With the new competitive equity division setup, there’s no shortage of great matchups in the first round of the CIF State Tournament. Here’s a look at some of the top games in each division to be played Wednesday night.
Division I
#9 De La Salle (21-8) @ #8 Palo Alto (23-3), 7 pm
Known for defense, De La Salle showed the ability to play at a faster pace during the second half of the season. The Spartans will likely need to get the offense going in order to have a chance against a well-rounded Palo Alto team with a tremendously efficient offense. This should be a very fundamentally solid game, with two very well-coached teams and smooth play up and down the floor.
#11 St. Ignatius (17-9) @ #6 Berkeley (23-6), 7 pm
After a first-round CCS Open Division loss to Palo Alto, St. Ignatius spent three straight practices working solely on defense, and the results paid off in an 80-48 consolation win over Menlo. That defense will need to be at its best against a high-octane Berkeley team led by Ben Baker.
#14 Jesuit (22-7) @ #3 Mitty (11-16), 7 pm
If you want a game full of excellent guard play, this is the one for you. Jesuit’s tandem of Jake Virga and Chris Simpson will square off with Mitty’s group of Joseph Vaughn, Devan Sapp and Hekili Jordan. Riley Grigsby has largely served as an interior presence for the Monarchs as of late, so Jesuit will rely on 6-foot-9 Darin Similai to try to hold Grigsby in check.
Division II
#9 Los Gatos (21-6) @ #8 Antelope (24-6), 7 pm
It’s hard to find a hotter team than Los Gatos, and it’s hard to find a hotter duo than the Wildcats’ tandem of Dylan Belquist and Alex Braken-Guelke. The two combined for 61 points in Saturday’s CCS Division I Championship. Antelope doesn’t have one true star, but rather four players averaging between 11 and 13 points per game.
#10 Moreau Catholic (21-7) @ #7 Sequoia (22-7), 7 pm
Sequoia’s got the man in the middle in Ziggy Lauese, but Moreau has seven players averaging at least seven points a game. The Cherokees will need to rely on Myles Nunez, Pedram Attari and Zach Bene to try to slow the incredibly deep crew of Mariner guards. That Moreau group is headlined by Maxwell Anderson, but any of Leonard Turner, Amil Fields, Dallas Rider, David Hector, Glenn Byrd or L.J. Anderson can get rolling for head coach Frank Knight.
#11 Woodcreek (18-11) @ #6 St. Joseph Notre Dame, 7:30 pm
For Woodcreek to get the win on the road, 6-foot-7 Chris Cagle will have to be at his best against a SJND team that rarely lets an individual player take over a game because of a strong zone defense. The Pilots will need the combination of Adam Campos, Cameron Ba and Julian Vaughns to slow down Cagle, while Kobe Kiener can do major damage from 3-point range.
#13 Riordan (16-11) @ #4 St. Patrick-St. Vincent (21-10), 7 pm
The Crusaders are coming off a thrilling 10-point fourth-quarter comeback to win the CCS Division III title. The sort of offense that they had in that quarter, with James Chun, Je’Lani Clark and Anthony Oropeza all stepping up, will be needed against an SPSV team that can light up the scoreboard. The Bruins won the NCS Division IV title on Saturday with a fierce interior attack. 6-8 sophomore Dishon Jackson had 24 points and 10 rebounds, while Marshel Martin scored 13. The undersized Crusaders will need to find a way to slow that duo down in the paint for a chance at the road win.
Division III
#9 Oakland Tech (23-7) @ #8 Valley Christian (14-13), 7:30 pm
With Valley Christian’s strong post presence and Oakland Tech’s free-flowing style with 6-4 wings Brooklin Sharpe and Damonyae Keppard should make for an exciting clash. It’s also a game with two coaches who certainly have familiarity with each other in Karega Hart and Mark DeLuca. Though it’s DeLuca’s second year at Valley Christian, he has said it feels like his first due to his health issues that took him out of the picture for part of last season.
#13 Monterey (19-8) @ #4 Central Catholic (28-2), 7 pm
There will be points, and lots of them. The Raiders, coming off a Sac-Joaquin Division III title, have Joshua Hamilton averaging 21 points a game and three others averaging at least 9.8, including three-sport star Justin Traina. Monterey’s quartet of juniors will be hungry after a heartbreaking loss in the CCS Division III title.
#16 Vanden (20-9) @ #1 Branson (29-3), 7 pm @ College of Marin
One of the thoughts when the new competitive equity divisions were announced was that the 1 vs. 16 games would be significantly better, and that certainly appears to be the case here. The Vikings have won 13 of 15, while Branson has been victorious in 11 in a row, including Saturday’s thrilling NCS Division V Championship win over University. The Bulls haven’t lost at home this year, and Vanden is 7-1 on the road.
Division IV
#11 Sonora (23-2) @ #6 Lick-Wilmerding (23-7), 7 pm
Sonora entered the SJS Division IV playoffs with just one loss, to a Stagg team that the Wildcats later got revenge against, but the quarterfinals were a harsh return to reality with a loss to Foothill of Sacramento. The Wildcats have now gone nearly two weeks without a game and will head to San Francisco to take on a Lick-Wilmerding team that won two tight games to reach the NCS Division IV semifinals and qualify for the state tournament. The Tigers have a standout point guard in Walter Lum, a dynamic sophomore in Allen Wilson and strength in the post from Luca Cavan and Dylan Moser.
#12 Liberty Ranch (24-5) @ #5 Albany (18-12), 7 pm
Liberty Ranch would have been seeded far higher if not for a SJS Division IV quarterfinal loss to Calaveras. The Hawks average 76.9 points per game, with 22.9 coming from sophomore Jalen Patterson. On the other side, Albany gets it done with defense, holding opponents to 44.7 points per game.
#16 Weston Ranch @ #1 Santa Cruz, 7 pm
Both of these teams will be mainstays in the state tournament for years to come. Weston Ranch’s top four scorers are underclassmen. While Santa Cruz’s top scorer, Max DeHart, is a senior, the Cardinals’ next ten scorers are underclassmen, including five sophomores. There is tremendous young talent on both sides, and even with the 1 vs. 16 matchup, this one could go either way. The only guarantee is that a team wearing maroon will be moving on to the second round.
Division V
#9 Hayward (11-15) @ #8 Pinewood (14-12), 7 pm
By enrollment, Hayward is a Division III school, and is the only public school from an urbanized area in the Division V field. Considering that the Farmers were seeded 12th in the NCS field and needed two wins to qualify, nobody even expected them to make it this far. Pinewood, on the other hand, is a regular in the Division V field, and has a star senior in Cache Fields. Hayward is senior-loaded itself, with multi-sport athletes Melvin Lipsey and Laprel Boyd leading the way, joined by fellow senior starters Oliver Hamilton and Teddy Kautz.