MORAGA, CA – Aidan Mahaney scored 26 points and Emmanuel Callas added 18 points and 13 rebounds as Campolindo surged to an early lead and never looked back in a 74-48 trouncing of Las Lomas on Tuesday night.
Campolindo (14-5, 5-0 DFAL), just one day after a one-point defeat at the hands of Bishop O’Dowd, sprinted to a 9-0 lead. While the Prep2Prep NCS No. 5 Cougars continued to play solid ball and would never let up, No. 25 Las Lomas (13-5, 2-3 DFAL) was still within shouting distance at the first quarter mark (24-16) and at the half (35-25). Another mini-run to start the third propelled the Cougars to an even more comfortable spot and in the fourth they left no doubt as to why they are the defending State Champs and once again a favorite for the league crown.
“We were really happy with the effort,” Campolindo coach Steven Dyer said. “We weren’t sure (because of the O’Dowd loss). We talked a lot in our film session…how we can’t let last night bleed into night…they came out with a lot of intensity and I think we sustained it pretty well throughout the game.”
Casey Cappo paced the Knights with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Zach Patterson chipped in another 10 along with five rebounds and three steals. Starter Marco Balestrieri did not play due to illness.
“We caught them on a good night,” Las Lomas coach Jason Rockwell stated. “We knew that coming in, we’d have to have extreme focus. I’m pleased with a lot of things that we’re doing. We’ve only been at full strength twice this year.”
Mahaney was electric in the first, cashing in on two from beyond the arc and on another attempt drawing the foul and then hitting all three free throws. Callas also was key to the first quarter success, with eight points, three boards, two steals, and an assist. Mahaney would pick up the scoring again in the third and Callas would do so in the fourth. Freshman Logan Robeson also reached double-digit scoring for Campo, with 10.
Next up the Cougars travel to #10 Clayton Valley Charter, who last week beat these same Knights by 11 and edged College Park by three. Campolindo swept the season series against the Ugly Eagles last year, though in one case by just five in overtime. There’s a good chance that regardless of what happens Friday night that the rematch on February 11th in Moraga will be a determining factor in who takes the DFAL title.
“We’re still a pretty young team,” Dyer remarked. “We’ve taken a lot of close losses. If you take a night off, someone will beat us. Clayton Valley is hard to guard. It should be a great match up.”
In other DFAL action, Clayton Valley eked out a 60-57 victory at Miramonte and College Park scraped by Northgate 57-54.
