of the school.

“I really thought that he was in a great situation,� Berokoff said of Whitney. “He got a ton shots for us. He averaged [17.5] points a game. It was interesting to say the least that [Whitney was] leaving.�

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Twitter: @ByDCP