By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
Results of the NorCal Regional championship games played Saturday at Sacramento’s Arco Arena.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Division 1
McClymonds 50, De La Salle 37
For the second half of McClymond’s NorCal Regional Division 1 championship game against De La Salle, Warrior coach Dwight Nathaniel had a simple plan – get it to the big guys.
The “big guys” in the McClymond’s lineup would be dunk machine Damon Powell and dead-ball move wizard Frank Otis, who combined for 20 of McClymond’s final 27 points over the last quarter and a half to turn a 24-23 deficit into a 50-37 win over the Spartans.
Powell, 6-foot-5 junior forward, is a physical specimen who has dozens of spectacular alley-oop dunks this year. He added to that list in the fourth quarter, getting his first dunk with 6:42 left in the game to put the Warriors up 34-24 and another with 3:29 remaining to give Mack a 15-point lead, 42-27.
Meanwhile Otis was providing steady play in the paint, using an assortment of deadball moves to get layups or draw fouls. Otis finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Powell had 11 points and nine rebounds.
“De La Salle did a good job on the interior defense in the first half, but they got into foul trouble,” said Nathaniel. “So we wanted to get it into our big guys in the second half because we knew they would be tentative because they didn’t want to foul out.”
While Otis and Powell provided the scoring down the stretch, 6-0 junior guard William Cherry was a steadying influence throughout the game. In a low-scoring first half, Cherry had a slashing layup in the second quarter and hit a 3-point shot with 1:36 left in the half to put the Warriors within a point of the Spartans at 14-13.
Cherry then hit a 3-pointer to start the second half and added another to start the fourth quarter, finishing with 18 points on the night and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Jose Rivera had nine points for De La Salle, which finishes the season 28-4.
McClymonds, now 31-0, will make its second state championship game appearance, but Nathaniel says the team is not celebrating anything just yet.
“There’s no celebration yet,” he said. “We’ve got one more job to do.”
McClymonds 50, De La Salle 37
McClymonds 5 8 16 21 – 50
De La Salle 5 9 10 13 – 37
McClymonds – Hill 1 0-0 2, Cherry 6 3-4 18, Powell 7 3-6 11, Otis 5 2-9 12, Sims 3 0-0 7, Carroll 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-0 0, Jackson 0 0-0 0, Wiseman 0 0-0 0, Johnson 0 0-0 0.
De La Salle – Rivera 3 0-0 9, Thomas 1 0-0 2, Powers 2 0-0 6, McArthur 2 0-0 4, Smith 3 0-1 6, Stein 0 0-0 0, St. Jean 0 0-0 0, Payne 0 0-0 0, Levesque 1 0-0 2, Crawford 1 1-1 3, Estrada 0 0-0 0, Martellaro 1 0-0 2, Hardy 0 0-0 0, Morgan 1 0-0 2, Appel 0 1-2 1.''
Division 2
Mitty 76, Fairfield 56
It will be an all-Monarch CIF final at Arco Arena next week as Archbishop Mitty will get another shot at Mater Dei in the Division 2 finals.
The Mitty Monarchs downed Fairfield 76-56 in the NorCal Division 2 championship game at Arco Arena on Saturday behind the outside shooting of Collin Chiverton and the renewed exuberance of Drew Gordon.
While Chiverton was hitting four 3-point baskets and scoring 26 points, Gordon was dominating the paint with dunks, rebounds and blocked shots in just his second game back from a broken leg that kept him out the last two months of play.
Gordon finished with 20 points and nine rebounds and five blocks for the Monarchs in 22 minutes of play
Mitty lost to Mater Dei 69-64 in overtime in last year’s state finals. Mater Dei defeated Edison of Fresno 75-59 in Saturday’s SoCal Division 2 regional final.
Fairfield was not without its own highlights. James Lake tossed in 23 points while Tevin Hurd had 16. The Falcons also cut the lead down to 12 points at one point in the second half before Mitty caught fire and upped the lead back to 20.
Mitty jumped out to a 23-13 lead in the first quarter and stretched it to 45-23 by halftime. Chiverton had 12 points in the first half while Enoch Andoh was a force with 10 points. Gordon had 10 points in the half including a pair of dunks.
Mitty went on a 12-0 run at the start of the second quarter to turn a 10-point lead into a 22-point advantage, 35-13.
Fairfield rallied in the third period, outscoring Mitty 20-13 behind the play of Jame Lake, who had 10 points in the quarter including a dunk and a 3-point bucket.
Fairfield ends the season at 28-6 while Mitty moves to 32-1 on the season.
Mitty 76, Fairfield 56
Mitty 23 22 13 18 – 76
Fairfield 13 10 20 13 – 56
Mitty – Wey 1 2-2 5, Andoh 4 2-2 10, Chiverton 9 4-5 26, Adams 3 4-4 10, Colajaro 1 0-0 2, Scott 1 1-1 3, Gomatam 0 0-0 0, Gordon 9 2-3 20.
Fairfield – Welch 1 0-1 2, Lasley 0 2-2 2, Dickson 3 2-2 8, Hurtd 6 2-5 16, Lake 8 5-7 23, Bondurant 0 0-0 0, Flores 0 0-0 0, Carnell 2 0-0 5, Dawson 0 0-0 0, Thomas 0 0-0 0, Bakke 0 0-0 0, D. Bondurant 0 0-0 0.
Division 3
Sacramento 66, Sacred Heart Cathedral 49
It’s been a good week for the Sacramento Dragons.
In the same week that former Dragon star Kevin Johnson expressed interest in running for mayor of his hometown Sacramento, the Dragons proved themselves to be the best Division 3 team in Northern California with a 66-49 win over Sacred Heart Cathederal.
Dressed in their purple uniforms and playing at Sacramento’s Arco Arena, the Dragons looked very similar to the hometown NBA Kings, using a variety of dunks, fast break layups and aggressive rebounding to build a 19-3 lead over the Fighting Irish in the first quarter.
Chase Tapley, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, threw down the first dunk of the night, as well as the last, highlighting an 11-0 run that put the Dragons up 11-2 midway through the first. Tapley, who had eight points in the first quarter, finished the period with an assist to Travon Abraham on a fast break bucket that lengthened Sacramento’s lead to 19-3.
The Fighting Irish were able to make a game of it, however, with a solid second quarter led by Jerry Brown. After hitting a 3-point basket at the end of the first period, Brown had six more points in the second period to help Sacred Hearth Cathedral close the gap to nine points, 29-20, by halftime.
The Irish (21-13) got the lead down to seven points in the third quarter at 37-30, but that was as lose as it got. Sacramento closed the period with a 6-0 run capped by Tapley’s steal and layup. The Dragons then went on a 16-12 run, getting most of the points at the free throw line, to build the lead back to 17 points, 59-42.
Forced to foul, Sacred Heart Cathedral fell further behind until Tapley capped the scoring with a fast break dunk, 66-49.
Tapley led the Dragons with 16 points and had nine rebounds and five steals. Mike Henderson had 14 points while Bobby Evans had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Kyle Allen led the Dragons in rebounding with 12 boards to go with his 13 points.
Brown led the Fighting Irish with 15 points and eight rebounds. Teandre Hubbard added 11 points.
Sacramento outrebounded Sacred Heart Cathedral 47-31.
The NorCal title is the first in school history for the Dragons (30-3), who also reached the regional final in 2006, losing to St. Mary’s 37-35. Sacred Heart Cathedral is 0-2 in NorCal final games.
Sacramento 66, Sacred Heart Cathedral 49
Sacramento 19 10 14 23 - 66
SHC 6 14 10 19 - 49
Sacred Heart Cathedral - Bullard 0 0-0 0, Lai 1 1-2 3, Brown 6 1-2 15, Hubbard 5 2-4 11, Green 2 2-6 6, Cooper 4 1-2 9, Ford 1 1-2 3, Slocum 0 2 -4 2, Tuala 0 0-0 0, Ar. Cooper 0 0-0 0.
Sacramento - Henderson 2 10-12 14, Abraham 2 1-2 5, Avenant 0 0-0 0, Tapley 6 4-5 16, Evans 6 0-1 12, Pruitt 0 0-0 0, Allen 4 5-7 13, Garrett 1 2-2 4, Simpson 1 0-0 2.
Division 4
St. Mary's 82, Modesto Christian 70
While the Brew brothers, Will and Chris, starred as usual it was the play of the Lee brothers, Dominique and Demetrius, the team's overall balance, depth and a late 13-3 run that paved the way for the Panthers (33-1).
Dominique Lee had 20, Chris Brew 18, Will Brew 16 points and six assists and Demetrius Lee 10 to help offset the huge efforts of UCLA-bound Reeves Nelson (27 points, 17 rebounds) and Cal-bound guard D.J. Seeley (18 points, 10 rebounds) for Modesto Christian (29-5).
St. Mary's faces defending state champion Campbell Hall (West Hollywood) in the state finals. See story on Brew brothers.
Division 5
Branson 45, Lick-Wilmerding 28
The Bulls won their fourth straight NorCal Division 5 championship with a 45-28 win over Lick-Wilmerding at Folsom High School on Saturday.
Branson limited the Tigers to single-digit scoring in each quarter and held them to 26 percent shooting for the game.
Meanwhile the Bulls shot 51 percent including 5-for-12 from the 3-point arc. Oliver McNally had 16 points and seven rebounds for Branson while Kalome Akhile added eight points. Marcus Wells led Lick-Wilmerding (26-9) with 15 points.
Branson, which defeated Lick-Wilmerding 45-33 for the North Coast Section championship last week, advances to play Renaissance Academy, which defeated Price 55-52 in the Southern California Division 5 Regional, at next week's state finals at Arco Arena. The Bulls, 31-3, are the defending state champions.
Branson 45, Lick-Wilmerding 28
Branson 10 19 10 6 - 45
LW - 5 9 5 9 - 28
Branson - Akhile 4 0-1 8, Avins 0 0-0 0, Ritter 1 0-0 3, McNally 7 2-3 16, McGuigan 3 0-1 8, John 2 0-0 6, Thomas 0 0-0 0, Ryan 0 0-0 0, Guamond 0 0-0 0, Boon 0 0-0 0, Elijah 2 0-0 4, Stutts 0 0-0 0, Killups 0 0-0 0.
Lick-Wilmerding - Manansala 1 1-2 3, Cohn 0 2-2 2, Parkin 0 0-0 0, Herstein 1 0-0 2, Wells 5 3-4 15, Ahn 2 0-0 4, Afflick 0 0-0 0, Churnin 0 0-2 0, Eng 0 0-0 0, Wittlin 0 0-0 0, Gentile 0 0-0 0, Gross 0 2-2 2, Watson 0 0-0 0.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Division I
Berkeley 72, Kennedy 53
A 22-1 first-quarter run by the Berkeley Yellowjackets proved to be too much for the Knnedy Cougars to overcome in the NorCal Division 1 Final on Saturday morning at Arco Arena.
After hitting a free throw to make the score 2-1 in the first two minutes of the game, the Cougars went without a point until the 7:53 mark of the second quarter.
Meanwhile the Yellowjackets were holding layup drills at the other end of the court. Jazmine Perkins, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, scored three times on coast-to-coast layups during the final four minutes of the quarter. She also had an assist to Camila Rosen for another layup and when she hit a 15-footer in the final seconds, Berkeley held a 22-1 lead.
Kennedy played catch-up the rest of the night and was able to slowly whittle down the Yellowjacket lead. The Cougars were able to slow down Perkins and Rosen on the fast break on defense and the shots that rimmed out in the first quarter began to fall for the offense.
Kennedy was able to cut the Berkeley lead to 46-32 by the end of the third quarter. An 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter made it a 54-43 game. The two teams traded baskets until Leslie Leong hit a 3-pointer to put the Berkeley lead into single digits at 62-53.
However Berkeley shot free throws the rest of the way and Perkins hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to boost the final margin close to 20.
Perkins finished with 28 points while Rosen had 18 and Airica Warren scored 16. Perkins also had 12 rebounds while Warren had eight rebounds and three blokcs.
Kirsten Shimizu led three Kennedy players in double figures with 14 points. Melody Khlok had 13 and Deja Kinsey added 11.
Berkeley outrebounded Kennedy 43-28 and blocked eight shots to none for Kennedy.
Berkeley has won nine NorCal titles, the most of any school in the tournament’s 26-year history. Kennedy is 1-1 in NorCal title games.
Berkeley, 29-3, moves on to the CIF Division 1 finals next week at Arco Arena while Kennedy ends its season with a 27-8 record.
Berkeley 72, Kennedy 53
Berkeley 22 9 15 26 - 72
Kennedy 1 11 20 21 - 53
Berkeley - Rosen 7 4-4 18, Culbertson 3 0-0 6, Perkins 11 4-6 28, Warren 6 4-6 16, Hamaski 0 2-2 2, Wallace 0 2-2 2, Morgan 0 0-0 0, Nipitnorasate, 0 0-0 0.
Kennedy - Ishii 2 1-2 5, Kinsey 4 3-6 11, Khlok 5 3-6 13, Matsouka 0 2-2 2, Leong 2 2-2 8, Grant 0 0-0 0, Shimizu 4 4-4 14, Nakamura 0 0-0 0.
Division 2
Mitty 51, St. Francis 41
The Mitty Monarchs didn’t win a Central Coast Section championship this year for the first time in seven seasons, but they earned a berth in the state finals Saturday at Arco Arena with a 51-41 win over St. Francis in the Division 2 NorCal Regional.
The Monarchs lost to Wilcox last week in the CCS finals, marking the first time Mitty has failed to win a CCS title since 2001. It looked like Mitty might fall again in Saturday’s NorCal final, but the Monarchs scored the final 14 points of the game and limited the Troubadors to just two points in the final period for the win.
“The players on this team understand that this is a storied program and they take a lot of pride in putting on
their uniform,” said Mitty coach Sue Phillips. “We were very disappointed in our loss last week and we took that challenge to heart.”
The Monarchs got the job done with defense down the stretch. For the first three quarters, St. Francis got a layup in its set offense seemingly whenever it needed one. With the ballhandler working off a high-post screen, the Troubadors turned a 25-21 first-half deficit into a 39-34 lead in the third period.
Brittney Wong was the biggest thorn for the Monarchs. She had 10 points in the third including a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws with six seconds left in the period.
Hannah Stephens got Mitty back into the game in the fourth. She had a driving layup and a free-throw for a three-point play. She added another layup to cut St. Francis’ lead to two points, 41-39.
Courtney Wilson tied the game at 41-41 with a putback on a missed layup and Iman Scott had a turnaround jumper from five feet out to give the Monarchs a lead they never relinquished. Ashley Watson hit a field goal and four free throws down the stretch to lengthen Mitty’s final winning margin.
“We just started capitalizing on our opportunities,” said Phillips in describing her team’s fourth quarter turnaround. “We changed defenses and we controlled the boards in the fourth quarter. When we hit shots and don’t turn the ball over, we’re a pretty good team.”
Stephens led the Monarchs with 16 points while Watson had 11. Lindsay Leo grabbed 10 rebounds and had four blocked shots. The Monarchs dominated the boards, grabbing 52 rebounds to just 32 for the Troubadors.
Wong was the only player in double figures for St. Francis with 17 points.
Mitty, 21-11, advances to its eighth state final in 15 years. St. Francis finishes the season 28-6.
Mitty 51, St. Francis 41
Mitty 12 13 9 17 – 51
St. Francis 10 12 17 2 – 41
Mitty – Stephens 6 3-5 16, James 1 1-4 4, Leo 3 1-1 7, Watson 2 6-8 11, Gordon 2 0-0 4, Scott 2 0-0 4, Wilson 1 0-0 2, Castillo 0 2-2 2, Ricketts 1 0-0 2, K. Rickets 0 0-0 0.
St. Francis – Wong 6 2-2 17, Peterson 1 0-0 2, Blanchette 1 1-4 3, Gregersen 1 0-2 2, Duncan 3 2-2 8, Leon 0 0-0 0, Flores 0 0-0 0, Anderson 0 4-6 4, Mar 2 1-3 5.
Division 3
Sacred Heart Cathedral 46, St. Mary’s 45
After the season she has endured, it was only fitting that Tierra Rogers would make the winning shot for Sacred Heart Cathedral in its 46-45 win over St. Mary’s in the NorCal Division 2 Regional finals at Arco Arena on Saturday.
Rogers, whose father was murdered outside of a Fighting Irish game earlier in the season, also suffered a painful leg injury in a NorCal semifinal game on Thursday. Yet she hit the winning shot with seven seconds remaining to give the Fighting Irish, who are ranked No. 1 in the country, the win over the unbeaten Rams.
“She left the gym on Thursday on crutches and she wasn’t walking very good yesterday,” said Sacred Heart coach Brian Harrison. “But I’ll take Tierra at 75 percent any day.”
St. Mary’s held the lead the entire second half after going on a 13-2 run that broke a 24-24 tie in the third period. Behind the play of Jazmine Jackson, however, the Fighting Irish fought their way back into the game and took a 44-43 lead on a steal and a layup by Ki-Shawna Moore with 3:13 remaining.
Chelsea Gray got the lead back for the Rams on a drive to the basket with 1:13, setting up a thrilling final minute for two teams ranked among the top 10 in the country.
Sacred Heart missed a potential go-ahead shot and Cortney French got the rebound for St. Mary’s. Moore stole the ball at halfcourt for the Irish, but was called for a charge on her way to the basket with 30 seconds remaining.
A turnover by the Rams gave Sacred Heart Cathedral possession at midcourt with 17 seconds remaining. That left time for one last play.
“We wanted to spread Jazmine out wide and hopefully open things up so Tierra could flash over the middle,” said Harrigan. “We didn’t play our best game tonight, but that might have been the only play we ran correctly all night long.”
Moore got the ball at the top of the key and found Rogers five feet from the basket. Her shot fell into the basket with seven seconds remaining, but St. Mary’s had one last chance to regain the lead.
With 3.8 seconds left, Gray threw a long pass to Afure Jemerigbe at halfcourt. The sophomore guard dribbled to the right side of the key and put up a shot at the buzzer, but the shot hit the side of the rim and the Irish rebounded to secure the win.
Jackson led the Fighting Irish with 17 points and sparked the fourth-quarter comeback that saw Sacred Heart Cathedral overcome a 13-point deficit.
“Jazmine willed us to victory,” said Harrigan. “She wasn’t going to let our season end tonight.”
Jackson had eight points in the final quarter, six on free throws, and also finished with a team-high eight rebounds.
Moore and Rogers each had 12 points with Moore getting seven steals and Rogers grabbing six rebounds.
Jemerigbe led the Rams with 14 points while Gray had 12.
The Rams controlled the first half thanks to the athleticism of Jemerigbe and Gray. Their ability to take their Irish defender off the dribble paved the way to the 14-point lead in the second half.
“They couldn’t stop Chelsea,” said St. Mary’s coach Tom Gonsalves. “Our game plan was to beat them off the dribble so we didn’t feel that we needed to shoot 3-pointers or press on defense.”
However an inability to hang on to the ball resulted in 28 turnovers with the Fighting Irish collecting 15 steals.
“We lost our concentration in the second half,” said Gonsalves.
The loss ended an undefeated campaign for the Rams, who were ranked No. 5 in the country by MaxPreps entering the contest and finish the year with a 33-1 record.
Sacred Heart Cathedral, the No. 1 team in the country by ever major poll including MaxPreps, ups its record to 32-0 and advances to play Magnolia of Anaheim, which upset top-seeded Muir of Pasadena 40-39 in the SoCal Division 3 Regional final.
Sacred Heart Cathedral 46, St. Mary’s 45
SCH 7 7 12 20 – 46
St. Mary’s 5 15 15 10 – 45
Sacred Heart Cathedral – Moor 5 2-3 12, Beard 1 0-0 2, Jackson 0 0-0 0, Rogers 6 0-1 12, Boggs 1 0-0 3, Jackson 3 10-11 17, Koike 0 0-0 0, Brooks 0 0-0 0.
St. Mary’s – French 1 1-2 3, Garcia 1 2-2 4, Moreno 3 2-4 8, Gray 5 2-4 12, Jemerigbe 5 3-4 14, Gonsalves 1 1-2 4, Gibson 0 0-0 0.
Division 4
St. Patrick's/St. Vincent 65, Justin Siena 60
St. Patrick (29-5) repeated as champion but avenged two earlier losses this season to Justin-Siena including last week's North Coast Section finals as Alex Cowling had 22 points and 13 rebounds in the overtime victory.
St. Patrick fought back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to prevail and had to contend with the superlative 29-point, 12-rebound effort by Vicky Deely, who had just three points after the third quarter. Top seed Justin-Siena finished 29-4.
Ashley Moore added 15 points and Taylor Rojas seven points in overtime for the Bruins, who face La Jolla Country Day in the state finals.
Division 5
Branson 64, Eastside Prep 24
The Branson Bulls advanced to their second straight CIF Division 5 state championship game with a convincing 64-24 win over Eastside Prep on Saturday at Folsom High School.
The Bulls outscored Eastside Prep 35-10 over the second and third quarters in a game that was never in doubt. Branson converted 55 percent of its field goal attempts, including 4-of-8 from the 3-point line.
Meanwhile Eastside Prep shot just 32 percent and had 23 turnovers on the night.
Rachael Bilney had 24 points to lift the Bulls while Lauren Polansky added 19. Samantha Bunch had 14 points for Eastside Prep.
The Panthers finish the season 28-2 while Branson heads to the state finals with a 28-7 record. The Bulls meet Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo in the finals. Mission Prep is making its sixth appearance in the state finals while Branson is appearing for the second time.
Branson 64, Eastside Prep 24
Eastside Prep 10 6 4 4 - 24
Branson 18 20 15 11 - 64
Branson - Polansky 8 2-4 19, Ongaro 0 1-2 1, Harris 0 0-0 0, Coito 2 0-0 4, Horn 0 0-0 0, K. Horn 0 0-0 0, Compagno 0 0-0 0, Warson 1 0-0 2, Bilney 4 0-0 9, R. Bilney 10 3-5 24, Tufts 0 0-0 0, King 0 0-0 0, Betwick 2 0-0 5, Griffin 0 0-0 0.
Eastside Prep - Martin 1 0-0 2, Holland 2 0-0 5, Harvey 1 0-0 2, Ponce 0 0-0 0, Bunch 0 0-0 0, S. Bunch 5 3-8 14, Anderson 0 1-2 1.
For South Region results, CLICK HERE.