NCS basketball playoffs: The best of Friday’s quarterfinal round
The North Coast Section basketball playoffs moved into the quarterfinal round on Friday night with boys and girls games in Divisions I, III and V.
Two No. 11 seeds (Pinole Valley, Mission San Jose) advanced in the girls playoffs, as did a No. 10 seed (Sonoma Academy).
Here are the highlights:
GAMES OF THE NIGHT
Boys
Bishop O’Dowd finishes strong to beat Acalanes: There were more ebbs and flows than the final score might indicate as top-seeded O’Dowd won at home 79-54 to reach the North Coast Section Division I semifinals.
The Dragons led ninth-seeded Acalanes by 17 points in the second quarter but settled for an eight-point halftime cushion that became a five-point advantage early in the third quarter.
But, ultimately, O’Dowd had too much skill, too much Naas Griffin and too much Kaiden Gibbs.
Griffin and Gibbs almost outscored the visitors by themselves, with Griffin finishing with 28 points and Gibbs pouring in 25.
Acalanes made one last push to cut the margin to 64-52 with 5:38 to play.
From there, O’Dowd (21-7) closed with a 15-2 run to advance to play at home Tuesday against fourth-seeded Liberty.
The Dragons are two wins from their 20th NCS title.
Acalanes finished 18-12.
– Darren Sabedra
Granada bests Monte Vista in rematch: Coach Quaran Johnson Sr. couldn’t hold in his excitement after beating No. 6 Monte Vista on Friday night.
“We just wanted it man,” Johnson told the Bay Area News Group over the phone. “They got us the first game of the year in league and we just kind of felt a way about losing that first one. We knew if we had a chance to play them again, we could try to write that wrong and I think that’s what we did.”
The Matadors pulled out a 64-62 at home to set up another EBAL rematch with Amador Valley in the semifinals. The Livermore school also lost to Amador Valley in the regular season.
Granada led for the majority of the night, but a spirited Monte Vista comeback put the Mustangs within two with under five seconds remaining.
The Matadors hit just enough free throws to end the game as they escaped with a hard-fought victory.
Brandon Hahn led Granada with 36 points and 11 rebounds.
“The best performance a guy has ever had with me as a coach was tonight,” Johnson said of Hahn. “He was clearly the best player in the EBAL and clearly the best player tonight.
– Nathan Canilao
Red-hot Liberty wins 10th straight: The Lions may be only the No. 4 seed in the NCS Division I playoffs, but few teams are playing better than they are, regardless of the division.
Liberty improved to 25-3 after beating Dublin 66-55 in the quarterfinals behind 23 points from junior point guard Jaiden Miller. Brendan Beresford added 15 points.
Making the Lions’ record even more impressive is they began the season 0-2.
Liberty, playing at home, sped to a 21-11 advantage after the opening period, but Dublin cut it to 32-25 at the half. Liberty took care of business in the second half, making sure history wouldn’t repeat after losing to Dublin each of the last two years in the NCS playoffs.
Dublin (19-9), seeded fifth in Division I but ranked No. 14 in the Bay Area News Group Top 20, one spot ahead of Liberty, got 13 points from Odin Chadiha and 10 apiece from Aiden Li and Rome Raymore. Raymore scored all of his points in the fourth quarter.
– Mike Lefkow
Brave Christian rolls to another win: The Dublin private school’s stellar season continued on Friday night as the Lions upset No. 4 San Domenico in the Division III quarterfinals.
Adama Kone led the way in another strong performance, scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Bradley Sarip added 13 points.
Brave Christian improved to 25-5 and have won both of its playoff games by 10 points.
The Lions will travel to College of Marin where they’ll face top-seeded Branson in the semifinals.
– Nathan Canilao
College Park makes long trip worth it: College Park pulled off an upset, traveling five hours up the North Coast to beat No. 3 St. Bernard’s-Eureka 74-63
“I never had a day like this,” longtime College Park coach Sol Henik said. “Today was meticulously planned in making sure these guys were prepared. They knew what to expect out of this day. And I think it really did help them, that preparation helped them perform at their highest levels tonight.”
College Park drove up at 10 a.m. Friday morning in a 15-passenger van. After a quick lunch in Ukiah, Eureka High coach Jimmy Rodgers opened up his gym for College Park to have a shootaround just before a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Sophomore standout Miles Cooper led College Park with 34 points. The Falcons will play No. 2 Cornerstone Christian at Heritage High on Tuesday in the Division III semifinals.
– Nathan Canilao
Girls
Lexi Le shines in Acalanes win: The Dons’ senior point guard had quite the first half in a 69-52 D-1 quarterfinal win over Alameda.
Le scored 23 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the game’s first 16 minutes. She finished with 29 points and 12 boards.
Sofia Fernandez scored 17 points and Millie Jones added 13. Le and Fernandez combined for eight 3-point baskets.
The night belonged to Le, however.
She scored 15 points in the first quarter, and dished out five assists over the course of the contest. Fourth-seeded Acalanes, playing at home, improved to 21-8.
Dons coach Margaret Gartner said the 5-foot-8 Le is getting attention from some smaller colleges.
“She was definitely overlooked,” Gartner said in a text. “She missed a whole (sophomore) season of AAU and high school with a shoulder injury and surgery. Her junior year she was getting back to form.”
Acalanes led 25-8 after the first period against the visiting Hornets (18-10). Sophomore guard Mia Borja led Alameda with 22 points, including five 3-pointers. Jennalyn Apodaca had 12 points and Desiree Shoblo scored 10.
– Mike Lefkow
Mission San Jose’s (road) Warriors win again: Being seeded 11th and having to play away from its Fremont campus has been no problem for Mission San Jose.
Three days after traveling to San Francisco to edge sixth-seeded Urban, the Warriors went 134 miles north on Friday to play third-seeded Kelseyville.
And they won again.
Kaylin Teo made five 3-pointers to finish with 22 points and Adhuna Devineni had three 3-pointers on her way to 18 points as MSJ advanced to the Division III semifinals with a 61-47 victory.
The Warriors made 11 3-pointers overall.
MSJ led 25-22 at halftime and 42-40 going to the fourth quarter.
The Warriors’ defense closed the deal as MSJ (17-11) held Kelseyville to seven points over the final eight minutes, securing a spot in the semifinals on Tuesday at second-seeded Benicia.
Kelseyville finished 20-6.
– Darren Sabedra
Miramonte coasts into semifinals: Ava Noga had 26 points and Freida Vierra contributed 14 in a 68-47 win for the host Matadors.
Playing at home in the D-III playoff, fourth-seeded Miramonte built a 37-19 halftime lead while beating Archie Williams for the second time this season. The Mats (16-12) slipped past the Peregrine Falcons 49-41 during the regular season.
The visitors, who were seeded No. 12 in D-III, got to the semifinals by upsetting No. 5-seed St. Mary’s-Berkeley in the first round.
Next up for Miramonte is a long bus ride to Eureka to face St. Bernard’s in the semifinals Tuesday night.
– Mike Lefkow
STARS OF THE NIGHT
– Acalanes guard Lexi Le had a double-double with 29 points and 12 rebounds in a 69-52 win over Alameda. She scored 15 points in the first quarter and 23 in the first half.
– College Park guard Miles Cooper had 34 points as College Park upset St. Bernard’s-Eureka on the road.
– Brandon Hahn’s 36 points and 11 rebounds helped Granada top Monte Vista at home
– Sophomore Jessie Cooper scored 14 points in Heritage’s 40-38 upset win over No. 2 Dublin
BUZZER BEATERS
– Small Redwood Christian is moving onto the boys Division V semifinals after beating Kennedy-Fremont. The Eagles will make the long trip to Eureka High in their semifinal matchup.
– No. 11 Pinole Valley continues to pull off upsets, this time defeating Arcata 77-74 to advance to the girls Division I semifinals. The Spartans will play another Cinderella story in Heritage, which pulled off an upset over No. 2 Dublin.
– Granada’s matchup against Amador Valley will pit two coaches who were childhood friends in Philadelphia against each other. Granada coach Quaran Johnson Sr. and Amador Valley coach Willis Garder both played at nearby Ohlone College and have coached their respective teams for at least four seasons.
WHAT’S NEXT
The playoffs continue on Saturday with quarterfinal games in Divisions II, IV and VI. The Open Division will resume play on Wednesday.