The North Coast Section basketball playoffs started Tuesday, and things went off with a bang in the boys’ division. That was especially true for the Division I bracket, which saw both a 12 seed and a 13 seed advance, a three seed hold on late with clutch free throws, and a pair of one-point victories for both the six and nine seeds. And we’ve just gotten started . . .
Castro Valley captures double overtime thriller in Brentwood
The Trojans might have been one of the most highly-regarded 13 seeds in section history, leading Heritage coach Pat Cruickshank to describe them as “extremely dangerous” leading into Tuesday’s first round game between the visiting Trojans and the fourth-seeded Patriots.
Castro Valley lived up to its reputation, exceeding its seeding, by pulling out a thrilling 87-84 win after the home team twice extended the game with baskets right before the buzzer. Heritage’s Anthony Dennis hit a driving runner in the lane with 3.1 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime tied at 69, and Marcus Wallace electrified the home crowd with his 27-foot contested three-pointer just prior to the buzzer in the first overtime.
Heritage briefly took a two-point lead in the second overtime on a James Ned turn-around in the key, but the Trojans responded to build an 84-78 lead with a minute remaining. Dennis cut the lead to 84-81 with a three-pointer, with 54 seconds remaining, but Castro Valley’s Lawrence Johnson was clutch from the line, going six for six during the final periods of play, and the Trojans held on to advance to the quarterfinals, despite playing on the road and using only seven or eight players all game.
“Our guys know they have to be in shape, because we are not super deep off the bench,” said Castro Valley coach Anthony Geddins. “We played seven to eight guys, and they got the job done.”
Leading the way for the Trojans was Bryce Thompson, whose repeated drives into the lane resulted in a game-high 23 points. Junior Daniel Bessolo, meanwhile, was making plays all over the court, leading to a line that included 22 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals. RahTawn Fobbs was another big contributor with 19 points, including multiple big shots in the fourth quarter when the Trojans battled back from a brief 63-58 deficit.
Despite the season-ending loss, Cruickshank was full of praise for the way his team played, citing how proud he was of the effort, regardless of the final outcome. Geddins echoed the statement of his counterpart.
“We’re glad to get out of here the way we did,” Geddins said. “Both teams played with a lot of heart, and it was just one of those games where neither team deserved to lose, but one of us had to.”
Pittsburg comes up clutch in one-point win over Foothill
Despite leading by 10 points with just over seven minutes remaining, nine seed Pittsburg never expected the final minutes at Foothill to be easy. And when Garrett Wrenn converted inside to give Foothill a 40-39 lead with 1:09 left in the game, it appeared the Pirates might be letting things slip away.
That was when senior Ifeanyi Udoh stepped up for Pittsburg, getting to the line twice in the next 30 seconds. Udoh converted all four free throws, and Jaylen Malone hit a final free throw with 18 seconds remaining to give the Pirates a four-point lead. Mike Climent’s three-pointer for Foothill in the final seconds provided the final points in Pittsburg’s 44-43 victory on the road. The Falcons had beaten Pittsburg by five points in the beginning of the season.
“Our win tonight validated the hard work of our players and our improvement through the year,” said Pittsburg coach Carson Padon. “Foothill is a very tough team and we are grateful to be moving on.”
Junior Seu Kuka led Pittsburg with 13 points, with Malone adding 10 points. Senior Seth Cobb had a team-high 13 points for Foothill, followed by Wrenn with 10 points.
Pittsburg now faces top seed De La Salle in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Liberty notches big win at Dublin
Playing at the runner-up from the Diablo Foothill Athletic League, 12 seed Liberty led for the majority of the game before escaping with a 60-59 victory as Dublin’s three attempts near the basket failed to fall in the final nine seconds.
The Lions led 19-13 after one quarter after some early hot shooting from Darius Scott, and built a 32-22 halftime advantage.
“Darius had a real big first half for us, and we executed our defensive game plan from the very first series of the game until the finish,” said Liberty coach Jon Heinz. “Travis August and Kyle Ruff both had real big second halves, and Kavon Wise was a big momentum-stopper.”
Wise scored the last four points of the first half, and had another big shot in the fourth quarter after Dublin had tied the game at 49. That led to a brief 6-1 run for the Lions and a 55-50 lead with 3:11 remaining in the game. August extended the lead to 58-52 with three of his game-high 19 points, but the Gaels quickly cut the lead back to 58-57 with 19 seconds remaining.
Kyle Ruff added a pair of free throws for Liberty, two of his 16 points, with 10 of those points coming in the second half, but Dublin quickly cut the lead to 60-59 and sent Ruff to the line again with 9.5 seconds remaining. He missed the front end of the one-and-one opportunity, but the Gaels could not convert in their final chances, sending the Bay Valley Athletic League’s fourth-place team on to the quarterfinals.
“I was really pleased with the intensity our guys played with tonight, and the way we played for each other,” Heinz said. “The hardest thing was probably trying to extend the momentum when we had a lead. We also got a couple guys back from injury in the last two games, so now our focus is on preparing for Castro Valley and trying to reach the semifinals.”
Liberty now hosts Castro Valley on Friday night, with the winner moving on to the Division I semifinals, and a guaranteed berth in the CIF Northern California playoffs. The Lions are seeking to become the first team from Brentwood to reach the state playoffs.
LaShells hits late free throw to propel Monte Vista into quarterfinals
After hitting the game-tying lay-up with 50 seconds left, Monte Vista’s Spencer LaShells then split two free throws in the final seconds, giving the host Mustangs a 45-44 win over James Logan.
“We knew Logan was going to be very good,” said Monte Vista coach Nick Jones. “Our offense is inside-based and (Michael) Steadman did a great job controlling the pain for them with his shot blocking.”
By Jones’ estimation, Steadman blocked between eight and ten of the Mustangs’ inside shots. In the second half, however, Monte Vista was able to hit some three-point shots and pick up some baskets in transition. And after LaShells’ game-tying shot, the Mustangs came up big defensively with two stops on consecutive possessions.
That set up Monte Vista’s final possession, with nine seconds left in the game. The Mustangs tried to run a ball screen for junior guard Austin Fadal, but the Colts doubled Fadal, so they got the ball to Ashton Rust, who found LaShells after one dribble drew Steadman away from the Chico State-bound senior post player.
LaShells was fouled on his attempt, split his attempts, and Logan’s half-court shot at the buzzer could not find its mark.
“This was a big win for us because we have not been winning close games,” Jones said. “We beat a very good team in a dogfight, and we are happy to be moving on.”
Third-seeded Freedom uses late free throws, depth to get past Amador Valley
14 seed Amador Valley was supposed to be a bit of a speed bump for Freedom, which had just wrapped up its second straight unbeaten season in the BVAL and third straight league title. But the Dons, who finished fourth in the EBAL, had other ideas, pushing the Falcons to the limit in a 59-54 loss.
Amador Valley trailed by just one at halftime, 29-28, and kept things close late into the game, when the Falcons used clutch free throw shooting to pull away. DeShawnte Collins paced Freedom in scoring with 14 points, but the Falcons needed big minutes from the back end of its bench in the third quarter in order to make a fourth quarter push.
“We did the same thing we did against Liberty (last week), and went to our last five players to get energy and some rest for our first ten players,” said Freedom coach Drew Torres. “Those guys were tremendous, and allowed us to have fresh legs late in the game.”
It was a familiar refrain for the Falcons, who have experienced multiple close calls this season, and now host a Monte Vista team it beat 48-46 earlier in the year.
“We always seem to be involved in these types of games,” Torres said. “My message just remains the same, that we’ve been here before, and we know how to handle the moment.”
