Boys basketball
Salesian 69, Millennium-Arizona 68
On a team defined by its unselfishness and commitment to defense, it was only fitting that Salesian’s 21st victory this season ended with the three Pride players converging to get the game-clinching steal.
Alvin Loving IV, De’Undrae Perteete and Amani Johnson combined to force the turnover as Salesian improved to 21-1.
Salesian beats Millennium 69-68. Suffocating defense, of course, is what secures the W for the Pride. pic.twitter.com/Rk9ElUczVc
— Joseph Dycus (@joseph_dycus) January 21, 2024
Salesian actually trailed in the fourth quarter, but back-to-back three-pointers by Perteete (12 points) helped the Pride stay in the game.
Guards Elias Obenyah (14 points) and 10-point scorer Zion Yeargin joined him in double figures. Senior guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor had a phenomenal all-around game, scoring 12 points, dishing out four assists and grabbing five steals.
Los Gatos 50, Palo Alto 45
In a matchup of the top two teams in the SCVAL De Anza Division, Los Gatos outlasted Palo Alto to improve to 15-3 and 6-0 in league play. Nolan Koch scored a game-high 19 points to lead Los Gatos to its eighth straight victory.
Scotty Brennan, the son of former San Jose State coach Brent Brennan, scored nine points and had nine rebounds.
Palo Alto, which dropped to 13-5 and 4-2 in the PAL, saw Jorell Clark score 14 points and Riley Yuen score 12 for the Vikings.
Archbishop Riordan 69, Centennial-Corona 58
In a game with an eerily similar start to last week’s defeat to Salesian, one where Archbishop Riordan scored the first 10 points of the game before collapsing over the next three quarters, the Crusaders got out to a quick eight-point lead on Centennial-Corona.
So when the SoCal team rallied and took the lead later in the first quarter, another Crusader collapse appeared imminent.
But led by Zion Sensley’s 24 points, Riordan used a 14-1 run in the third quarter to pull away from the Huskies and win its third consecutive game.
Jordy McKenzie scored 14 points, and Andrew Hilman scored 10 for Riordan. Carter Bryant scored 15 points for Centennial and Eric Feeney also chipped in 15 points.
Bishop O’Dowd 59, St. Patrick-St. Vincent 52
Leo Chapman scored 20 points at the Crush in the Valley to lead Bishop O’Dowd to its second straight victory. Samuel Chavarin scored 15 points and had six rebounds to complement Chapman as Bishop O’Dowd improved to 12-6.
SPSV got 21 points and eight rebounds out of Deuce Walker, and Christian Trusclair scored 11 points and had three rebounds.
Prolific Prep 83, Dream City Christian 79
Fans who went to Contra Costa College hoping for a show did not leave disappointed, with Prolific Prep guard Zoom Diallo living up to his name by scoring 20 second-half points on a wide variety of acrobatic layups and quick shots.
Aiden Sherrell scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a fast-paced game. Highly touted prospects A.J. Dybantsa and Tyran Stokes each made a number of impressive plays as well. Dybantsa and Stokes each scored 10.
Diallo is committed to Washington, while Dybantsa and Stokes are the top recruiting prospects in the junior and sophomore classes respectively.
Girls basketball
Piedmont 46, Lincoln-Stockton 43
Piedmont coach Bryan Gardere makes a point to player Natalia Martinez during a timeout (Joseph Dycus/Bay Area News Group)
Bryan Gardere watched a familiar script unfold at the Sabrina Ionescu Showcase. Piedmont jumped out to a 20-10 halftime lead, saw it dwindle to nothing after Piedmont’s six-player roster ran out of gas, and then relied on some timely shot-making to pull out the victory.
“We compete and we try,” coach Bryan Gardere said. “But we were playing a back-to-back, with Alameda, so there is a bit of a carryover.”
Natalia Martinez led the Highlanders with 24 points, the kind of high-scoring game Piedmont has come to expect from its McDonald’s All-American nominee.
“It’s not easy for me to say she’s in the top five (of players I’ve coached), because I’ve coached so many good ones,” Gardere said, before adding, “But she’s put herself in the conversation.”
Piedmont also got big-time buckets from Kat Mellian, Samantha Smith, Lindsey Wirgler and Shakila Zuberi, who had made the game-winning shot vs. Alameda the night before.
No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 82, University-San Francisco 20
Archbishop Mitty, the No. 1 team in the country, rolled to another overwhelming victory on Saturday afternoon.
Belle Bramer led Mitty with 20 points on 10 made field goals, and Morgan Cheli had 12 points.
Sophomore sensation McKenna Woliczko scored all eight of her points in the first quarter, while Emma Weisman and Tee McCarthy each scored nine points apiece.
Archbishop Mitty improved to 16-0.
Salesian 65, Redwood 45
Salesian got 34 points from Ayla Rege, and 10 points, eight steals and five assists from steady point guard Madalyn Kanazawa as Salesian routed Redwood at the Sabrina Ionescu Showcase. The Pride outscored Redwood 36-19 in the middle two quarters to pull away.
Janiya Sawyer added 10 points and seven rebounds, and Jamia Sawyer had eight points and five rebounds as Salesian improved to 12-8.
St. Mary’s Stockton 46, Pinewood 45
Pinewood appeared headed for overtime with one of the NorCal’s premier programs, but St. Mary’s-Stockton’s Texas-bound senior had other ideas.
Jordan Lee stole the ball with only a few seconds left and drew the foul. She knocked down the free throw to send Pinewood (10-4) home as losers.
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Carondelet 73, St. Patrick-St. Vincent 48
With Sabrina Ionescu in the crowd and cheering on her old high school coach Kelly Sopak, Carondelet took care of business in a rout of St. Patrick-St. Vincent.
Sophia Ross led the Cougars with 15 points, while fellow sophomore Layla Dixon scored 13 points.
Freshman forward Celeste Alvarez scored 10 while wearing Ionescu’s No. 20 at the showcase, while senior guard Keshia Vitalicio did her best impression of the WNBA superstar by scoring 11 while running the show at point guard.
Marissa Elizalde led SPSV (14-6) with 14 points. Carondelet improved to 19-2.
Monta Vista 68, Homestead 39
Monta Vista rebounded from its loss to Los Gatos with a resounding victory over Homestead in league play. Allie Rummelhoff and Carolyn Ruan each scored 14 points. Vivian Ong threw in 11 points, and Clara Fan put in 10 points.
Monta Vista improved to 13-3 and 5-1 in league play. Hope Yin led Homestead with seven points. Homestead dropped to 5-12 and 1-4 in league play.
