CONCORD, Calif. - All year, Heritage had stayed in games largely on the strength of its defense. On Tuesday night at Clayton Valley, the Patriots again relied early on their defense, but it was an offensive awakening in the second half which propelled them to a 56-52 upset victory over the third-seeded Eagles in the North Coast Section Division I boys basketball playoffs.
After losing at home to Pittsburg last Tuesday, the Patriots were largely written off as a playoff contender, needing a win over league champion Deer Valley last Thursday to even qualify for the field. They got that win on a steal and lay-up in the final three seconds last week, and then improbably knocked off Clayton Valley for the biggest upset of Tuesday’s first-round action. Combined with Deer Valley’s 54-45 win over Amador Valley, the teams will meet again on Friday night at Heritage in the quarterfinals.
“Looking back, we played a difficult non-league schedule and faced a lot of top-tier talent throughout the season, so we felt prepared for whatever challenges came our way to start the playoffs,” said Heritage coach Carly Perales. “We have a group of guys who are playing hard right now and they have refused to quit.”
The Patriots (12-15) fell behind early to Clayton Valley, trailing 15-9 after one quarter and 23-18 at the half. But Heritage went on a 10-0 run to start the third quarter to take a five-point lead, as senior Sebastian Duran and junior Isaiah Hinds began to heat up. Hinds scored six of his 12 points in the quarter, while Duran drilled a pair of three-pointers and scored eight of his 15 points after being held scoreless in the first half.
Clayton Valley (19-8) responded, however, going on a 14-4 run of its own to take a 37-32 lead, ignited by a pair of three-pointers from junior Clyaton Mahloch, who had a team-high 14 points, before the Patriots scored the final four points of the quarter to trail by a single point headed to the fourth.
Heritage went on another quick run to start the final quarter, outscoring the Eagles 11-3 in the first two minutes of the fourth before Clayton Valley cut the lead back to one at 48-47 with four minutes remaining in the game. The Patriots pushed to lead to 54-49 with 54 seconds left before sophomore Jason Zimmer hit a three-pointer for his only points of the night for Clayton Valley, cutting the lead to three.
Lamar Murphy iced the game with a pair of free throws with under a second remaining, to send Heritage back to the quarterfinals for the first time since winning the Division I title two seasons ago. Murphy finished with a game-high 16 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Senior Jayson Downs added 10 points in the loss for Clayton Valley, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Moreau Catholic, Monte Vista keep momentum with first-round wins
Junior DJ Johnson continued his strong play in the paint for Moreau Catholic, which continued its late surge with a 73-57 win over Liberty in the first round of the NCS Division I playoffs.
After a big win over Washington last week to share the MVAL title, the Mariners got the four seed in the playoffs. Johnson helped make sure they would hold home-court advantage into the quarterfinals with his 13-point, 20-rebound effort on Tuesday night, while Donovan Tynes had a game-high 15 points for Moreau, hitting 3-of-5 shots from beyond the arc.
Moreau will now host Monte Vista, which easily dispatched Pittsburg, 75-38. Senior Evan Dunphy had 17 points for the Mustangs in the win, all of them coming in the final three quarters, while 6-foot-5 senior Luke Sinclair added 16 points. Guard Anthony Santa Maria contributed 13 points to round out the trio in double figures.
Jalen Robertson was the lone Pittsburg player in double figures, with a team-high 12 points.
Washington rolls past Vintage
Washington had no trouble shaking off its loss to Moreau Catholic, as Jorren Edmonds led three Huskies in double figures during a 71-55 victory over Vintage in the Division II playoffs.
Edmonds had a game-high 18 points, while Joseph Mangonon added 15 points and Austin Balentine had 14 points for Washington, who will host MVAL rival Newark Memorial this Friday. Newark Memorial edged San Lorenzo, 71-69.
Tamalpais goes to overtime for victory
Tamalpais got 23 points from Dylan Reed and battled back from a 12-point deficit to force overtime and eventually hold off Acalanes, 70-64, in the Division II playoffs.
The visiting Dons got a game-high 26 points from junior Scott Ruegg, and led 20-8 after one quarter. Tam had tied the game by halftime, however, and the teams went back-and-forth from there. Junior Joey Carrillo added 14 points for Acalanes, while Tyler Reed had 15 points for Tam and Sammy Blair added 10 points for the Hawks.
Tamalpais now advances to face top seed San Ramon Valley, which went on the road to defeat Vallejo, 61-46.
Around the NCS
Visiting Montgomery scored its final 10 points of the game from the free-throw line to hold off league rival Cardinal Newman, 54-47, in the Division II playoffs. The Vikings will now head to two-seed De Anza, which cruised past Petaluma, 69-49.
Hercules won its first playoff game in three years, edging Alhambra, 57-53, in the Division III playoffs. The Titans, led by former head football coach Gerald Montgomery, last won a playoff game in 2017 against Piner.
The most lopsided score of the night came in the Division III bracket, where two-seed St. Patrick-St. Vincent routed Maria Carrillo, 82-39. The Bruins will now host Hercules on Friday.
The other top two seeds in Division III also cruised to easy victories, with number one Branson beating Pinole Valley 68-36, while three-seed St. Joseph Notre Dame dispatched Novato, 77-45.
