If anything has become clear over the past week of boys basketball action across Northern California, it is that very little separates the top teams in each division, and that seeding means far less than finding a hot hand or simply playing your best team basketball at the right time. We take a look at the top action in each division from the quarterfinals, and some of the best story-lines heading into the regional semifinals.
OPEN DIVISION
The combined margin of victory in the four Open quarterfinal games was 14 points, showing that any of these eight teams were deserving of advancement in the tournament.
The only upset according to seeding was Mitty taking down St. Joseph Notre Dame, 67-61, but that can hardly be considered a surprise, considering the Pilots were without senior standout and Pepperdine commit Jade Smith, who was serving the back end of a two-game suspension. After the game, St. Joe's coach Don Lippi lamented the nature of Smith's suspension in a conversation with Bay Area News Group reporter Darren Sabedra, one levied on a player who had received just one technical foul in his varsity career prior to the section semifinal game which resulted in the suspension.
"It wasn't like he yelled at the referee or got in a fight," Lippi told Sabedra after the game. "He bumped a guy, and the other guy bumped him back."
Regardless, the Monarchs were able to take advantage as Riley Grigsby and Joseph Vaughn each had 19 points in the win, while Mike Diaz added 16. The Pilots were led by 18 points from Cameron Ba and 14 from Darne Duckett. Mitty now advances to face Sheldon, which escaped with a 47-46 win over Bellarmine, a win which has become slightly more controversial after photo evidence of the Huskies being awarded three points for a clear two-point field goal. Sheldon beat Mitty, 71-64, back in mid-December.
The top half of the bracket features De La Salle and top seed Woodcreek in the other semifinal. De La Salle got defensive in a 36-31 win over Salesian, while Woodcreek escaped with a two-point win over Capital Christian. Emeka Udenyi and Connor O'Dea each had 10 points for De La Salle in the Spartans' victory.
DIVISION 1
The top seed is gone, after nine-seed Palo Alto ousted Dublin, 83-80. Max Dorward had 22 points and Miles Tention had 17 points for a deep and versatile Vikings' lineup, one which forced Dublin standout Timmy Falls into early trouble. Falls fouled out with over six minutes remaining in the game, but the Gaels still rallied behind a tremendous fourth-quarter from freshman Robby Beasley, who finished with 27 points.
Palo Alto advanced to face St. Mary's-Stockton, who illustrated the parity in this bracket with its second straight one-point win over Folsom, now having beaten the Bulldogs by a single point in both the section and regional playoffs.
The bottom half of the bracket now features both the two-seed, Heritage, and the three-seed, James Logan. Logan rolled to a comfortable 60-38 win over San Leandro, while Heritage slowed down Menlo-Atherton in a 53-46 victory. Anthony Dennis led the way with 19 points for the Patriots, while Jonathan Ned added 15 points and Tyriq Mack chipped in with 12 points. Eric Norton scored 11 of his team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter for Menlo-Atherton.
"Our defense was the key to the win. We never let their shooters get going," said Heritage coach Pat Cruickshank. "Turnovers late allowed them back in the game, but we made our free throws when it counted, going 10-for-10 in the fourth quarter."
DIVISION 2
Del Oro and Cardinal Newman reinforced the notion that seeding means very little, as the 13 and 15 seeds advanced to the regional semifinals with wins over San Joaquin Memorial and Serra, respectively.
Dual-sport standout Damian Wallace exploded with 29 points for Cardinal Newman, as the Cardinals continued to prove worthy of inclusion in this field, despite being the sixth NCS team admitted to the bracket. Now, they travel to face a Moreau Catholic team which rolled to another one-sided win, this time 77-54 over Beyer. The Mariners, however, are not taking anyone lightly.
"Cardinal Newman has been all year, and continues to be one of the best Division 2 teams in NorCal. They are not a traditional 15 seed, and that's evident by them beating a two and seven seed back-to-back on the road," said Moreau Catholic coach Frank Knight. "I'm sure their unexpected loss in NCS is the driving force in terms of motivation them to show they are good, but we feel we are also good after winning 19 straight, so it will be a very good high school basketball game. We won't take them lightly and will prepare like we normally do. Two good coaches, two good teams. It should be fun to watch."
Damari Milstead led the way again for the Mariners with 27 points in the win over Beyer, while freshman Kyree Walker chipped in with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Brian Perry had 25 points in the loss for Beyer.
After two straight upset victories, Del Oro now faces top seed St. Francis in the other semifinals. The Lancers outlasted an athletic Burbank team in the quarters, 77-68. Logan Johnson led the way with 24 points for St. Francis in the victory.
DIVISION 3
The rarest of rare divisions all of a sudden, the top four seeds have all advanced to the semifinals in this bracket.
The only true close game in the quarterfinals was an overtime game between two-seed Vista del Lago and seven-seed Campolindo, with the Eagles emerging victorious, 70-66. VDL's Chris Fairchild led the way with 26 points, including a late field goal to send the game into overtime, when the Eagles were on the brink of being eliminated.
Other than that, Brandon Beckman went for 26 points, including eight three-pointers, in top seed St. Ignatius' 65-55 win over Placer. The Wildcats advance to face Mission, who beat Foothill-Palo Cedro 76-51. The Bears' average margin of victory in the first two rounds has been 24 points, in wins over San Marin and Foothill.
Vista del Lago faces Vanden in the other semifinal, after the Vikings eliminated Monterey with a 75-61 victory.
DIVISION 4
Like the teams in Division 3, the top four seeds all advanced, setting up one of the most anticipated semifinal match-ups, taking place in San Francisco this week.
With St. Patrick-St. Vincent's 89-54 win over Ripon and Lick-Wilmerding's 84-62 win over West Campus, the teams meet in a rematch of the NCS semifinals. In that game, St. Pat's led 22-5 after one quarter, only to see the Tigers rally to force overtime and win in the extra period. The Bruins are motivated to make sure it does not happen again.
"We're hungrier than ever right now, especially playing against Lick," Romeo Mays told Matt O'Donnell of the Vallejo Times-Herald. "This is definitely a redemption game where we need to focus and play our best basketball."
Mays had 17 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's win, while Marquel Johnson led the way with 23 points, Tavian Henderson had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and BJ Standley had 11 points and 12 assists.
Top seed Palma and four seed Central Catholic-Modesto will meet in the other semifinal. Palma beat Menlo School, 72-61, while Central Catholic ousted Half Moon Bay, 70-54.
DIVISION 5
Five seed Bentley became the lone team outside the top four, among the bottom three divisions, to advance to the regional semifinals, with its 65-57 win over Head-Royce. Bentley will face top seed St. Francis-Watsonville, the champions of the SCCAL and CCS, who defeated Argonaut in the quarterfinals.
Branson and Elliot Christian meet in the other semifinal, after both teams won by double digits in the quarterfinals.
