OAKLAND, CA – For all the fireworks that accompany a top national talent coming to a gym near you, Bishop O’Dowd was the one celebrating after downing San Joaquin Memorial for the second time this season, earning a place in the CIF NorCal semifinals with a 66-61 victory at Laney College.
San Joaquin Memorial’s Jalen Green was efficient but limited by foul trouble, picking up three whistles in the first quarter, his fourth in the third quarter, and fouling out with 46 seconds remaining and his team trailing by six. He finished with 19 points on 6-of-9 from the field, 7-of-12 from the free throw line.
“We wanted to basically stick to the same thing – get the ball out of Jalen’s hands, and keep the big guy off the boards,” Bishop O’Dowd coach Lou Richie remarked. “If we can get the ball out of his hands, maybe they don’t shoot well in this gym.”
O’Dowd got most of its production from a trio of starters and one reserve. Monty Bowser tallied 18 points and seven rebounds, Will Chavarin supplied 15 points and seven boards, Iniko McNeil chipped in 14 points, and Marsalis Roberson came off the bench with nine points and nine rebounds.
The Dragons (23-8) came strong off the opening tip, as a Bowser dunk punctuated a 6-0 start. Although the Panthers (22-11) recovered quickly, Green – who is ranked by ESPN as the second overall prospect in the state in the class of 2020 with an overall grade of 97 – got his third foul 37 seconds before the end of the quarter.
“They weren’t star-struck,” Richie commented. “I think our kids are realistic that they’re not better than him, but we would like to think that our team can play better than their team. The end goal is to win the game, not the individual match up.”
Bishop O’Dowd grabbed the momentum as Green sat on the bench, scoring the first 11 points of the second quarter to take a 25-10 lead. With 4:46 to go, San Joaquin Memorial coach Brad Roznovsky couldn’t keep his superstar languishing any longer and inserted him back into the lineup. He made is presence felt immediately; he had a pair of free throws, a steal and fantastic coast-to-coast dunk, drew a charge, had an assist, and scored three more points to bring the Panthers to within nine, 31-22, by halftime.
Green had to hold off defensively, and O’Dowd increased the lead to 14 at the end of the third. But the Panthers clawed back in. Braxton Meah converted a three-point play with 46.5 seconds to go to make it 60-55 Dragons. But on the release of the free throw, Green got the dooming fifth foul. Nine seconds later a three by Jaden Geron – the second of the quarter for him and one of four overall in the period for the team – made it a one-possession game, but O’Dowd hit five of six free throws the rest of the way amid missed shots by San Joaquin Memorial. Joseph Hunter closed out the game with a three, but with just seconds to go the Panthers could only watch as the Dragons’ fans erupted with joy.
“I think we just played a little more rushed,” Green said.
Meah tallied nine points, seven rebounds, and six blocks, but he too got into foul trouble and his defensive production was hampered in the second half as a result. Hunter finished with 14 points, 10 of them coming in the fourth.
“We knew we could have Will matched up against their big,” Richie said. “Will and the team made a good adjustment in the second half when they ended up going man.”
The playoff came three months after O’Dowd had a buzzer-beating three to escape with a 76-73 win at San Joaquin Memorial in an early-season non-conference battle. In that game, Green had been held to 14 – no small feat. The five-star recruit lit up four-seed Dublin with 39 points in the Panthers’ 94-80 upset of the Gaels in the prior round.
O’Dowd, which beat five-seed San Leandro 57-54 on Tuesday, gets ready for top seed Logan on Saturday. The Colts, after a first round bye, dusted off nine-seed Folsom 71-60 Thursday night. The winner will then play the victor between six-seed Moreau Catholic and two-seed Branson on Tuesday in the NorCal Regional Final.
