Determined to get back to the North Coast Section Division I semifinals, where they fell to De La Salle last year, Heritage wasted no time establishing an early lead against College Park in Friday night’s quarterfinals, and held off multiple College Park runs to maintain a double-digit lead for the majority of the Patriots’ 81-60 victory.
Seniors Jonathan Ned and Jacob Williams got the Patriots off to a fast start, and extended the College Park defense in the process. Ned and Williams combined to hit four three-pointers in the first quarter, with Williams working along the wing and the corner, while Ned used screens and great movement off ball rotation to get open looks. Ned had 10 of his game-high 25 points in the first quarter, as Heritage built a quick 21-9 lead in the first eight minutes.
“I think we may have played our best game of the year,” said Heritage coach Pat Cruickshank. “Defensively, we stuck to and executed the game very well. On offense, we executed our sets, and were unselfish with the ball, and took care of it.”
College Park closed strong in the second quarter, as Zyon Pullin started to heat up from beyond the arc and 6-foot-7 sophomore Ramon Farris pulled down multiple rebounds on the offensive end to create second looks for the Falcons. Pullin hit a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter, scoring nine of his team-high 15 points in the first half, while Farris added a couple put-back lay-ups underneath, and Thomas Romo drilled his second three of the first half.
Meanwhile, after a huge first quarter offensively, the Patriots slowed down a bit over the next eight minutes, as College Park’s defense raced out on the Heritage shooters. Ned added six more in the second quarter, going 4-for-4 from the free throw line after the Patriots got in the bonus, but the only three-pointer came courtesy of usual defensive stopper John Ray Lerio. Despite the swing in momentum, Heritage still led 35-25 at the break.
Part of the reason that Heritage was able to maintain its lead was exactly what Cruickshank referenced, the Patriots’ ability to take care of the ball. Even during College Park’s small run, the Falcons had to work on the offensive end, with little transition opportunities. For the game, Heritage committed just eight total turnovers.
If College Park had gained any confidence from its second quarter run, the Patriots erased that by getting aggressive on the offensive end and in transition, opening the door for a flurry of open shots from beyond the arc, including a trio of three-pointers from Williams, who finished the game with 22 points. Ned added seven more points in the third, while Charles Stanford ran the floor to get good looks in the paint, scoring four of his 10 points. Romo and Farris had four points each in the third for the Falcons, but the damage had been done, and Heritage carried an 18-point lead into the fourth quarter, 59-41.
With the win, Heritage advances to face two seed Dublin in the semifinals, at Dublin on Wednesday. The teams met in an instant classic earlier this season, at Dublin during the Don Nelson Classic. In that game, Dublin’s Robby Beasley hit a deep three at the end of regulation to force overtime, and scored 29 points to carry the Gaels to victory. Ned had a school-record 42 points in that game for Heritage.
Hayward fits the glass slipper
Trailing by one point in the final seconds of its quarterfinal game against four-seed San Rafael, Hayward relied on its senior leadership, and this time it was Oliver Hamilton III who came through, draining a pair of free throws to lift the 12-seed Farmer to a 46-45 win over the Bulldogs, clinching not only a trip to the Division III semifinals, but also a berth in the CIF NorCal playoffs.
Hayward led 43-36 halfway through the fourth quarter, before San Rafael went on a 9-1 run, taking a one-point lead late in the game. With the win, the Farmers now advance to face heavy favorite Salesian in the semifinals. The Pride are the top-ranked team in the NCS.
St. Joe’s thwarts Fortuna upset bid
With three minutes to go in the third quarter in Alameda on Saturday night, things were getting dicey for top-seed St. Joseph Notre Dame. The Pilots trailed visiting Fortuna by six points, and were having trouble with Huskies junior Zac Claus, who led Fortuna to NCS and CIF titles in football this past fall as the team’s quarterback.
A deep cast of contributors, however, turned the tide for St. Joe’s, as the Pilots closed the period on a 7-2 run, cutting the deficit to a single point, and then turned it on in the fourth quarter, pulling away for the 74-61 victory and a berth in the Division IV semifinals.
Cameron Ba and Kobe Keiner combined for 15 of the Pilots’ points in the third quarter, and Ba was just getting started. Ba exploded for 13 of his game-high 25 points in the final eight minutes, while Adam Campos chipped in six of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. For Ba, the last quarter capped a terrific all-around performance, as he also finished with 14 rebounds and four assists.
The big fourth quarter performance, in which the Pilots outscored Fortuna 27-13, spoiled terrific performances by Claus and Donald Willis, who led the Huskies with 21 points, including a trio of three-pointers. Claus had 16 points, and also distributed the ball for multiple assists during the game. Brad Willis added nine points.
St. Joe’s also got 16 points from Julian Vaughns, to go with six points from Eric Greer. The Pilots advance to face Lick-Wilmerding, who edged Piedmont in the semifinals. Lick is looking to play spoiler for the second straight year, after knocking off St. Patrick-St. Vincent in last year’s semifinals.
Ebert brothers carry Cornerstone Christian to semifinals
Freshman Jacob Ebert poured in 29 points, while junior James Ebert and sophomore Ezra Hunter III each chipped in 12 points for Cornerstone Christian, as the Cougars advanced to the Division VI semifinals with a 77-60 win over Rincon Valley Christian.
The teams were tied at 42 heading into halftime, but Cornerstone built a five-point lead after three quarters and then pulled away with a 23-point fourth quarter. The Cougars will face Waldorf-San Francisco in the semifinals, after the Wolverines used a huge fourth quarter to upset three seed Mendocino in the quarterfinals.
