Mission Prep opens CIF with dominant win. Arroyo Grande, SLO also victorious
Mission Prep’s basketball team is hitting its stride when it matters most.
The defending Division 2 CIF-Central Section champions took care of business with a 69-43 first round win, building an early lead and not looking back.
San Luis Obispo and Arroyo Grande also won as Templeton lost. Atascadero had a bye.
The No. 7 Royals (15-13) built a 20-10 lead after the first quarter, going on a 10-0 run.
Heavy ball pressure and deflections on defense led to open looks on fast breaks and hot shooting early from Hunter Drake, who buried three 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes.
Mission Prep was led by David “Deuce” Kellogg, who tallied 18 points to mirror his season average. Drake had 14 points. And 6-foor-7 forward Kason Nico dominated the inside and added 13 points.
“I thought we had a little bit of a nervous start, but an aggressive start,” said Terrance Harris, Mission Prep’s head coach. “They got after it defensively from the beginning. I thought the thing that stood out the most, especially early in that game, was our ball movement and making the extra pass. That turned into some good rhythm and good confidence.”
No. 10 Lemoore (20-10) was led by Micah Fox, who tallied 13 points.
“I was really happy with the way (Mission Prep) showed up tonight and had some fight in them,” Harris said. “They played like a prepared team. They gave us another opportunity to play.”
Kellogg slashed to the rim at will, driving into the lane past defenders for some easy buckets. And the senior point guard found his sharp-shooter on drive and kick passes to give the Royals some early confidence.
“Man, that kid Hunter Drake is him,” Kellogg said. “I can always count on him for a bucket. It’s ridiculous. I love that kid. We started off the game sharing the ball. I could tell the other team was nervous. We’ve been in this situation before.”
Kellogg was brought up to varsity from JV in his sophomore year and went deep in to the playoffs both that year and his junior campaign in which Mission Prep won the CIF-Central Section Division 2 championship over Central High, of Fresno.
“We settled in very fast,” Kellogg said of Friday’s contest. “The first couple of minutes it was a little rocky, but we were sharing the ball and getting up the court. Colton (Mott) and Jackson (Esparza) both had some great buckets. Our whole team was just competing. Kason (Nico) putting it down and taking care of their big down low. We all had assignments and stuck to them.”
Nico said that his improvement during the course of the season has included refining footwork, attacking the rim, pump fakes and bettering his jump shot. Nico, who had a dunk in the game, now has four dunks on the season.
He said the Royals were ready for the CIF opener.
“We were confident coming in,” Nico said. “We had a great practice last night. We watched a lot of film (of Lemoore) and knew a lot of their plays and how to attack their defense.”
The Royals next hit the road to face No. 2 Clovis (21-9) on Tuesday.
San Luis Obispo 69, Liberty 65
The No. 11 Tigers (14-15) won on the road in Division 2.
The Tigers opened up a 9-1 lead behind a layup from Greyson Gardner, a jump hook from Beau Crew, two free throws by Gardner and a 3-pointer by Vaughn Otto.
SLO had a 39-30 lead at the half and held on for the win.
The Tigers move on to play Tuesday against No. 3 Bakersfield (18-11) on the road.
Arroyo Grande 60, Porterville 53
The No. 12 Eagles (14-15) upset the No. 5 Panthers (20-9) on the road.
Arroyo Grande moves on to face No. 4 Hoover.
Kingsburg 77, Templeton 39
The No. 12 Eagles (19-11) fell to the No. 5 Vikings (22-7) in Division 3.
Templeton was down 31-20 after the half before the game got away from them.
This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 9:46 PM.
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