SAN FRANCISCO — Stuart Hall’s 64-59 win over University on Tuesday night, which sealed the BCL West regular-season championship for the visiting Knights, was an excellent game before a standing-room only crowd.
With the two teams likely on a collision course for the league tournament next week and in the NCS Division V bracket next month, there’s a good chance it won’t be the last time the two squads dazzle on the floor together.
The defining stretch of play was a 13-0 run by the Knights in the third quarter, briefly turning what had been an old-fashioned tug-of-war into an affair where the Red Devils were trying to catch up for the rest of the night.
Alex Byrd, known more for his energy and defense than his shooting abilities, drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 34 and Tomas Wolber, who spent most of the first half on the bench with three fouls, hit one on the following possession to give Stuart Hall (20-4, 8-0) the lead. The advantage grew to nine on a Miles Amos and-1 and another three by Wolber, and a basket in the lane by Spencer O’Brien-Steele capped off the run and gave the Knights the game’s first double-digit lead.
Max Fried wouldn’t go quietly on his Senior Night, though. He scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter to keep University (17-8, 7-2) within range, including nine of the Devils’ points in a 12-5 run to cut the lead to 52-49.
“Max has been terrific for four years,” said University head coach Randy Bessolo. “This was a continuation of what he’s always done. I’d make the case that he may be the best player in the City.”
Just like the Knights got big plays from Byrd and Wolber, 21st-ranked University had a couple of role players step up, with Raki Cabrera-Scarlata and Ren Zanze each scoring 10 points off the bench.
One last Stuart Hall run would put the 16th-ranked visitors up by nine, with a huge and-1 by Amos with 1:44 left, but the Devils would cut the gap to three as Byrd and Nigel Burris would combine to miss four consecutive free throws, including a pair of 1-and-1s. The last of Charley Moore’s two points would cut it to 60-57 with 11.8 seconds left, but Burris and Amos would each cap off their 17-point nights with two free throws in the final 10 seconds to seal the league championship.
“When I missed those two free throws, that scared me, but (assistant coach Mark) Perelman told me to use my same routine,” said Burris, who also led his team with nine rebounds. “I’ve practiced with my dad at the park close to my house, so I was able to go back to my technique and knock those last free throws down.”
Those free throws helped lock up the league title, and as long as the Knights win one of their final two games, both of which are against teams they beat by more than 20 points the first time, they’ll have an outright league title for the first time since 2015.
“This is my first year winning here,” said Amos, who lost at University as a sophomore and missed the game at the Devil Dome with the injuries last year. “I didn’t get to play last year, so I was able to sit on the bench and watch that. It built up a bit of anger in me, so I had to take it out right here and spoil their Senior Night.”
Byrd finished with 11 points, while Fried had 10 rebounds to complete his double-double.
In other BCL West action, Allen Wilson scored 17 points to keep Lick-Wilmerding (17-7, 3-5) in the hunt for a spot in next week’s league tournament as the Tigers beat San Domenico (6-17, 0-8), 53-37. Marin Academy (17-7, 4-4) held on to third place with a 51-48 win at Urban (8-16, 3-6), avenging a home defeat from January 8.
