CLAYTON VALLEY STUNS NO. 1 ROCKLIN
While most would consider eighth-seeded Clayton Valley upsetting No. 1 seed Rocklin on the road Thursday night a shocker, Frank Allocco Jr. didn’t think so.
“I wouldn’t call it an upset, but I get the seeding was what it was,” the Clayton Valley coach told the Bay Area News Group. “We knew it was going to be tough going in, and I’m just so proud of our guys.”
Clayton Valley guard Elijah Perryman scored a game-high 27 points to lead Clayton Valley to a 68-54 road win in the second round of the NorCal Division II playoffs.
Rocklin, a team that averages just over 67 points per game, was thoroughly shut down by Clayton Valley’s defense. The home team was held to just five points in the second quarter behind a disciplined approach.
“Our game plan always starts with defense,” Allocco said. “It’s just about staying solid and trusting the fundamentals. We feel like when we just play solid, don’t take chances and trust what we do, we are really good defensively.”
Clayton Valley has been rolling since Perryman, a Utah State commit, returned to the lineup on Feb. 6 after missing a majority of the season with a foot injury. The Concord school is 8-2 since then and won the Diablo Athletic League championship a couple of weeks ago.
Clayton Valley will return to Sacramento on Saturday to play No. 5 Destiny Christian. When the teams met in early December at the Gridley Invitational, Clayton Valley lost 46-40 and Perryman suffered a first-quarter injury that sidelined him for two months.
“That game was so long ago, there’s not much to take from it,” Allocco said. “We were down some guys and I’m sure they didn’t have their full team either. … They will be a big-time challenge.”
– Nathan Canilao
DIXON DOES IT ALL FOR CARONDELET
Unlike last season’s gripping girls game between Bishop O’Dowd and Carondelet, which saw guard Devin Cosgriff break Carondelet’s heart with a last-second jump shot to win the NorCal Division I title 48-47, the rematch had no such drama.
Third-seeded Carondelet won 54-37 in a NorCal D-I quarterfinal.
The Concord school dominated in almost every aspect, which made sense considering the Cougars star player was the well-rounded Layla Dixon.
The junior forward’s impact went beyond the 11 points she scored. She blocked at least four shots, was a force on the boards and often brought the ball up as the team’s point guard despite standing at 6-foot-2.
“She has to play everything for us,” coach Kelly Sopak said when asked what is Dixon’s natural position. “She’s the defensive player of the year in our league too, so she’s always getting the toughest assignment.”
Olivia Smith scored 13 on an array of short mid-range jumpers. Janel Nevares also scored 13 points, which included three 3-pointers.
Madison Gordon led O’Dowd with 13 points and Jayla Stokes added 12.
Carondelet is familiar with its next opponent, seventh-seeded Cardinal Newman. Carondelet beat the Santa Rosa powerhouse 72-58 in a North Coast Section Open Division third-place game last week.
Cardinal Newman upset No. 2 seed Clovis on Thursday.
“It’s going to be a tough game, but at least we don’t have to travel,” Sopak said. “We got saved from the three-hour trip.”
– Joseph Dycus
ST. IGNATIUS BOYS UPSET NO. 2 SEED BUCHANAN
St. Ignatius is a hard team to figure out.
Yes, the San Francisco school had three blowout losses to NorCal powerhouse Archbishop Riordan, including a 64-38 thumping in last week’s CCS Open Division final.
But the Wildcats also lost twice to Bellarmine and to three of the top teams in the NorCal Division I bracket: top-seeded Inderkum-Sacramento, third-seeded Lincoln-Stockton and fifth-seeded San Ramon Valley.
But after two rounds of NorCal play, SI is still standing.
The Wildcats traveled to the Fresno area on Thursday and upset second-seeded Buchanan-Clovis 55-52 behind 17 points from Shawn Boquiren, 12 from Vince Crisp and eight from Alex Moore.
The victory sends 10th-seeded SI to the Division I semifinals on Saturday night at Lincoln-Stockton, which beat the Wildcats 72-61 on Dec. 26 and ended Moreau Catholic’s playoff run with a 69-45 win on Thursday.
“We went down to their place three years ago in the NorCal playoffs and they sent us home,” Lincoln coach Anthony Matthews told the Bay Area News Group. “I know they got revenge on their mind for this year and they probably got a bunch of new stuff in their bag ready for us. We have to be ready to go.”
– Darren Sabedra
SAN RAMON VALLEY PUTS UP 101
To say San Ramon Valley’s offense had it going would be an understatement.
The Wolves lit up the scoreboard, defeating Liberty 101-62 to advance to Saturday’s NorCal Division I semifinals at home against Oakland Tech.
“It was a very good offensive night for this group,” SRV coach Brian Botteen said.
Luke Isaak scored 37 points and didn’t see the floor in the fourth quarter. After playing sparingly against San Joaquin Memorial on Tuesday with a 102-degree fever, point guard Mason Thomas got a minutes bump as Botteen said he was at about 70% for the quarterfinal game.
Monte Vista, SRV’s cross-town rival, hosted the game because of a scheduling conflict at the Wolves’ gym, but it didn’t matter.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect tonight,” Botteen said. “But as much as we love our gym, I think some of the guys were kind of joking, saying we should play back here on Saturday night now that we have another home game.”
SRV will welcome the reigning CIF Division II state champion Oakland Tech, which pulled off an unlikely upset against top-seeded Inderkum.
“Oakland Tech has been a remarkable program for years,” Botteen said. “It should be a really good, competitive game.”
– Nathan Canilao
SALESIAN GIRLS PULL OFF D-II UPSET
Sixth-seeded Salesian traveled to third-seeded Colfax and returned to the Bay Area with a 53-51 victory.
Janiya Sawyer led the way for the Pride with 18 points, and Vanessa Parilla joined her in double-figures with 11 points. The two also combined for 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Salesian jumped out to a 14-7 lead after one quarter. The Pride went into halftime up 30-22 and were able to survive a shaky third quarter.
The Pride will travel to Hanford, south of Fresno, to play No. 2 seed Sierra Pacific on Saturday.
– Joseph Dycus
CALIFORNIA GIRLS ROLL INTO D-II SEMIFINALS
Three California players scored in double figures in a 68-60 home win over Redwood, setting up a showdown at top-seeded Caruthers on Saturday in the D-II CIF NorCals. The Grizzlies (23-11) are the No. 5 seed.
Lauren Yee had 19 points and five assists, Sofie Addiego scored 17 points and added five steals, and Trinity Chu also contributed 17 points.
Lilly White of Redwood (24-10) led all scorers with 22 points.
Caruthers (23-6) had a close call Thursday, squeezing past Sacred Heart Cathedral 66-64.
– Mike Lefkow
FAST THIRD-QUARTER START LIFTS CARLMONT BOYS
The Scots broke open a close game at halftime with a 12-3 run to start the third quarter in a 68-57 CIF NorCal D-III playoff win over University-San Francisco at Kezar Pavilion.
A tightly contested 28-24 game at intermission quickly became a 40-27 Carlmont lead. The Scots never led by fewer than eight points after that. Carlmont, seeded fifth in D-III, has won seven games in a row by an average of 14.4 points. They improved to 19-10 overall, and have won 18 or more games in each of the last four seasons.
Camden Ngo led three Carlmont players in double figures with 22 points. Franklin Kuo had 15 points and Jeremiah Phillips contributed 11.
Carlmont will face a tough test Saturday in the NorCal semifinals when they visit No. 1 seed The King’s Academy.
– Mike Lefkow
PALO ALTO’S DEFENSE TOO MUCH FOR ENTERPRISE
The sixth-seeded Palo Alto boys built a 33-16 halftime lead and coasted past Enterprise-Redding 54-38 in a D-III NorCal matchup.
It was the 12th time this season the Vikings (24-5) have held an opponent under 40 points. Palo Alto is 12-0 in those contests.
Jorell Clark scored 21 points to lead the Vikings. Hudson Mar had nine points, all on 3-pointers in the first half.
Enterprise didn’t roll over against the tough Paly defense. It trimmed the Vikings’ lead to eight with 6:30 left in the fourth. But Cark, Justin Fung and Nick Feitzinger turned up the defensive pressure, allowing Palo Alto to regain control.
The Vikings get the long journey on Saturday when they travel to Sacramento to take on No. 2 seed Christian Brothers.
– Mike Lefkow
TOP SEED TKA WINS BIG AGAIN
Can anyone stop The King’s Academy? No one in the postseason has up to this point.
Matched up with Santa Cruz-area powerhouse Aptos, high-scoring TKA made it look easy as the Sunnyvale school cruised to a 73-36 victory. TKA outscored Aptos 23-6 in the first quarter and didn’t look back.
Claxton Ladine finished with a game-high 22 points, which included six 3-pointers. Karan Kolappa had 14 points, followed by Xavier Barnett with 13 and Caedmon Dickson with 11.
TKA will host defensive-minded Carlmont on Saturday in the NorCal Division III semifinals.
– Nathan Canilao
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER FOR BERKELEY BOYS
The Yellowjackets are headed to the NorCal D-IV semifinals after going on the road and beating Palma 68-60 Thursday night. Few people would have predicted Berkeley getting this far when the prep basketball postseason started.
Berkeley entered the NCS D-III playoffs with a 12-14 regular-season record. But the Yellowjackets advanced to the semifinals, then beat San Rafael in the third-place game, earning an invite to the NorCals.
Berkeley, seeded fifth in D-IV of the NorCals, beat Ripon Christian before taking on fourth-seeded Palma. On Saturday, the Yellowjackets visit top-seed Priory.
“We’re playing pretty good basketball,” Berkeley coach Mike Hudson said. “When you get hot toward the end of the season, anything can happen.”
So it did for the Yellowjackets, who are now 17-15. The game against Palma was tied 48-48 going into the final quarter, which Berkeley won 20-12. Donte Joseph scored seven of his 15 points in the period to lead the way. Kavin Jivan also had 15 points. Kevon Newman had 13 points and Noah Miller added 10.
– Mike Lefkow
PRIORY BOYS STUN NATOMAS WITH LATE 9-0 RUN
Things looked pretty gloomy for the Panthers as the clock wound down in the fourth quarter. They trailed visiting Natomas-Sacramento 62-57 in the D-IV NorCal contest.
Then Jai Gerrodette hit two 3-pointers, Kasten Eggers went in for a layup and Mate Palotai dropped in a free throw. Suddenly, Priory was in front 66-62. A 3-pointer by Natomas at the end of the game didn’t mean much in the Panthers’ 66-65 victory.
Palotai had 20 points and Eggers scored 19 as Priory improved to 23-6 on the season. Gerrodette added 12.
The No. 1 seed in D-IV hosts fifth-seeded Berkeley on Saturday.
Despite being the top seed, the Panthers are a young team. Of the six players who scored Thursday night, only one is a senior. But Priory appears to be figuring it out. It has won six games in a row, with all but one of those victories coming in the postseason.
– Mike Lefkow
HMB GIRLS HOLD OFF WEST CAMPUS
Half Moon Bay fell short in the CCS Division IV final last week, losing to Harker in the semifinals.
With a win Saturday at home against third-seeded Rio Linda, the Cougars will achieve something even bigger – a trip to the NorCal Division IV final.
Second-seeded Half Moon Bay advanced to the semifinals on Thursday night with a 52-47 victory over seventh-seeded West Campus-Sacramento.
The Cougars built a 33-21 halftime advantage and then held on.
Delaney Dorwin, a senior guard, scored 18 points and junior center Zoey Lemoge added 15 points to lead HMB (21-7).
– Darren Sabedra
ENCINAL GIRLS CONTINUE TO CRUISE IN D-V
The Encinal Jets soared past yet another overmatched NorCal Division V opponent, this time routing Orland 67-32 on Thursday in Alameda.
Jazzy Alcantar scored 17 points for the No. 4 seed Jets, who beat Argonaut 67-36 in the first round.
Surina Castro led Encinal with 19 points. Overall, 10 players got on the scoresheet for Encinal (21-9).
“The chemistry of this team is amazing to see,” coach Juanita Lyons said. “They encourage each other and, most importantly, hold each other accountable. They have been dedicated to the process and to getting better every day.”
The Jets will play host to No. 9 Washington-San Francisco in a semifinal on Saturday.
– Joseph Dycus
PRIORY GIRLS RALLY ONLY TO LOSE IN OT
Priory came back from a five-point deficit in the fourth quarter on the road against St. Mary’s-Stockton, but the Panthers could manage only two points in the overtime session and lost 56-51.
“We didn’t capitalize on some opportunities,” Priory coach Buck Matthews said of the extra period.
Priory, seeded fifth in Division I of the CIF NorCals, finished the season 23-6. Adelaide Chan and Kiana Tuigamala each had 10 points for the Panthers.
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Mathews said his team had an especially hard time with St. Mary’s junior Evelini Smith. The 6-foot-4 forward, who has an offer from Cal, hit several 3-pointers for the fourth-seeded Rams (19-13).
Next up for St. Mary’s will be a visit from No. 9 seed Piedmont on Saturday in the D-I semifinals.
– Mike Lefkow
MITTY BOYS FALL AT JESUIT
An up-and-down season for the storied Archbishop Mitty boys ended on Thursday in the Sacramento area as the sixth-seeded Monarchs fell to third-seeded Jesuit 63-56 in the Division II quarterfinals.
Mitty trailed 11-9 after the first quarter and 30-25 at halftime. Jesuit stretched the advantage to 48-34 after three quarters as Asher Schroeder led the Marauders with 20 points.
Caeden Hutcherson (12), Daniel Ryan (11) and Nolan Cabebe and Grayson Jalal (10 each) scored in double figures for Mitty, which finished the season 15-14.
— Darren Sabedra
MENLO GIRLS REACH END OF LINE
Menlo fell behind early and could never completely recover as the Knights fell on the road to third-seeded Marin Catholic 46-36 in the NorCal Division III quarterfinals.
Marin Catholic led 17-4 after the first quarter and 29-14 at halftime against a Menlo team that captured a fourth consecutive CCS championship last week.
Ruiqi Liu scored 16 points and Karen Xin added 10 for Menlo, which finished 19-9.
– Darren Sabedra
