HAYWARD — Clayton Valley Charter’s lead was down to two points as the third quarter ended Tuesday night in the first round of the North Coast Section Division I playoffs.
A major upset seemed possible.
But then Elijah Perryman sliced through the lane for a layup, drew a foul and made the free throw.
If momentum wasn’t restored on that possession for the top-seeded visitors, it was moments later when 16th-seeded Mt. Eden was whistled for a technical foul on the court and another T when coach Aaron O’Brien punched his chair in response to the first call.
Jake King buried all four technical-foul free throws as defending champion Clayton Valley pulled away for a 56-40 victory that moved the Ugly Eagles into the second round Friday night at home against eight-seeded San Leandro, a winner over Freedom.
Clayton Valley was on the road Tuesday because of an NCS bylaw that scratches heads year after year after year. League champions are allowed to host in the first round — no matter the seeding — if the opponent did not finish first in its league. Mt. Eden was a league champ. Clayton Valley tied Campolindo for first but lost the league tiebreaker.
So there the Ugly Eagles were midway through the second half Tuesday, doing all they could to — as they say at playoff time — survive and advance.
When things got tense, Clayton Valley kept its cool.
“We’re a young team, so I am always talking to them about keeping our composure and focusing on the task at hand,” coach Frank Allocco said. “I thought we did do a good job of that. There were some chippy situations tonight. That team was competing and they were playing with desperation, as they should. They did a great job, and we maintained our composure.”
Held to four points in the third quarter, Clayton Valley scored 21 in the fourth to improve to 23-4.
Mt. Eden finished 15-12.
King led Clayton Valley with 18 points, 11 in the first half, and four 3-pointers. Perryman scored nine of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, and James Moore added 12 points.
“We didn’t play that well tonight,” King said. “We tend to get big leads and then cut it short. But we responded and made sure we won the game.”
Clayton Valley sizzled early, charging to an 18-8 advantage after the first quarter and a 31-20 cushion at halftime.
But the game tightened after the break as Mt. Eden intensified its defense and got to the foul line.
The Monarchs made 7 of 8 free throws in the third period but were just 1 of 7 from the line in the final quarter. That included missing the front end of three one-and-ones.
Emanuel Hayden III had 16 points and David Mann finished with 10 for Mt. Eden.
Allocco said his team’s determination to get to the basket was the difference down the stretch after the Ugly Eagles made one 3-pointer and one foul shot in the third quarter.
“We’ve had stretches of the season where that does happen, where we almost play a little too unselfish and we don’t attack enough,” he said. “Our offensive is about attacking. We got back to that and had some success.”
Source: www.mercurynews.com