MLK Classic: McClymonds wins De La Squeaker

By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com

BERKELEY, Calif. - Star 6-foot-6 McClymonds (Oakland) senior Frank Otis lamented over his team's lack of execution. Teammate Damon Powell seemed somewhat frustrated because his high-flying act rarely got off the ground.

De La Salle (Concord) feisty junior point guard Brandon Smith, nursing a fat lip, enjoyed the street fight but not the result. Teammate Jose Rivera, the best player on the court Monday night at Haas Pavilion, was most solemn of all.

No one on either side of McClymonds' tenacious 44-42 triumph over De La Salle seemed overly pleased or particularly disappointed with the proceedings in the premier game of the Martin Luther King Jr. Classic.

Whenever these two national powers face off it's rarely a Monet or Rembrandt. More like Ali versus Frazier. Walking off the court without blood, band-aid or limp is a triumph in itself.

The two most pleased parties afterward turned out to be the respective coaches, two close friends and two of the most respected high school leaders in the state. They knew what their teams lacked in overall execution and fluidity they made up for in grit and energy.

They also had a hunch that the two top-ranked Division I teams in Northern California could very well meet again in about six weeks with a state bid on the line. They met last year in the NorCal semifinals with McClymonds winning a similar slugfest 46-36.

"There's a long tough road for us to get to that point, but yes, we would love to face them again," said De La Salle coach Frank Allocco, whose team, ranked 23rd nationally by MaxPreps, dropped to 14-2. "Short of a victory, I couldn't be more pleased with our effort or the game. I thought it lived up to all the billing. That was number one against number two and it played out that way. I thought it was representative that all that is good about high school basketball. But surely, we never like to lose."

Said McClymonds coach Dwight Nathanial, whose No. 24 team improved to 20-0: "As I told the boys I'm just happy we got the win. I didn't care if we won by 20 or by a bucket, I'd just take the win and run."

Unlike most games involving McClymonds, there wasn't much running or separation in this one. But, playing the defensive-minded Spartans, who give up just 38 points per game, there rarely is a ton of up-and-down action.  

De La Salle, which got 19 points from Rivera and 11 by three-point specialist Dom Martellaro (the duo had three three-pointers each), never led in the game but trailed by no more than seven in the second half.

The Spartans actually fought back from their biggest second-half deficit 36-29 following two free throws by Powell, an absolute 6-5 physical phenom who finished with 10 points and six rebounds, with 6:22 remaining.

Rivera, a fluid 6-2 senior guard, scored seven straight on a fast-break layup off an assist from Smith, a three-pointer from the left corner and another layup off a nice feed by John McArthur, making it 36-36 with 3:30 to play. It was only the fourth tie of the game - the others were 0-0, 4-4 and 27-27.

"I thought Jose put it all on the line," Allocco said. "He was fantastic."

But McClymonds junior guard William Cherry (nine points) had a five-point run of his own, making three free of four free throws following a pretty slicing move and jack-knife layup. A free throw by Smith and spectacular reverse layup by Rivera, cut the lead to 41-39 with 1:04 left before Powell powered in a deuce, making it 43-39 with 50.1 ticks remaining.

Smith (nine points, six rebounds) responded with a tough three-pointer under duress with 29.1 seconds left, cutting the lead to 43-42.

"Those guys never stopped coming," said the SMU-bound Otis, who scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the first half. "But we never expect them to quit."

De La Salle waited 13 seconds to foul and Quincy Hill made one of two free throws with 16.2 ticks left, setting up one final sequence.

Rivera had a clear three-point attempt from the left corner with seven seconds left to win it. It was straight as a string but a hair long and the rebound touched several players before Hill pulled out the loose ball and fed Cherry, who was fouled with 0.6 seconds left.

He missed the front end of the one-and-one but Smith didn't have time to get a shot off as the final horn sounded.

"I thought it was in," Rivera admitted softly of his game-winning try. "It was an open look and it didn't go in. Hopefully next time if we get the chance we'll make the plays and it will go in the basket."

Said Otis: "This was a huge game and a statement win. We ended their season last year and I could see in the players faces they wanted to get back at us. But we're a tough team. We've been through a lot. We didn't play our best or execute just like we wanted by we came out on top. That's all that matters."

Otis dominated last year's game with 18 points and 17 rebounds and the Warriors absolutely destroyed De La Salle on the boards, 42 rebounds to 19 for De La Salle.

"We thought if we could change that around and rebound better we would win this game," Rivera said. "We did change it, but still came up short."

Indeed, the Spartans actually had 31 rebounds to 27 for McClymonds. That gave Smith, fat lip and all, something to smile about.

"I'm proud of our guys because we didn't play scared and we mixed it up," Smith said. "That's a very talented team we just played. We just didn't quite make enough plays at the end."

It didn't help the Spartans they were an uncharacteristic 7 of 16 from the foul line. Then again, McClymonds wasn't much better at 10 of 20.

Then again, when the high school teams move to the bigger venues, poor shooting always seems to prevail. De La Salle finished 14 of 37 from the field (38 percent) and McClymonds 16-for-40 (40 percent).

The foul shooting, however, was particularly foul.

"That's something hard to understand but we can obviously correct," Allocco said.

They corrected their interior defense after Otis controlled the early part of the game with three consecutive lay-ups off of offense sets in the first quarter leading to a 13-8 lead.

When Otis scored on a fastbreak layup and Power tipped in another deuce, McClymonds had its biggest lead 17-8 early in the second quarter. But De La Salle's defense stiffened from there, allowing just four points over the last six minutes of the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Martellaro got the Spartans back in with a pair of three-pointers and two free throws, making it 23-18 at halftime.

Another three-pointer by Martellaro closed the gap to 25-24 early in the third quarter and after a putback by Otis - his last points of the game with 6:06 left in the third - De La Salle tied it for the first time since 4-4 on a three-pointer from the left corner by Rivera.

McClymonds' trapping zone defense wasn't getting to the corners where De La Salle was converting. Powell, a transfer from San Lorenzo who played at McClymonds as a freshman, was responsible for getting to the weakside three-point shooter.

"This was new for him and he did get there at times," Nathaniel said. "We'll do a better job of it next time."

Powell made up for it with the most exciting sequence of the game when after Damario Sims (nine points) hit his second three-pointer, the high-flying junior went up for a monstrous dunk off a rebound while being fouled.

He missed the free throw, but somehow got his own rebound and put in another deuce and just like that, McClymonds was back in control, up 34-27 with 3:40 left in the third.

"(Powell) is as athletic a kid as I've ever coached against," Allocco said. "I thought for the most part we did a real nice job on him."

There was plenty of defense the rest of the quarter as no points were scored the final 3:40 except two free throws by Smith, making it 34-29 heading into the fourth.

From there, McClymonds took De La Salle's best shot and survived Rivera's last shot.

"We had a good look, (Rivera) gave it a good stroke, but it just didn't fall," Allocco said. "What else can you ask?"

Said Nathaniel: "I'm sure both teams will make adjustments and tinker for the next time. But by and large, every time we meet it's probably going to be a similar struggle. I just hope it always finishes with a similar result."

BERKELEY 68, SALESIAN (Richmond) 65: Mark Samuels had 23 points and Bryce Pittman 16 plus a block of a three-point attempt by Salesian freshman sensation Jabari Brown (16 points) that secured an entertaining contest for Berkeley (9-7) over the extremely young but talented Pride (15-3).

Two free throws by Samuels gave Berkeley a 68-63 lead with 46.3 seconds left before Jon Wheat made a lay-up with 33.6 seconds remaining.

After a Berkeley turnover, Salesian missed three three-pointers but got offensive rebounds each time, the last coming a team rebound that was knocked out of bounds with 3.2 seconds left. On the inbounds pass, Brown got the ball and looked open for a second from beyond the top of the key, but Pittman blocked the ball cleanly as the final horn went off.

Most defenders won't go for a block in that instance, not wanting to risk a foul and possible three free throws. But Pittman, whose team lost games to East Bay powers Kennedy (Richmond), Newark Memorial and Oakland by a combined total of six points, didn't want to risk Brown tying the game by making the shot.

The win was a mild upset over the Pride, who feature three freshmen and four sophomores and is ranked third among Division IV North Coast Section squads.

"The ball was right there and I went for it," Pittman said. "I love making plays on defense. That felt as good or better than making a game-winning shot."  

Said Berkeley coach Brian Guinn: "That was all instincts (to go for the block). Bryce Pittman is definitely a gamer. He's done it all for us this season."

Duane Bagsby added 12 points for the winners, while Salesian got 15 points by Justin Brown and 12 from Keli'I Woolsey.

The first half was up and down and back and forth with nine ties and 17 lead changes. A three-pointer by Samuels, a 6-foot junior, was the last lead change of the half, putting Berkeley up 41-39 at the buzzer.

After a interior bucket from Woolsey, Berkeley seemed to take control with the biggest run of the game, a 9-0 spurt started by a basket by Pittman, followed by back-to-back scores from Samuels and capped with a steal, layup and three-point play from J.J. Frazier, putting the Yellowjackets up 50-41.

But Salesian kept fighting back and actually took the lead before the end of the quarter following a 6-0 run on a layup by Justin Brown, a putback by Wheat and another driving layup by Justin Brown, making it 55-54.

But Brandon Reeves drilled a baseline jumper with 40 seconds left in the quarter, putting Berkeley up 56-55. Salesian would never take the lead again.

Darryl Blackmon, a 6-6 senior, opened the fourth with a putback and Pittman had the most spectacular bucket of the game, a follow slam dunk that gave Berkeley a 60-55 lead.

Salesian closed to 62-61 on a layup by Simmons, but buckets from Samuels, Bagsby and two free throws by Samuels with 46.3 seconds left helped seal the hard-earned win.

"This was a big win for us and confidence booster," Pittman said. "That was the number five team in the East Bay we just beat. We showed a lot of heart and determination in the end."

Pittman flailed his fists after making the block. The victory was extra sweet doing it at Haas.

"This is the first time I've played a game in a college arena, so it was huge," Pittman said.

Said Guinn: "We've lost some real tough games so to win a close one like this feels great. The team is coming together. I thought our defensive pressure was key."

Especially the last defensive stop.

AMADOR VALLEY (Pleasanton) 62, GALENA (Reno, Nev.) 50: A couple of sleepless nights did wonders for Justin Standley, a smooth 6-foot-2 junior guard who scored 19 points leading the Dons (13-6) to decisive victory over defending Nevada state 4A champion Galena (11-11) and highly-touted 6-8 forward Luke Babbitt (23 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, four steals).

Standley, Amador Valley's leading scorer on the season, had a nightmarish week last week when the Dons dropped two East Bay Athletic League games including a 53-52 game to Monte Vista (Danville) on Friday. Standley, who constantly battles an asthma condition, said he didn't fall asleep Saturday morning until 5.

"I let me team down last week," said Standley, who was so ill last week he was coughing up blood. "I felt like I cost us the games. That's why it was so important to come out and help our team do well today. It was good for our team to gain back some confidence."  

Scott David scored all seven of his points in the second quarter when the Dons extended their lead to double-digits. One of four three-pointers from Standley gave Amador Valley a 28-18 lead.

They extended it to 38-22 when they scored the first eight points of the second half capped by back-to-back three-pointers from Stevie Patmont and Standley.

"We just never got into it for some reason," said Babbitt, ranked the 24^th top senior in the country by CSTV who decommitted to Ohio State and signed a letter of intent to Nevada. "No excuses, we just didn't play very well and that was a very good team."

It didn't help that Babbitt fell right on his tailbone in a 63-54 win over Bishop Manogue (Reno) on Friday to improve to 5-0 in league play. Babbitt estimated he was about 70 percent healthy; Galena Tom Mauer said he was only about 50 percent.

Babbitt came in averaging 29.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per game.

"This was the first time I've even tried to run since Friday," Babbitt said. "We have a big (league game) with Reed (Tuesday) so the plan was just to play a little today. But the game was winnable and it dictated to stay in."

Standley said he tried to get Babbitt out of his game verbally.

"I tried to talk some mess to him; tell him he wasn't going to get 30 on us," Standley said. "It didn't work. He didn't even listen. He's good as advertised. He's so strong and he can flat out shoot."

A pair of driving layups by Nick Vuoto and another outside jumper by Standley to start the fourth quarter gave Amador Valley its biggest lead 57-37. Galena really never threatened from there.

"Give (Amador Valley) credit, but that was our worst game of the year," said Mauer, whose team lost four starters off last year's state title team and seven seniors overall. "I'm not really sure. We didn't take care of the ball. We didn't play much defense. But this is a good group and I'm confident they'll bounce back tomorrow."

Kevin Laue, Amador Valley's 6-11 senior who came in averaging more than 10 blocks per game, had five blocks and seven rebounds. Teammates Liu and Vuoto combined for 17 points, while Jake Mansfield and Markis Robinson had eight apiece for Galena.

SKYLINE (Oakland) 58, NEWARK MEMORIAL (Newark) 56: One of the Bay Area's hottest team continued to sizzle as Loyola Marymount-bound guard Kwame Vaughn, a 6-4 senior, had 19 points and Nefi Perdomo, a 6-2 junior, added 14 leading the Titans (13-7) to their eighth straight victory, this one over the North Coast Section's No. 6 team.

E.J. Farris and Jisuan Randle had 15 points apiece for Newark Memorial (16-5), which got only six from Fresno State-bound guard Chris Jones and squandered a 33-23 halftime lead.

A fastbreak jumper by Kevin Jackson gave Skyline a 50-45 lead with 5:28 remaining. Newark Memorial clawed within one point three different times, the last time 54-53 with 1:15 left on a jumper by Farris.

Farris had a chance to give the Cougars the lead with 55.2 seconds left, but missed two free throws. Two free throws each by Perdomo and Vaughn clinched the win for the unranked but dangerous Titans.

"The kids look at the paper and see their not ranked but it doesn't get to them," Skyline coach Terrence Ransom said. "We're humble in what we do. We're comfortable at what we do and just getting better which we are doing. We

GIRLS

ALHAMBRA (Martinez) 56  ST. IGNATIUS (San Francisco) 52: Aly Conway, a 6-foot post back for the first game in a month due to a torn calf muscle, had 22 points and 14 rebounds leading the Bulldogs (12-5) to the hard-fought victory.

Alhambra scored the game's last eight points over the last 2:20 to pull off the upset in a battle of Division II squads. Junior Rachel Santos had six of the last eight and finished with 10 points. Teammate Bree Domingo added 15 points, while Eilise O'Connor had 15 points and Rachel Hatch 12 for St. Ignatius (11-6).

CARONDELET (Concord) 64, GRANADA (Livermore) 56: The sophomore tandem of Ricki Radonavich and Erin Boettcher had 14 points for the Cougars (14-3), who raced to a 29-11 lead and hung on for the hard-fought win. Another sophomore Morgan Fitterer added 11 points and freshman Erica Payne contributed 10 for the winners.

Katie Thralls scored 20 of her game-high 22 points in the second half for Granada (10-8).

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. CLASSIC

At Hass Pavilion, Cal