Host Cloverdale used an impressive third quarter to get past St. Vincent de Paul, 57-47, in the second round of the CIF North Coast Section Division 5 playoffs.
The Mustangs just couldn’t seem to get a rhythm coming out of halftime. Cloverdale came out more aggressive with a full court press in front of a packed crowd on Friday night, which gave the visitors trouble. This quarter was a turnover fest for the Mustangs. The Eagles were able to get most of their offense from layups created by their defense. Cloverdale outscored St. Vincent de Paul 15-6 in the third quarter.
Despite Cloverdale being the top seed with just one defeat all season long, St. Vincent de Paul was able to hold its ground with its physicality.
“St. Vincent’s was a very physical team,” said Cloverdale head coach Jared Greninger. “Almost to the point where physicality was overtaking the basketball game.”
The Mustangs came out strong in the first quarter, led by two three-pointers by senior captain Jake DeCarli. However, it was clear early that Cloverdale had the advantage on the board, leading to easy layups for senior Dylan Muller and junior Casey Lemley. The Eagles led 12-10 at the quarter break.
DeCarli kept the momentum going, scoring four points to start the second. Cloverdale continued to out-rebound the Mustangs and a good chunk of its points in the quarter were putback layups, including Muller with four points and Lemley with an easy bucket. Senior forward Killian Collins chipped in four points in the period including a buzzer beater that brought the Mustangs back to within two.
With the Mustangs down 11, St. Vincent had a tall hill to climb. The eighth-seeded Mustangs kept fighting with Collins hitting two 3s, along with two buckets from junior guard Mac Cauz. But in the end, it wasn’t enough, and Cloverdale would hold on to win.
Killian Collins finished with 18 points with DeCarli adding 12 for St. Vincent’s. Gabe Wlodarczyk had 20 points for the Eagles, and Muller finished with 16.
Top ranked Cloverdale will host No. 4 Urban Tuesday at 7 pm.
“It only gets tougher from here,” Greninger said, “Facing higher seeded teams every game. Every team is playing in hopes of winning the NCS championship.”
St. Vincent de Paul’s dream season comes to an end. Led by coach Tom Bonfigli, this was their first appearance in the second round in 11 years. They finished last year just 2-11, and this year 15-11. It was also the Mustangs' first winning season since the 2016-2017 season.
Under Bonfigli, who moved up two more spots on the California basketball all-time wins list according to Cal-Hi Sports, they gave the state’s best Division 5 team a run for their money. Despite the loss, the Mustangs are looking to the future with most of their players returning next season.
