MORAGA, CA – Jacob Williams sank the biggest shot of his life, a three-pointer from the wing, with 43 seconds remaining in a dramatic, back-and-forth battle, as the Heritage Patriots topped Clayton Valley 71-66 in the NCS Division I Boys Championship on Friday night at St. Mary’s College.
Jonathan Ned scored a game-high 27 points, and Williams netted five three’s to count for all of his 15 points to go along with seven boards. Ezra Manjon added 12 points, seven rebounds, and three assists for the Patriots, who won another hotly-contested playoff game just two days earlier in Dublin.
“I could coach for another 30 years and I would never coach in a game like Wednesday night. And then to have this and play for a championship, it’s been a great week,” said Heritage coach Pat Cruickshank, who also picked up his 300th career victory back in December. "We went through so much in that game, understanding it’s never over, somebody’s coming. We’re a three-point shot from it being a different ball game here too.”
Clayton Valley’s senior point guard Garrett Pascoe had a terrific night with 18 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Sinjin Speer provided serious sparks with four three’s and 14 points overall in a game that didn’t see either team take more than a five-point lead.
Although the stat sheet doesn’t reflect it, the Patriots’ Saleem Mahdi had a key contribution as well, netting two free throws with 1:06 remaining to break a 66-66 tie and then dishing out the assist to Williams for the three-pointer which seemed to spell the end for the Ugly Eagles’ hopes.
“After the win in Dublin, we felt good but we knew it wasn’t over,” Williams said. “If we feel we got a clean look, take it. No bad shots if you’re open.”
Clayton Valley had several more chances, but three of four field goal attempts rimmed in and out (including one just after the Williams three), and Heritage survived despite twice missing the front end of one-and-one free throws in the final 30 seconds.
“As hard as we played this year, as well as we played, it’s a good feeling,” Clayton Valley coach Eric Bamberger stated. “We’ll get back to work. We’ve played with guys hurt, guys out, nothing has fazed us so far. We got what we wanted, it just didn’t fall. It happens.”
“We have another game next week so we just have to refocus,” Pascoe said. “We got good looks, they just didn’t fall down the stretch.”
The teams traded baskets from the outset, as it was 15-14 Heritage after one, 33-32 Heritage at the half, and tied at 52 to begin the fourth. Williams made a three with 2:45 to go to put his team up 66-63. In all, Clayton Valley converted 11 three-pointers and Heritage made seven. At the charity stripe, Heritage was just 8-for-14, but Clayton Valley only attempted two, making one.
No. 3 Heritage (28-2) completes a NCS run that included wins over San Leandro, College Park, and a double overtime thriller with a controversial ending against Dublin, 100-98. Top-seeded Clayton Valley (26-3), after a first round bye, downed Monte Vista and Berkeley.
“It’s a goal I’ve been trying to achieve since I got here,” Ned, overcome with emotion, remarked. “To see it all pay off means a lot.”
“Just seeing the growth from my freshman year till now, being able to get on this stage is a big deal and hopefully now Clayton Valley will be one of those teams for years after I’m gone,” Pascoe added.
“This is just something special,” Cruickshank said. “We’re just going to enjoy this for a while.”
For Bamberger, the night had extra significance as daughter Ali powered Carondelet to a championship on the same floor in the prior game.
