DUBLIN, Calif. — Taking the court on Thursday without star point guard Jamir Thomas, out for the first game of the 15th Annual Don Nelson Classic with a sprained thumb, looked like a disaster in the making for the Berkeley Yellowjackets, but five players reached double-figures in an inspiring 86-81 win over the Placer Hillmen.
“We’ve just got to keep working as a team,” said Noah Millikan, who scored all of his 15 in the first half before being slowed by foul trouble. “It’s one man down, the next man up. We were all setting screens and moving the ball well.”
While the Yellowjackets funeled their offense directly through Thomas when he was healthy, Berkeley (3-4) showed incredible balance on Thursday, spreading the ball around to get key baskets at every critical juncture. Tai Raino-Tsui, who took most of the point guard duties in Thomas’ absence, scored nine of his 15 in the first quarter and finished with eight assists. Millikan scored 11 in the second, with back-to-back threes opening up a 36-26 lead. Mahari Porter scored 10 of his 13 in the third and Anthony Rio added all of his 10 in the fourth, including back-to-back threes midway through the quarter to give the Yellowjackets a 73-64 advantage.
“We’re a deep team,” Millikan said. “We’ve got 18 men and all of them can play.”
6-foot-6 junior forward Max Petrenko kept Placer (4-6) close, hitting a pair of free throws in between those Rio threes and finishing with a game-high 30 points and 13 rebounds. He made two free throws with 1:56 left that would have cut the lead to two, but the second was wiped out by a lane violation and Julius Howard Jr., forced into playing time with Millikan in foul trouble, scored on the next possession. Petrenko’s basket with 48.2 seconds left once again got the Hillmen within three, but Berkeley managed to break the press and get a layup from Donte Searcy. Caden Lichau (eight points, nine rebounds) would respond with a putback, but Raino-Tsui would make a pair of free throws with 3.3 seconds to go to put the game on lock.
Juniors Jackson Lee and Myles Meyer each scored 14 for Placer while Tayven Winans added eight. Zachary Trjuillo-Golden added 11 for Berkeley and Makoa Battson finished with 10 while Raino-Tsui had a game-high eight assists.
“We executed well, making that extra pass and we really locked in,” interim Berkeley head coach JJ Frazier said. “It’s a beautiful thing to see all these guys I had on JV last year stepping up.”
Foothill-Palo Cedro 63, Elk Grove 62
Even without senior forward Bekdoo Lewis (team decision), the Foothill Cougars still managed to fight off sophomore-heavy Elk Grove to remain undefeated on the season.
The Thundering Herd used a 16-4 run to take a 59-55 lead with 2:25 left, getting seven straight points from sophomore Ameere Britton and then answering a Nick Dore putback with a Dajon Lott bucket and Aaron Gillyard and-1, but Foothill (10-0) managed to get to the line five times over the final 2:02 to win. Josiah Palumbo made a pair of free throws with 2:02 left and Dore delivered both to tie the game and give his team the lead, cashing in with 1:25 and 48.9 left. It was Palumbo who gave the Cougars a four-point lead with 31.3 left on two more foul shots after a Thundering Herd miss, but Britton would get the last of his game-high 27 points on a deep three with 21.3 left. Both teams would turn the ball over on their next possessions, and even though Luke Lindsey would miss two from the line with 1.6 to go, Elk Grove’s last-season heave missed.
Lindsey led the Cougars with 19, including the basket to give them a 51-43 lead before the Herd went on the run to set up the tense finish. Just six players saw the court for Foothill and only the five starters scored, but they did enough to beat an opponent that rotated 10 men in. Dore scored eight of his 13 in the fourth quarter and pulled down eight rebounds while senior center Brandon McCracken had 12 points and a game-high 16 boards. Palumbo finished with 10 points and Hunter Edwards added nine.
In addition to Britton’s big game, Elk Grove (7-2) got 14 points from Karlos Zepeda, including three 3-pointers, and eight from Lott, but Foothill’s 36-27 rebounding advantage, including 16-8 on the offensive end, proved costly. The Cougars finished all four quarters strong, closing the first on an 11-4 run to take a 16-15 lead and getting the final four points of the second to go into halftime tied at 26.
Heritage 41, Castro Valley 40
The Patriots, who have appeared in four straight Don Nelson Classic championship games, will have to meet Dublin in the second round this year rather than in the title game, but they earned their shot at the hosts by squeaking out a win over the Trojans in which they led for the entirety of the second half.
Heritage (4-3) went just 10-of-18 at the free throw line, missing back-to-back 1-and-1s in the final 18 seconds as Castro Valley drew to within one on Arquil Hill’s deep 3-pointer, which he banked in with 4.1 to go, but a last-second Trojan heave fell short. The Patriots had taken their largest lead early in the third as a Sebastian Duran three and short Mitch Herode jumper made it 26-17, and they’d go up by eight again on a Lamar Murphy basket at the start of the fourth. Castro Valley (4-5) would then respond with an 11-4 run, cutting the lead to one on a Kheti Goss lay-in with two minutes left, but Murphy would deliver a clutch basket with a minute left, slicing through the lane and scoring despite taking a hard fall. Duran, who scored a game-high 16, would make one of two free throws with 18.1 left to put Heritage up by four.
Just five players scored for the Patriots, but Murphy’s 11, Herode’s eight and a clutch Isaiah Hinds 3-pointer midway through the fourth would be enough for the win. Caleb Davis led Castro Valley with 11 points, fouled by 9-of-10 free throw shooting, and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, and the Trojans also got eight points from Jurrien Sparks.
Dublin 85, Encinal 43
Even with Gridley Invitational MVP Anthony Roy sitting for the entire first half (team decision), the Gaels cruised to victory in the opening game of their own tournament as 12 different players got on the scoresheet. Elijah Alonso scored 17 to lead all scorers, sinking five 3-pointers in the process, and Nick Costello scored all of his 14 in the first half as Dublin (6-0) raced out to a 9-0 lead and took a 47-21 advantage into the break.
Jaden Saunders scored all of his 11 in the middle two quarters and Roy made up for lost time by scoring nine in the second half, including back-to-back dunks off a fastbreak and an Alonso alley-oop. TJ Meagher and Elijah Pearce each added eight for the Gaels, while Encinal (5-4) was led by Teddy Oliver, who scored 10. The Jets also got nine from Devion Jackson-Seals and eight from Davron Murrell.
