By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
PLEASANTON, Calif. - Taylor Brewster made the shot, but Drew McAllister and Brian Barbour did the dirty work that keyed a gritty 53-52 victory for Monte Vista (Danville) at Amador Valley (Pleasanton) Friday night.
With his team down 52-50, McAllister, a burley, strong 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior forward who has committed to USC on a football scholarship, pulled the ball from a wild scramble near the foul line and fed Brewster, who hesitated but with the shot clock winding down swished a 20-footer from the right wing with 12.2 seconds remaining.
It was Monte Vista's first lead of the second half and helped the North Coast Section's seven-ranked team and defending Division I champion to improve to 14-4 overall, 4-0 in East Bay Athletic League play. Tenth-ranked Amador Valley dropped to 12-6 and 2-2.
"It was time for a big shot and I'm just glad I'm the one who could deliver it," said Brewster, a 5-8 junior point guard who transferred from De La Salle (Concord) after his sophomore season. "I would have never got the chance if Drew doesn't dig that ball out."
Said McAllister, who finished with a team-high 13 points and 12 rebounds: "The ball was free so I just went after it. I saw Taylor open and I knew he would knock it down."
Frankly, so did Brewster, the only other Monte Vista player in doubles figures with 11.
"As soon as it left my hand I knew it was in," he said.
Amador Valley, which got a game-high 18 points off the bench from Mike Vanderhorst, had a chance to win it but 6-11 senior post Kevin Laue missed the front end of a one-and-one with 3.8 seconds left.
That's when Barbour, a 5-10 guard, came to the rescue as he pulled down the long rebound under heavy duress then ran out the clock.
The 165-pound Barbour is a stick compared to Monte Vista bruisers McAllister, Cam Fenley (6-6, 215), Zach Ertz (6-5, 210) and Jeff Allen (6-5, 200). The talented junior who finished with seven points and made three key free throws down was the last player on the floor likely to pick off such a key rebound.
"We're a big strong team and we play real physical so you can't be weak, especially with the game on the line," Barbour said. "Every day at practice is a war and this game was no different. The rebound went long and I had to get it."
Vanderhorst had helped put Amador Valley in control by drilling three straight three-pointers and scoring 15 points in a wild second quarter that featured 47 points.
It was the second straight disheartening loss for the Dons, who lost 48-46 at Granada-Livermore on Wednesday when they made just 11 of 33 free throws.
"It's tough because we were in control most of the way," Vanderhorst said. "We were really in the flow in the second quarter and making the extra pass. But we just didn't execute in the fourth quarter."
The Dons managed just five points in the final stanza and took a 50-45 lead following a driving layup and free throw by Jeremy Liu. But they scored just two points the final 6:30.
Monte Vista clawed back in on two free throws from Barbour and a baseline jumper from Allen, to tie the score at 50-50 with 4:46 left.
Scottie David (13 points) made a pretty baseline move and contested layup with 2:18 to give Amador Valley its last lead 52-50.
Both teams missed several chances before McAllister pulled out the ball and Brewster made his third three-pointer of the game.
"That is by far the biggest shot I've ever made," Brewster said of his go-ahead bucket.
Said Barbour: "Taylor is a great player and a great shooter. He's the guy we wanted shooting the ball."
The game figured to be decided down low with the battle of Fenley against Laue. Instead, both were saddled by foul trouble throughout. Both had three fouls early in the second quarter and four by the middle of the third.
With Laue, an absolute defensive game-changer, out the Mustangs were able to control the paint. All but five of their 20 buckets were outside the paint and they dominated the offensive boards when Laue was out.
Laue had just four points in 18 minutes of play, but he also had 10 blocks. Fenley never really got on track and had seven points in 17 minutes.
"That kid (Laue) is really long and makes things tough down low," McAllister said.
With Laue out, the Dons survived thanks to the red hot hand of Vanderhorst who drilled three straight three-pointers and a long two-pointer in the second quarter to help the Dons get up 27-22.
McAllister was dominating the offensive glass and his second rebound bucket closed the gap to 31-29, but Vanderhorst, a 6-5 senior, responded with a turnaround jumper with 38.0 seconds left in the half, making it 33-29.
But Ertz, a tight end on the football team who has committed to Stanford, scored a lay-up and after Vanderhorst missed his first shot of the second quarter, McAllister made two free throws with 0.3 seconds left, tying the score at 33-33 at halftime.
"It seemed like we should have been up at halftime," Vanderhorst said.
When the Dons started the second half on a 9-2 run keyed by three buckets from David, Monte Vista seemed in trouble. But they rattled off six straight on a putback by Ertz, a layup from McAllister and a layup by Tyerelle Phillips. After the teams exchanged buckets, Vanderhorst drilled his fourth three-pointer of the game giving Amador Valley a 47-43 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
"They were really making some tough shots," McAllister said. "But we're a pretty tough team. We don't always play pretty but we fight to the end."
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
EBAL BOYS BASKETBALL
MONTE VISTA 53, AMADOR VALLEY 52
Monte Vista 10 23 10 10 - 53
Amador Valley 9 24 14 5 - 52
MONTE VISTA (14-4, 4-0): Fenley 2 3-7 7, Allen 3 0-0 6, McAllister 5 3-3 13, Barbour 2 3-4 7, Brewster 4 0-0 11, Ertz 3 1-4 7, Phillips 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 10-21 53.
AMADOR VALLEY (12-6, 2-2): Jullerat 1 0-0 3, Laue 1 2-3 4, David 6 0-0 13, Liu 3 3-4 9, Vanderhorst 6 2-2 18, Patmont 1 2-3 5. Totals 18 9-14 52.
3-point goals: Brewster 3, Jullerat, David, Vanderhorst 4, Patmont.