KENTFIELD, Calif. - No. 4 seed Marin Catholic opened the CIF NorCal Division IV playoffs with a 47-42 win over No. 13 Christopher Tuesday night in a game that almost got away from the Wildcats.
With the win, Marin Catholic moves on to the second round of the state CIF Northern Regional D4 playoffs and will face fifth-seeded Lincoln-San Francisco at home. Lincoln advanced with a 47-45 win over No. 12 Palma.
Marin Catholic dominated the first quarter, jumping out to a 14-3 by the end of the period. Christopher had difficulty against Marin Catholic's aggressive defense. Meanwhile, Marin Catholic senior Kyle Winters, who finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and two assists, helped the Wildcats get off to a strong start and senior Dylan Ryssemus scored seven of his 11 points in the first quarter.
Marin Catholic maintained its double-digit lead into halftime. Christopher did go on a 10-5 run to close the deficit to 19-13 late in the second quarter, but the Wildcats pushed the lead back to 10 in the final minutes of the half.
Things didn't get much better for the Cougars in the third quarter, as the deficit grew to 37-20 by the end of the third quarter. Marin Catholic finished the quarter on a 14-5 run. Winters and senior Noah Deitch scored five points apiece during the run.
Despite being down 17 heading into the fourth quarter, Christopher showed grit and toughness to trim the lead all the way down to six on a basket by Braddock Kjellesvig that made it 41-35.
Ellison Yufenyuy had not scored a single point up until the fourth, but had scored eight of the team's 22 total points in the fourth quarter. Kjellesvig was also productive in the fourth, accounting for six points, four rebounds and a steal.
But the Wildcats were able to hang on, thanks in large part because of a key steal by junior JR Bosch. Winters sealed the game with a pair of free throws late.