Boys basketball
ANTIOCH – After Tuesday’s 61-46 win over Head-Royce, Cornerstone Christian has put itself in prime position to win the Bay Area Conference East Division regular season crown.
Holding a one-game lead over visiting Head-Royce, star point guard Benjamin Lukacs scored 17 points to lead Cornerstone to a decisive league win.
Cornerstone senior Kamel Johnson totaled 10 points, sophomore Pierre Tyson added nine and TS Drayden had seven and was a standout on defense.
“It’s what we do every year, we haven’t lost a league game in two years,” Drayden said. “We’re trying to keep that streak going.”
Cornerstone Christian player Benjamin Lukacs (4) , shown here in a file photo with teammates Jayden Stewart (3) and Ryan Seto (12) , led the way against Head-Royce (Joseph Dycus/Bay Area News Grouop)
Head-Royce star Micah Riebel returned to the lineup and played in his first game of the season, The senior guard suffered Grade 3 stress fracture in his shin in August and scored 13 points in his debut. Sam Guliad scored a game-high 14 points.
Cornerstone jumped out to a seven-point lead at halftime and carried its momentum into the third quarter.
The Cougars opened the third period on a 11-3 run, capped off by an alley-oop lay-in from Johnson on a pass from senior Marcus Wagner.
Head-Royce put together a strong run in the fourth that got the Jayhawks within six points of the Cornerstone lead early in the fourth. But that’s as close as the Oakland school would get.
From that point, Cornerstone outscored Head-Royce 14-5 to close the final period of play and seal the win.
“When we can rebound and get out and run, we’re a hard team to beat,” Cornerstone coach Michael Thomasson said. “We can spread the floor and we have shooters at every position. Our motto is to get stops and push the basketball, so teams can’t set up against us.”
Cornerstone (20-3, 7-0) will play Athenian, St. Joseph Notre Dame and College Prep to finish out the regular season.
No. 10 Liberty 61, Antioch 44
Sophomore Jaiden Miller exploded for 23 points to lead Liberty to its 16th straight win.
The Lions took a 37-22 lead into halftime and didn’t let up after halftime. Miller scored 13 of Liberty’s 16 third quarter points as Antioch had no answer for the 5-foot-11 point guard.
Liberty senior Andrew Vixon added 11 points and Dante Vigil had nine.
Antioch sophomore Kamren Anderson had a team-high 16 points and Ke’Mari Rowe-Simms added 15.
Despite the blowout win, Liberty coach Rich Morton emphasized the need for his team to stay focused, even in a game like Tuesday’s.
“We do whatever we can to get them to approach the game the right way,” he said. “We’re at the stage now in our league now where our kids know that some of these teams are not very good. But at the end of the day, we just try to come out with a win and stay away from all the bad habits.”
Liberty’s Dante Vigil (3) is guarded by Antioch’s Je’Saun Shavers (5) during their game at Liberty High School in Brentwood, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
No. 1 Riordan 73, No. 11 St. Ignatius 30
Top-ranked Riordan continued to crush its WCAL opponents, this time routing fellow San Francisco school St. Ignatius by 43. Riordan has defeated every league opponent it has faced so far by at least 20 points en route to a 7-0 record in the WCAL.
Nes Emeneke scored 16 points to lead all scorers, and Ryder Bush had 13. JP Pihtovs scored nine, and Texas A&M commit Jasir Rencher had seven points. Ray Whitley scored a team-high 11 for St. Ignatius.
No. 2 Salesian 91, St. Patrick-St. Vincent 41
Salesian shook off Saturday’s loss to St. Joseph-Santa Maria by rolling TCAL opponent SPSV. Elias Obenyah scored 18, Isaiah Davis had 13 points, Carlton Perrilliat dropped in 12, and Ronnie Selleaze and Alvin Loving each had 10. Salesian improved to 20-2 and 9-0 in league play. Ronald Rhymes scored 16 for SPSV and Christian Trusclair had 11.
No. 4 Dougherty Valley 58, Monte Vista 28
Jalen Stokes continued his torrid stretch of play, nearly outsourcing Monte Vista by himself as he put up 25 points, 19 of those coming in the first half. Tyler Robbins scored seven and Cole Roque and Xayne Mojaddidi each had six for Dougherty Valley. Ian Desai had 12 points for Monte Vista.
No. 5 De La Salle 73, Foothill 40
De La Salle got 23 points from star senior Alec Blair as the Spartans routed Foothill in EBAL play. James Bush had seven points and Brady Orr put in eight points as the Concord program won its 20th game of the season.
No. 7 Dublin 58, Amador Valley 52
Cameron Anderson dropped in a game-high 19 points to lead Dublin to a close victory over EBAL opponent Amador Valley. Jaiden Jones had 17 and Miles Pollard scored 14 points to give Anderson support as Dublin improved to 20-3. Amador Valley was led by the Kruegers, with Cade scoring 14 points and Kasen putting in 10.
No. 14 Valley Christian 58, No. 19 Bellarmine 49
Six-foot-9 center Teniola Bamisebi was unstoppable inside for Valley Christian, scoring a team-high 17 points as the Warriors defeated WCAL opponenent Bellarmine. Brayden Harris, who transferred from Bellarmine, scored 10 points against his old team. Bryant Clark chipped in 13 points to join his teammates in double-figures. Will Corbett led the Bells with 16 points.
Girls basketball
No. 1 Mitty 78, No. 9 St. Francis 52
With superstar McKenna Woliczko out for the season, freshman forward Maliya Hunter continued to shine in a bigger role, scoring 25 in a rout of St. Francis. Ze’Ni Pattterson dropped in 17 points, and Devin Cosgriff scored 10 for the San Jose powerhouse. Mitty improved to 15-3. Sophie Holmes made three 3-pointers and scored 12 points, and Grace Coyle scored 11.
No. 2 Acalanes 66, Mt. Diablo 39
Up-tempo Acalanes overcame a somewhat slow start and ended up routing its DAL competition. KK Lacanlale scored 19 points and had a number of impressive assists, and forward Dulci Vail had 16 points on a variety of crafty finishes around the basket. Lexi Le made five 3-pointers to score her 15 points as Acalanes improved to 20-1. Mt. Diablo got 17 points from elusive senior guard Natalie Dance, and 10 points from Carlesa Adams.
No. 3 Pinewood 90 vs. Notre Dame-Belmont 33
Vallory Kuelker dropped in a cool 27 points as Pinewood routed Notre Dame-Belmont in a WBAL showdown. Jo Ding dropped in 15 points, and Katherine Garr had 14 as Pinewood improved to 13-3. Meanwhile, Anonni Perez led Notre Dame with 13 points and Sammy Kakala had nine points.
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No. 15 Salesian 46, Pinole Valley 39
Jamia Sawyer scored 17 points and Vanessa Parilla put in 13 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a couple of steals as Salesian outlasted TCAL opponent Pinole Valley. Oriannah Birden narrowly missed a double-double, ending the night with eight rebounds and eight points. Pinole Valley’s Khaya Jackson led all scorers with 19 points, and freshman Dannyae Turner scored 10.
No. 16 California 83, Livermore 14
Sofie Addiego torched the nets to the tune of five made 3-pointers and 17 points scored as California romped past Livermore. Trinity Chu had a phenomenal all-around game with 10 points, five rebounds, five steals and five assists, while Lana Vu and Carissa Rogers each had 13 points for the San Ramon school.
Hillsdale 46, Westmoor 34
Senior guard Lexi Carson put Hillsdale’s offense on her shoulders, scoring a game-high 21 points to propel the Knights to their 17th victory in 19 games. Daniella Sierra was second in scoring with eight points. Kiana Chavez scored 11 points to lead Westmoor. Hillsdale led 14-3 after one quarter.
Cornerstone Christian 52, Head-Royce 50
Camille Bartolo made a shot she will never forget on Tuesday night, putting in the go-ahead 3-pointer with just two seconds left to win the game. Kaylie Bertand had 14 points to lead Cornerstone, and Kenenna Amajioyi scored an even 10 points. Head-Royce senior Leila Haile scored 12 points on four 3-pointers, and teammate Morgan Ross scored 10 points.
