MORAGA – The Mahaney brothers are making quite a name for themselves at Campolindo High School. Just a few days after junior Carter’s heroics against Sacramento, freshman Aidan buried a pair of three-pointers in the closing minutes against Grant to propel the Cougars to a 53-51 CIF NorCal Division II regional semifinal victory.
After 29 minutes in which Grant led most of the way but rarely by more than three, Aidan sank the first to give the Cougars a 45-43 advantage. A minute-and-change later, he netted another to make it 48-43. Shots didn’t fall for either team for the next minute, then Grant was called for a travel after three consecutive offensive rebounds. But even after Carter converted a pair of free throws with 32 seconds remaining to give Campolindo (25-7) a seven-point edge, the Pacers weren’t done yet.
Grant (26-8) would hit two three-pointers of their own – the first by Davell Brown and the second by AJ McGee – but after each Carter was intentionally fouled. He made three of four, the last at 4.8 seconds left, and a put-back at the buzzer only made a difference in the margin.
“We knew that we could beat them if we played hard the whole game,” Carter Mahaney stated. “We’re ready for the close moments. We practice those type of situations so we’re always ready for it.
Campolindo’s top three leading scorers made their marks in the scoring column. Carter Mahaney had 16 points, David Ahazie added 13, and Aidan Mahaney chipped in 12 – 10 of them in the fourth. Emmanuel Callas, who entered the game with a 4.5 scoring average, tacked another 10, eight of which came in the second quarter.
“I put in too much time not to be confident shooting those shots,” Aidan Mahaney said. “My teammates have faith in me, and I have faith in myself. We try to put on a show for (our fans). Hopefully we get a ring on our finger this season.”
Grant led 16-13 after a first quarter which saw five ties. The Pacers had the first four of the second, but Campolindo clawed back, and Carter’s three-point play with 58 seconds to go in the half to tie at it 24. That’s how the teams started the third, and it remained neck-and-neck up until that 30 second mark in the fourth.
“To hold a team like that to 51 points is huge,” Campolindo coach Steven Dyer said. “I didn’t think we shot the ball that great…so I think defense is really what won that for us,” adding that rebounding and forcing turnovers were keys.
Corey Yerger had a team-high 15 points for Grant, which was the top-ranked team in the Sac-Joaquin Division II playoffs and lost the final to St. Mary’s by one, then picked up victories against St. Francis-Mountain View and St. Joseph Notre Dame prior to the night’s game.
But the three other Pacers who average double-digit scoring all were stopped short of that achievement. Dee Juan Pruitt had six points and nine rebounds, while Steven Richardson scored nine and McGee tallied eight. David Jones added six points and eight boards.
“They just played a better game than us,” Yerger said.
“It was an honor to coach them, and I thank them for allowing me to part of this journey,” Deonard Wilson said, referring to his postgame comments to his team. “Sometimes there’s just going to be days like this. So my message was to just hold on to this. And know always leave it on the line, and just don’t have any regrets.”
For Campolindo, it was the third two-point win during their playoff run. Carter defeated St. Patrick-St. Vincent (in the NCS) and #7 Sacramento in the last seconds; in the latter, he also had last-second free throws to send the game to overtime. The Cougars had a formidable outing but lost against Salesian in the NCS Division III championship, and started off the State bout by beating #15 Oak Ridge.
Wilson acknowledged the Grant crowd “travels well,” and it was shown in the plethora of fans, a pep band, dancers, and cheerleaders. Campolindo had its own band of supporters, of course, and after the final buzzer a throng of students mobbed the court and chanted while moving forward, arm-in-arm, towards the scorer’s table.
“I think that if this same game is played in Grant, we win…so that’s the advantage of playing a good season, having a home court advantage,” Wilson added. “It was a great atmosphere, a great experience for both teams.”
Dyer said of the Mahaney brothers, “(They) have put in some much time into their games…Basketball is the number one thing in their life, and it shows.”
Campolindo now prepares for Tuesday night’s match with nine-seed Serra, which knocked off eight-seed St. Patrick-St. Vincent and top-seed St. Mary’s-Stockton before dispatching Cinderella candidate 13-seed Rocklin 70-46.
