Prep basketball: O’Dowd, Willow Glen boys clinch league championships
Boys basketball
No. 19 Bishop O’Dowd 65, Berkeley 56
GJ Hill-Thomas scored 17 points and Naas Griffin tallied 16 for the Dragons, who clinched the West Alameda County Conference Foothill title on Friday night. Bishop O’Dowd (19-7, 8-2) zoomed to an 18-5 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Kaiden Gibbs contributed 11 points for the home team. Alameda finished one game behind O’Dowd in the WACC standings. Visiting Berkeley (15-11, 5-5) also placed three players in double figures, led by Donte Joseph with 22 points. Kavi Jivan and Noah Miller each had 11 points for the Yellowjackets.
No. 20 Menlo-Atherton 61, Half Moon Bay 56
The visiting Bears trailed by 11 points early in the second period and 41-34 in the third quarter before going on a 12-3 run to take their first lead at 46-44 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Jacob Sutton scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half. He had four 3-pointers in the comeback win. Jerry Williams contributed 11 points and Luca Auer added 10. Menlo-Atherton had already clinched the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division title coming into the game, so this was more of a tuneup for the Central Coast Section playoffs that begin next week. M-A is 21-3, 12-0. Half Moon Bay ends the regular season at 14-10 overall and 8-4 in league play. Gio Garduno-Martin scored 19 points for the Cougars. Levi Meighan knocked down 14 points and Owen Perez had 10.
Willow Glen 62, Pioneer 43
The Rams clinched their first league title in 17 years, out-scoring Pioneer 29-11 in the second half to break open a tight 33-32 contest at halftime. The BVAL Mt. Hamilton champions began the second half with a 19-4 run to blow the game open. Brayden Gumabo scored 19 points to lead the Rams. Wyatt Ahlbrand had 14 points and Caden Morefield added 11. The Rams are 20-2, 10-1 with one regular season game remaining. Pioneer ends the regular season at 13-11, 3-9.
No. 2 Archbishop Riordan 61, Valley Christian 41
Valley Christian gave Riordan a tight game through the first half and deep into the third quarter, but the Crusaders went on a 13-0 run to start the final period to win at home in West Catholic Athletic League play. Andrew Hilman led Riordan with 25 points, and Cole White scored 10 of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. Bryant Clark had 15 points for Valley Christian (13-10, 5-8). Riordan is 21-1, 12-0. The Crusaders led 25-24 at halftime and 40-34 after three periods.
Girls basketball
Monta Vista 45, No. 19 Los Gatos 35
The Matadors led at the end of each period en route to the upset victory on their home floor. Monta Vista (15-8, 7-4 SCVAL De Anza) outscored Los Gatos 28-20 over the second and third quarters. The Matadors’ Kaylee Kwok led all scorers with 18 points. Allie Rummelhoff had 15 for Monta Vista. Despite the defeat, the Wildcats (17-6, 9-2) and Los Altos (20-4, 10-2) are the only teams that still have a chance to win the De Anza Division. Los Gatos, which has already beat Los Altos twice this season, hosts Mountain View on Monday. The Wildcats were led in scoring against Monta Vista by Rita Zhou and Jenna Webb, each with 11 points.
No. 17 Half Moon Bay 52, No. 18 Menlo-Atherton 44
The host Cougars opened the fourth quarter with a 14-2 run to erase a 37-30 deficit at the end of three periods. Half Moon Bay’s victory gave it a one-game lead over M-A in the tightly-contested PAL Bay Division. The Cougars are 10-2 in league play and 18-5 overall. Menlo-Atherton is 9-3 and 18-5. Both teams have one game remaining. Half Moon Bay will go into the final game in the driver’s seat, having beat the Bears twice this season. Senior guard Xochitl Nieves led the Cougars with 20 points, 13 of those coming in the fourth quarter when HMB outscored M-A 22-7. Zoey Lemoge had 16 for the Cougars. Lita Fakapelea scored 14 points for Menlo-Atherton. Molly Gray added nine points.
Del Mar 30, Live Oak 23
The Dons completed a perfect 10-0 season in BVAL Almaden Valley play by winning a defensive struggle against Live Oak. Del Mar, 19-5 overall, has won 11 straight since losing five in a row in late December and early January. Live Oak completed the regular season at 17-7 overall and 7-3 in league play.
Heritage 52, Pittsburg 40
The Patriots built a 37-21 lead at the end of three periods while coasting past Pittsburg and clinching the Bay Valley Athletic League championship. It was the third time in four years Heritage has won the BVAL title under coach Mark Hurtado. The Patriots completed the regular season with a perfect 12-0 record in league. They are 20-6 overall. Senior Olachi Nwosu had 14 points and freshman Ogechi Nwosu contributed 12. Pittsburg (18-8, 10-2) was led in scoring by Yariah Aridanya with 13 points. The North Coast Section will announce its playoff seeding on Sunday. Heritage and Pittsburg are both Division I schools.
Redwood Christian 30, California School for the Deaf 28
Redwood Christian ended CSD’s 10-game win streak with the impressive road win. CSD had already captured the Bay Counties League General Division crown, finishing the regular season at 23-4 overall and 13-1 in league. Redwood Christian is 15-9 and 12-2. Both teams will now wait for Sunday’s NCS playoff draw. Kelitha Babanjila and Kayla Keller each had eight points for Redwood Christian. Freshman Nori Dania had 10 rebounds for the winning team.