Boys basketball
No. 10 Oakland Tech 66, McClymonds 53
The McClymonds gymnasium rocked as Oakland Tech reeled, the visiting Bulldogs suddenly trailing by two points midway through the third quarter when the home team went on a 7-0 run to take the lead.
Instead of calling a timeout, longtime Tech coach Karega Hart let his team play through its troubles.
On a program that returned several key players from its 2022-23 Oakland Section title-winning squad, it was a transfer from Encinal who came through for the Bulldogs in what eventually became a 66-53 victory.
Senior Ahmed Gulaid made two layups and buried a 3-pointer as part of an 11-0 Bulldogs run. He got open through sheer hustle, perpetually screening and rolling into space for scoring opportunities.
“Coach has instilled in us that we need to move without the ball, that it’s the most important part,” Gulaid said after scoring a game-high 24 points. “We were stumbling a little bit in the first half, but I’m glad we found our feet and played together and got the win. ”
Senior guard ArDarius Grayson scored 15 and 6-foot-7 center Xan Myer-Plettner put in 11 points while also controlling the boards and protecting the rim. Oakland Tech led 27-23 heading into halftime and 45-35 after weathering McClymonds’ run.
McClymonds gave Tech its best shot, but it couldn’t rattle the battle-tested bulldogs.
McClymonds senior guard Devon Mack scored 10 and Brandon Davis scored eight. The Warriors played a gritty, fundamentally sound style that, like Oakland Tech, involved quick passes, smart shots and tenacious defense.
However, McClymonds showed there’s still room for improvement. Second-year Mack coach Barry Bell, an alum who played on the 2008 state championship-winners, rued his team’s inability to make one of the easiest shots in basketball.
“They made free throws and we didn’t,” Bell said after McClymonds missed 12 free throws. “They played a great game. That’s why they’re number one (in the section).”
Oakland Tech improved to 16-4, 4-0 and will travel to play rival Oakland on Wednesday.
McClymonds dropped to 16-4, 2-2.
No. 4 Archbishop Mitty 57, No. 8 St. Ignatius 44
Mitty bounced back from an overtime loss at home to Riordan with a victory on the road over St. Ignatius in West Catholic Athletic League play.
Caeden Hutcherson and Nathan d’Abreu Noronha each scored 17 points and Tyler Jones added 13 points to lead Mitty.
SI got 11 points from Marcus Bast and nine points from Raymond Whitley.
Mitty improved to 11-5, 5-1. SI is 13-3, 4-2.
No. 5 San Ramon Valley 68, Amador Valley 50
San Ramon Valley extended its winning streak to 14 games as the Wolves beat host Amador Valley in East Bay Athletic League play.
Playing without starting guard Jack Moxley, who injured a knee in a game on Tuesday, San Ramon Valley outscored Amador Valley 24-14 in the third period to stretch a three-point halftime advantage to 13.
Mosley, a team captain, could be out about a month, SRV coach Brian Botteen said.
Luke Isaak (22 points), Seamus Deely (13 points) and Elliot Conley (10 points) led the Wolves on Friday.
Amador Valley got 13 points from Cade Krueger, 12 points from Nate Jetter and 10 points from Kasen Krueger.
SRV improved to 18-3, 4-0. Amador Valley slipped to 15-6, 0-4.
No. 11 Campolindo 52, Acalanes 51
Sometimes records don’t matter when rivalries meet, as this Diablo Athletic League game showed.
Campolindo entered its home matchup against Acalanes trying to keep pace with the other DAL contenders. Acalanes was aiming to end a six-game skid while sending its rival to a humbling defeat.
The game was tight all the way.
Acalanes led by five after the first quarter. Campo evened the score at halftime. Acalanes led by one through three quarters. But Campo survived in the end.
Dylan Mansour led Campo with 15 points and Gavin Rendle finished with 14 points. The Cougars also got eight points each from Luke Devine and Tim Smith as they improved to 16-4, 5-1.
Acalanes fell to 6-14, 1-5.
No. 12 Serra 72, Valley Christian 55
Andrew McDowell and Ryan Pettis each scored 18 points and Alex Naber added 15 points to lead Serra to a victory on the road over Valley Christian in WCAL play.
The Padres led 32-24 at halftime and extended the margin to 13 points through three quarters.
Diego Martinez and Tzahari Trevino had 13 points apiece and Justin Hampton added 10 points for Valley Christian, which dropped to 10-7, 1-5.
Serra is 12-4, 4-2.
No. 19 Ygnacio Valley 66, No. 14 Clayton Valley 39
Ygnacio Valley, playing at home, led Clayton Valley by two points at halftime. By the time the fourth quarter started, YV had stretched its advantage to 25.
The Wolves outscored Clayton Valley 32-9 in the third period as they remained undefeated in the Diablo Athletic League while sending the visitors to their first league defeat.
Antonio Kellogg Jr. finished with 21 points and Loyal Morris and Jalan Cody added 14 points each to lead YV, which improved to 16-5, 7-0.
Chase Robertson scored 18 points and Vince Ellis chipped in with 14 points for Clayton Valley, which fell to 14-6, 5-1.
No. 20 Liberty 76, Pittsburg 69
With first place in the Bay Valley Athletic League on the line, Liberty staged a wild second-half comeback to turn back visiting Pittsburg as Jon Heinz won his 250th game as the Brentwood school’s coach.
Gavin Cook Whisenton scored 23 points, Cameron Johnson added 16 points, Andrew Vixon had 15 points and freshman point guard Jaiden Miller chipped in with 13 points to lead Liberty.
Pittsburg led 39-24 at halftime but was outscored 52-30 in the second half.
Liberty improved to 17-4, 4-0. Pittsburg dropped to 15-5, 3-1.
Branham 60, Oak Grove 46
Wyatt Sparling had 20 points, Dasan Poston finished with 12 points and Cayden Tanger scored 10 points to lead Branham past visiting Oak Grove in Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division play.
Jaden Sweeney had 26 points and Kenneth Vo added 10 points for Oak Grove.
Branham improved to 16-1, 5-0. Oak Grove dropped to 7-8, 2-4.
Girls basketball
No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 80, No. 13 St. Ignatius 36
Elana Weisman scored 18 points and McKenna Woliczko finished with 15 points as Mitty overpowered visiting St. Ignatius in WCAL play.
Mitty also got 13 points from Emma Cook, 11 points from Princess Mendoza and 10 points from Belle Bramer as the Monarchs improved to 16-0, 5-0.
SI is 11-4, 3-2.
No. 9 Los Gatos 52, Monta Vista 37
Nicole Steiner scored 20 points and 20 rebounds for Los Gatos as the Wildcats defeated Monta Vista in the Peninsula Athletic League De Anza play.
Los Gatos improved to 15-2 and stayed a perfect 5-0 in league. Monta Vista dropped to 12-3 and 4-1. Steiner’s teammate Ashley Childers also had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Monta Vista was led by Vivian Ong and Carolyn Ryan, who each scored nine points for the Cupertino school.
No. 5 Acalanes 74, Campolindo 21
Acalanes steamrolled its Moraga opponent using a balanced scoring effort, with four different players getting into double-figures for the Dons (16-4, 6-0) in a Diablo Athletic League blowout.
KK Lacanlale led the team with 23 points, while fellow juniors Natalie Frechman and Dulci Vail put in 17 and 15 points respectively. Cameron Thornton scored 10 points against Campolindo (11-9, 2-4).
Acalanes is one of three undefeated teams atop the DAL standings with Mt. Diablo and Miramonte.
No. 6 Piedmont 53, Alameda 50
Shakila Zuberi nailed the go-ahead 3-pointer as Piedmont got contributions from up and down the lineup to help the Highlanders (12-3, 2-0) slip past Alameda in WACC Foothill play.
Natalia Martinez, a McDonald’s All-American nominee, scored 13 points, while Sam Smith also scored 13 points and made four 3-pointers. Lindsey Wirgler put in 11 points, and Zuberi scored 11 too while making three 3-pointers.
Julianna Johnson was a machine at the free-throw line for Alameda, scoring 24 points while making all 10 of her free throws. Desiree Shoblo also scored 12 points for Alameda (13-4, 1-1).
No. 8 Pinewood 67, Notre Dame-Belmont 27
Nine players scored for Pinewood in its West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division victory over Notre Dame, with junior guard Jolyn Ding scoring a team-high 15 points.
Katherine Garr was second on the team with 13 points, and senior Alex Facelo joined her in double-figures with 10 points as Pinewood improved to 10-3, 3-0.
Doc Scheppler and the team’s next game will be against St. Mary’s-Stockton on Saturday morning, which has arguably the best player in NorCal in Texas commit Jordan Lee.
No. 10 Branham 56, Leland 41
Quinn Godfrey was unstoppable as a scorer for Branham as the Bruins rolled past Leland in Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division play. The 6-foot-5 post player scored a game-high 24 points.
Teammate Gina Shim provided some scoring help too, putting in 15 points for Branham (15-1, 4-0), which has now won 11 in a row.
Audri Wilkinson was a one-player offense for Leland, scoring 22 points for the Chargers (9-7, 0-4).
Mt. Diablo 66, College Park 44
Makayla Powell recorded her 10th double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds, as Mt. Diablo improved to 18-3 and 7-0 in the DAL.
Natalie Dance also made five 3-pointers as part of a 21-point night, and also grabbed four steals. Sharpshooter Myka Gutierrez also made four 3-pointers and had a couple of steals.
Mt. Diablo coach Ronnie McGee said Stephanie Zuniga, Jorena Olivar and Nylea Pete all played phenomenal defense. College Park dropped to 12-9, 3-4.
“I am extremely proud of how hard this team works and the commitment they make for the success of the team,” McGee told the Bay Area News Group.
Source: www.mercurynews.com