The CIF State Tournament comes with both good news and bad news. Unfortunately, there are so many games at the exact same time that it’s hard for fans and media members to choose which ones to attend. The good news is that it’s almost impossible to pick a bad one, with so many great matchups happening at once. Coaches have had less than 48 hours to prepare for their matchups, so Tuesday night will be a chaotic frenzy of great basketball.
Division I
No. 11 San Leandro (19-8) @ No. 6 Grant (25-5), 7 p.m.
Nobody has been able to stop Corey Yerger, who averages over 20 points per game for the Pacers, but with so much depth and athleticism, San Leandro can ensure there’s always a fresh body guarding the point guard, who has offers from Long Beach and USF. After a first-round exit last year, the Pirates are looking for a happier ending for a senior class headlined by Ciri Sawyers, Kiki Aguirre and Hikifo’ou Maile.
No. 9 Vanden (26-6) @ No. 8 Clovis West (26-5), 7 p.m.
One of the matchups in which a section champion has to hit the road to face a team that failed to win its section title, there’ll be tremendous talent on the floor with Teiano Hardee, Vanden’s Sacramento State commit, going up against Cole Anderson, Clovis West’s junior point guard, whose offers already include USF and San Diego State. Though the Vikings may feel short-changed to be playing on the road, it is worth noting that Clovis West was in the Central Section Open Division Championship and was even discussed as a possible CIF Open Division participant before a two-point loss to San Joaquin Memorial.
No. 12 Dougherty Valley (22-6) @ No. 5 Menlo-Atherton (22-4), 8 p.m.
Without Robby Beasley, done for the year with a meniscus injury, Dougherty Valley is going to be all about defense. The Wildcats will be hitting the road to face an M-A team that knows a thing or two about defending as well, having held Serra to just 43 points in an overtime victory in the CIF Open Division Quarterfinals. Between the defense of Dougherty Valley point guard Donovan Sevilla and Bears point guard Justin Anderson, there’ll hardly be any open looks for shooters, meaning both teams will have to make the most of their opportunities when they have them.
No. 10 Serra (18-8) @ No. 7 Campolindo (22-6), 7 p.m.
While most teams across the state are preparing for unfamiliar opponents, the Padres and Cougars will be quite familiar with each other after meeting last year in the Northern California Division II Championship, a 59-38 Campolindo win. While Campolindo graduated just a couple of key players from that team in David Ahazie and Jake Chan, Serra had four seniors in the starting lineup last year. While immeasurable talent graduated from that team, matching up with the Padres can be far tougher this year as the scoring can come from anywhere on the floor.
No. 14 Rocklin (25-6) @ No. 3 Salesian (23-6), 8 p.m. at Albany HS
After going one-and-done in the Open Division for four consecutive years, Salesian won’t be trying to avoid a fifth straight edition in the field. Instead, the Pride will be in Division I, where their defense will match up against a Rocklin team that moved up to Division I in the Sac-Joaquin Section this year. The Thunder, led by Darrius Kendall and Handre Reinecke, average 72.3 points per game.
Division II
No. 13 Piedmont (24-5) @ No. 4 Weston Ranch (20-12), 7 p.m.
The Highlanders believe they’re the most underseeded team in the entire state, and if they can go out to Stockton and win, they’ll have the evidence to back up their claim. Both teams have a big three of two guards and a versatile forward: Piedmont relies heavily on Luke Harris, JoJo Murphy and Luke Barrett while the Cougars ride Donjae’ Lindsey, Mi’Son Coilton and Gavin Wilburn. While the Highlanders have strong depth at the guard positions with DaRon Benson, Paul Davies and Josh Eidam, they’re going to need to get creative to find a way to keep Jordahn Johnson off the glass.
No. 11 Jesuit (22-9) @ No. 6 Branson (29-2), 8 p.m. at College of Marin
Every Branson game is a story of the Bulls’ defense against any challenger’s offense, but most challengers don’t have a player like Isa Silva. The 6-foot-2 junior is ranked by 247Sports as the no. 32 player in the entire country in the Class of 2021, the fourth-best point guard in the nation in his class and the second-best player in the entire state of California. Programs calling after him include Arizona, Colorado, Gonzaga, Stanford and Texas, and it’s likely that top coaches and recruiters will be at College of Marin on Tuesday night. When they see the teams going through the layup lines, they’ll notice an undersized Branson squad that compares in size to a JV team at many positions, but once the game tips off, they’ll see just how physical and tenacious the Bulls are on defense. Even in Saturday’s NCS Division 3 Championship loss, Branson allowed just 43 points across four quarters and overtime.
Division III
No. 12 Lowell (24-6) @ No. 5 Sacred Heart Cathedral (11-16), 8 p.m.
The rare playoff clash between a San Francisco public school and a San Francisco private school, the Cardinals are going to head five miles to the northeast, and they’ll need their defense to travel with them in order to pull off the road upset. Both teams ride prolific scorers, with Cal Ladine starring at Lowell and sophomore Ray-John Spears leading the Fightin’ Irish, but the teams play completely different games. The Cardinals play a slow, refined game while Sacred Heart Cathedral loves to run in transition.
No. 10 Marin Catholic (23-8) @ No. 7 Carmel (23-4), 7 p.m.
Carmel’s junior center, J.T. Byrne, will have to pick on somebody his own size on Tuesday night if the Padres are going to win a state tournament game for the first time in program history. The Wildcats have an excellent junior center of their own in 6-foot-7 AJ Rohosy, whose ability to score from anywhere has been key in a vastly improved offense. Marin Catholic might be better off trying to play a slower defensive game, though, as the Padres are a nightmare to match up with in transition as Kai Lee flies up the floor.
No. 13 Half Moon Bay (20-6) @ No. 4 St. Mary’s-Albany (22-10), 8 p.m.
Half Moon Bay’s junior class will take to the road for its first ever state tournament game. Yes, technically three of them were pulled up to the varsity team as freshmen when they reached the second round of the Division III Tournament in 2018, but it would be hard to count that as any experience as they were essentially just taxi squad members. They’ll have to try to achieve the near-impossible task of slowing down Jason Roche, a 6-foot-5 shooter with impeccable form.
Division IV
No. 12 Urban (20-11) @ No. 5 Hillsdale (20-7), 7 p.m.
Two programs that have gone a few years without major success will battle in San Mateo on Tuesday night, and it’ll be a pair of excellent point guards duking it out as Urban’s Bryce Smith goes up against Hillsdale’s Junior Cotton, now in his fourth year on the varsity team. Both will be dishing it off to underclassmen shooters, with sophomore Calvin Mader-Clark knocking down outside shots for the Fighting Knights while freshman Kyle Neece is a weapon off the bench for the Blues. The similarities won’t end there; both teams have undersized bigs who can make physical plays in the post with Ryan Pescherine doing a little bit of everything for Urban and Nick Robinson battling on the boards for Hillsdale.
Division V
No. 14 East Nicolaus (20-9) @ No. 3 San Domenico (17-12), 7 p.m.
One of the best things about Division V is the clash between small towns and private schools, and Northern Section Division V runners-up East Nicolaus will be taking the trip to San Anselmo in a game that fits such a description. The Spartans are the quintessential small-town team; David Earhart, who averages 22.8 points per game and hit a buzzer-beater to win the section semifinal, is the son of head coach Tyson Earhart. Serbian junior Aleksa Milentijevic is often the lead scorer for the Panthers, even though he usually enters the game off the bench.
