St. Joseph is on top of the Los Padres League heap

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There’s a new sheriff in town. Wait, scratch that. There’s a new boys’ basketball team on top of the Los Padres League standings. After chasing down Lompoc for a majority of the season, Santa Maria St. Joseph finally caught the Braves on Wednesday, winning, 58-52, to take over sole possession of first place.

Balance has been key for St. Joseph, a team lacking a true star. We’re talking about a group without a player averaging more than 10 points a game. However, five players average more than seven, led by Jeff Blake, Ryan Smalley and Sam Schur. Twins Vincent and Dominic Brunello are steady role players, equally important in the grand scheme of things.

Templeton gets a crack at the new front-runners on Friday. Three games follow next week, including a showdown Wednesday against Morro Bay, the only team to defeat St. Joseph in league play. How the Knights do from here on out is anyone’s guess, but it will be interesting to see how they police first place with everyone gunning for them.

-- Sean Ceglinsky