NorCal roundup: Mitty survives Newark Memorial, Frenchwood onslaught

You get the idea Aaron Gordon won't let his Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) team lose. Not the last one anyway.

Mitty, nationally ranked to start the season, got behind 18-5 in the first quarter Saturday to Newark Memorial in a CIF Northern California Open Division first-round game.

But Gordon slowly but surely took over and the Monarchs (27-4) eventually secured a 63-51 win in their home gym.

Gordon finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds and Joey Frenchwood, who scored 14 in the first quarter, finished with 19 for Newark Memorial (23-8).

A steal, behind-the-back dribble drive and dunk started Mitty's run and an assist to Connor Peterson for a layup in the third quarter started a 15-0 run. That was it. Mitty is the two-time defending Division II state champion but was called up to the Open. It now plays Modesto Christian in a semifinal NorCal game on Tuesday.

See CIF state boys brackets

Division I
Top seed Deer Valley (Antioch) (25-5) got 32 points from Kendall Smith and Kentucky-bound 6-10 post Marcus Lee added 30 points, 16 rebounds and eight blocks in a 83-69 home win over BVAL rival Freedom-Oakley (20-10), which lost to Deer Valley for the third time and got 19 points and 11 rebounds from Ellliott Smith. … Elliott Pitts had 21 points as visiting De La Salle (Concord) (26-4) held on to beat San Leandro 43-39 at Chabot College. Pitts iced the game with two free throws. … Jackson Gion had 14 points and Blair Mendy 12 points lead Bellarmine (San Jose) (21-9) to a 64-46 over visiting McClymonds (22-8), which got 13 points by Eric Jones. ... Malik Thames had 18 points and Matthew Hayes 13 as second-seed Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (25-6) defeated Piedmont Hills-San Jose.

Division II
Top seed Dublin (25-6) got 24 points by Joe McGlaston and 21 from Cameron Moses in a 86-75 home win over El Camino-South San Francisco (23-8). ... The big stunner of the night was that No. 2 Antelope (25-7) lost to visiting St. Francis (Mountain View) 61-59 as Nicholas Keyes had 17 points and Khalid Johnson 14 for the Lancers (14-16). ... One of the most impressive freshmen in the state Devin Young had 20 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks and De'Von Boyd 19 as fifth seed Sacramento had no problems with Grant 77-52.

Division III
Having a week off didn't seem to bother top seed Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco). The host Irish (19-11) jumped to a 21-10 lead after the first quarter and slowly kept pulling away for a 68-48 victory over a late-season-charging San Marin-Novato squad. ... Sacred Heart Cathedral, without a player taller than 6-foot-2, used defensive pressure to turn up the heat, forcing 27 turnovers, 18 coming on steals to win 68-48. Khalil James had six of those steals and DeOndre Otis five. Herman Pratt IV led the Irish in scoring with 14, followed by 12 for James and 11 each by Otis and Liam O'Reilly. San Marin (21-12), the eighth seed, was led by freshman Calvin Geraci who had 17 points and five three-pointers. ... In another big upset, Campolindo (Moraga) (21-8), which was accidentally left off the original brackets, won its second straight NorCal game with a 69-65 overtime stunner at No. 2 seed El Cerrito (22-11). ... Enterprise (Redding) whipped Weston Ranch, 70-59, and will host Campolindo.

Division IV
Bobby Arenas had 19 points and nine rebounds, Geru Mabrey had six assists and seven steals and Graham Gilleran and Frankie Ferrari combined for 17 leading host and second-seeded Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco) to a 57-42 win over Weston Ranch.

Division V
At Kezar Pavilion, third-seeded University (San Francisco) (25-8) drilled 14 3-pointers in the first three quarters alone to defeat Central Catholic-Modesto 79-69.

GIRLS

Open Division
Carondelet (Concord) got a career-high 34 points (six rebounds, five steals, three assists) from junior sensation Natalie Romeo in an 89-69 win over Mitty. Leading 44-38 early in the third quarter the Cougars went on a 21-4 run that sealed the deal despite the Monarchs closing the third with a 10-1 run of their own. Carondelet (26-3) also had strong games from Makenzie Cast (13 points), Lauren Nicolosi (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Gabriella Grupalo (12 points). … Sixth seed Mitty (24-7) was led by Kelli Hayes with 17 points. Vanessa Garner added 15 points.

See CIF state girls brackets

Division I
Third-seed Heritage (Brentwood) (27-5) went outside to Lexie Campbell (15 points, five 3-pointers), inside to 6-3 St. Mary's-bound Sabrina Engelstad (15 points, 13 rebounds) and the dynamic guard tandem of Erin Asher (14 points, seven assists) and Sydney Berry (13 points, six steals) did the rest in a convincing home 67-45 victory over Heritage. … Lowell (San Francisco) (27-6), which got 13 points by Kelly Wong and 12 from Angie Ng, closed to 39-31 in the third, but a six-minute scoreless drought and 10-0 Heritage run all but ended this one. ... Berkeley (20-11) ended the magic season of McClymonds (Oakland) (26-4) with a 54-44 win at Oakland Tech as Desire Finnie had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Rachel Howard added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Daisy Powell had 16 points and nine rebounds and Breannie Robinson eight points and 10 rebounds for McClymonds. … Gunn (Palo Alto) (21-6), the eighth seed, stunned top seed and host Monte Vista-Danville 45-41 behind 11 points and 10 rebounds from Meghan Mahoney. ... Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) (27-4) upset host and No. 2 seed Wilcox 62-50.

Division III
In a game that featured 57 fouls, host and top-seed Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) used strong bench play led by Kairee Howard (12 points) to win 87-70 over Kennedy-Richmond. ... Sacred Heart's bench outscored Kennedy (26-6) by a 29-2 count. Sophomore Ashanti Coleman had 17 points and Ashley Gainer 15 for the Irish (23-6). Julian Robinson had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the first half for Kennedy, but didn't score in the second.

Division IV
USC-bound Drew Edelman had 18 points and 10 rebounds and Maddie Price added 15 points as fifth-seed Menlo (Atherton) (22-9) defeated host Bear River-Grass Valley 53-38. ... Top seed Salesian (Richmond) (27-7) got 19 points, nine assists and eight rebounds from Mariya Moore in a 74-43 win over Sacred Heart Prep.

Information gathered from superb reports from the Contra Costa Times, Sacramento Bee, Modesto Bee, San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News.