DALY CITY — Noah Short’s 34-point performance on Tuesday night was impressive for a variety of reasons. To score that many in any game as a sophomore is going to turn some heads, and to do it in a playoff game is especially remarkable. Putting up 34 on a Jefferson team that prides itself on defense is even more impressive.
Perhaps what made his showing in Tuesday night’s CCS Division IV quarterfinal, a 63-51 King’s Academy win, best of all was that basketball probably isn’t even his best sport.
A standout linebacker, Short was the PAL Ocean Division’s Special Teams Player of the Year and made first-team all-league at his natural position in the fall as the Knights went on to win a section football title. He led the team with 114 tackles, including six sacks, and was named to Prep2Prep’s All-CCS Second Team. It seems that even though he spent most of the early portion of the basketball season still strapping on his helmet and pads, he hardly missed a beat.
“All of it started in practice,” Short said. “We formed a bond and it’s helped us mold as a team.”
Like the TKA football team, the cagers didn’t win a league title, finishing second in the WBAL, something Short and his teammates are looking to make up for in the postseason.
“We’re coming in with a chip on our shoulder,” he said. “We’re looking to finish this.”
Short’s performance was an extremely consistent and balanced one. After scoring four points in a first-quarter where the fourth-seeded Grizzlies took a 17-10 lead, he scored 12 in the second, eight in the third and 10 in the fourth. All three of his made field goals in the first half were 3-pointers, and all eight of his two-pointers came in the second half. He also made nine of 13 free throws, including six of seven in the second quarter.
It was in the fourth where King’s Academy (19-7) finally created separation. The Knights started the game in a 9-0 hole and led just once over the first three periods, taking a 30-29 advantage into halftime when Short banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer. He’d score their first 10 of the final quarter, driving to tie the game at 45 and again to put his team up by two. After Marquez Costiniano answered with a mid-range jumper, yet another drive by Short put the Knights in front for good with five minutes remaining.
“He’s been our horse the whole year,” head coach Nate Carroll said. “It’s been him and Malachi (Mitchell) that have just been phenomenal. It’s really hard to stop our guards.”
Mitchell was held to just eight points, including four in the final two minutes, but his presence undoubtedly affected the game on both sides of the ball.
“Malachi had a great game against King City,” Short said. “They were keying on him and I just took what the defense gave me.”
Mitchell was also essential on defense, especially with Bralyn Lux battling foul trouble.
“Malachi was spectacular defensively,” Carroll said. “That’s what’s great about this team. Even if they’re having a bad offensive game, they bring it on defense.”
Senior forward Matt Wilson was also critical for the fifth-seeded Knights, even though he hardly played in the second half after getting into foul trouble. He had eight rebounds, including six on the offensive end.
“Going inside opens up everything,” Wilson said. “We were pretty sterile on offense at times, so I had to do whatever I can.”
With the win, the Knights are a game away from reaching their first CCS championship game in program history. Should they beat top-seeded Carmel on Thursday, they’ll not only do that, but earn their first-ever CIF state tournament bid.
On the other side, the host Grizzlies saw their season come to an end after getting outscored 20-6 in the fourth quarter. It marked the end of the line for three starters who had come across town from Westmoor before their junior seasons: Marquez Costiniano, Luis Villarreal and PAL North MVP J.J. Cruz.
“You have to give this group a lot of credit,” head coach John Falabella said after a long and tearful postgame conversation with his team. “They battled, they paid a lot of attention to detail and they were determined. They say never underestimate the heart of a champion, and I’d say every member of this team had the heart of a champion.”
Even after graduating a trio of three-year starters from last year’s PAL North co-championship team, the Grizzlies one-upped that group by winning an outright league title this year, the program’s first since 2007.
“This is the best organization I’ve played for,” Costiniano said. “Whoever plays here in the future, just know you’re going to be in good hands. Coach knows plays in and out, and he’ll get you where you need to be in the future. He’s not just a coach for basketball, he’s a coach to treat you as a man.”
Costiniano scored 12 points in his final high school game, while Cruz and Villarreal each added eight. All of Villareal’s came in the first quarter, where Jefferson (17-9) took an early lead by hitting seven of eight free throws. Over the next three quarters, the Grizzlies went 9-for-14.
Not only did the Grizzlies manage to win back-to-back league titles with a changing core, they also created some hope for the future as their underclassmen developed tremendously over the course of the year while their JV team won a league title. One of the leaders of that JV team, Kingsley Uzoma, saw a few minutes in the second quarter.
Underclassmen who had been on the varsity team all year were also key on Tuesday. Junior forward Saif Fara had six points and 10 rebounds, with nine boards in a strong first half, and sophomore Brooks Daniels scored eight of his team-high 13 in the third, scoring their first four baskets of the third quarter to go up 37-34.
“We knew he had tons of potential, which is why he was on the varsity team to begin with,” Falabella said of Daniels, a burly sophomore who played running back and linebacker on the Jefferson football team. “Over the past 12-to-14 games, he’s really taken that to another level by using his strength and athleticism.”
Daniels ran for 806 yards and collected 55 tackles over the fall, but the Grizzlies’ football season ended the same way their season did on the hardwood, with a loss to King’s Academy. Short had a season-high 12 tackles in that game, and his 34-pointers on Tuesday were also a high mark.
“We knew he was a focal point of their offense and we had to keep him at bay,” Falabella said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that.”
Short’s massive performance marked the end of a third straight year in which the Grizzlies received a top-four CCS seed, but once again, they were unable to return to a section championship game or the state tournament, something they haven’t been able to do since the then-Indians won the CCS Division III and CIF Division III State Championships under legendary head coach Bud Bresnahan in 1988.
