EL CERRITO, CA - Both the Salesian boys and girls teams hoisted their third straight TCAL Rock Division championship banner on Saturday night at El Cerrito High School after defeating St. Patrick-St. Vincent. James Akinjo and JoVon McClanahan led the boys to a 67-52 win, while the girls were sharp from the opening tip and won going away, 76-34.
Both Salesian squads entered the game with a No. 1 P2P NCS ranking, while the Bruin boys were No. 15 and the girls fell under the “Also Considered” banner. In short, Salesian proved why both their teams are in the Top 25 of the state and ready for an NCS run starting next week.
Boys: Salesian 67, St. Patrick-St. Vincent 52
Salesian established a 10-point lead against St. Patrick-St. Vincent, and in the second half never saw it dip below nine en route to a 67-52 victory. James Akinjo and Jaden McClanahan scored 15 points apiece, JoVon McClanahan had 12 points and four assists, and Joshua Jefferson tallied 11 points, five boards, and three blocks for the Pride in the win.
Dishon Jackson led the Bruins with 17 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks, while Chance McMillan and Jake Elizalde added 11 and nine points, respectively.
“They’re too good to let a team blow them out,” Salesian coach Bill Mellis said. “But every time they made a run, we were able to make a couple plays and get the lead back up.”
St. Patrick-St. Vincent (17-10) made a run to close within three, 14-11, but that was the closest they’d come.
“They were the better team,” St. Patrick-St. Vincent coach Derek Walker stated. “We know the formula, but their defensive pressure, it’s easy to talk about it, but when they gotta guy in your face it’s a little bit different to execute.”
This year’s final came easier for Salesian compared to the last two; in 2017, the Pride defeated these same Bruins 66-63 in overtime, and in 2016 they beat El Cerrito 66-62 in overtime. Earlier this year, the Bruins, nearly knocked off Salesian, falling by two at home and by 10 on the road.
“This is preparation for the big games in the Open Division,” Akinjo commented. “We executed a little more on defense [than in the previous two meetings].
Girls: Salesian 76, St. Patrick-St. Vincent 34
Angel Jackson led four Salesian players in double figures with 14 points, and every entry up and down the lineup contributed in a blowout win over St. Patrick-St. Vincent. Nia Chinn, Taisia Fleming, and Anjel Galbraith added 12, 11, and 10 points respectively for the Pride, who built a 27-point advantage by halftime and used a running clock in the fourth quarter.
“We’re really looking to try to get the ball in the paint more,” Salesian coach Steve Pezzola said. “And we did that early and opened up our three’s. Our fast break was working, the girls were very unselfish, they executed the game plan very well.”
Salesian was an effective 10-for-19 from three-point territory, with seven different players hitting at least one. Overall, all but one member of the Pride who touched the floor had at least one made field goal.
In the teams’ two regular season meetings, Salesian won by 24 combined.
“We feel it’s a great accomplishment for our program,” St. Patrick-St. Vincent coach Nadine Walker said about playing in its first TCAL title game. “Salesian’s so used to these moments. It’s tough because we (the coaches) see their potential. And we are still working how to get that out of them in the moment that we need them and not let them go into their own frustrations and let them take over.”
Salesian has played in every TCAL title game since the inaugural match in 2013, and picked up their fourth TCAL championship overall. This was the first year they did not play St. Mary’s.
St. Patrick-St. Vincent defeated St. Mary’s 58-44 in this year’s semifinal and finished second in the standings with a 4-4 league mark. The Pride were undefeated in the TCAL and routed fourth seed Pinole Valley in their semifinal.
