Malali delivers for Dougherty Valley in narrow victory
A 25-foot 3-pointer in transition was a truly audacious shot with Dougherty Valley trailing Monte Vista late in the fourth quarter. But DV coach Mike Hansen admitted that he had no problem with the highrisk, high-reward gamble by senior sharpshooter Aadi Malali that gave the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish.
“He's earned that. If we play on, it's because of guys like him,” Hansen said after Dougherty Valley beat Monte Vista 50-49. “He's got the (guts) to take it and damn, it was bottoms, nothing but net.”
Malali led Dougherty Valley with 17 points, and Azan Evans had 10 points and eight blocks as the anchor of No. 4 seed Dougherty Valley's press defense. Max Nishikawa led No. 5 Monte Vista with 13 points and Daniel Cojocaru scored 11.
A year removed from winning the NCS Open Division championship, the Wildcats are contending for another title. While last season's team was a highoctane unit that could score 80 on anyone, this year's unit prides itself on gritty defense.
“In order for us to be relevant and go where we want to go, we've had to be good on defense,” Hansen said. “It's been one of my staples since I”ve gotten there.”
Top seed Bishop O'Dowd will be a difficult obstacle to overcome for the Wildcats. But if there's any team that welcomes doubters, it's Dougherty Valley.
“It actually pissed us off,” Hansen said about the team not being taken seriously during the preseason. “I told our guys that we still have dudes. I told everyone that would listen, `don't play us in February.”'
SURPRISES
No. 7 Liberty dominated the Yellowjackets in Berkeley to stun the No. 2seed in boys Division I by a score of 63-48. It's the second year in a row that the higherseeded Yellowjackets have gone one-and-done in the playoffs against a team from the Bay Valley Athletic League. Pittsburg beat Berkeley last season . ... In Division V, No. 7 Athenian pulled off the 64-60 upset over No. 2Stuart Hall.
GAME DETAILS Division I boys No. 1 Bishop O'Dowd 64, No. 8 Foothill 47:
Joshua Green had 10 points and Samuel Chavarin finished with nine points and 12 rebounds to lead the host Dragons to a quarterfinal victory. O'Dowd (19-8) advances to the semifinals on Tuesday at home against fourth-seeded Dougherty Valley. Foothill finished 18-12.
— Darren Sabedra
No. 7 Liberty 63, No. 2 Berkeley 48:
Gavin Cook-Whisenton scored 22 points and Cameron Johnson added 15as Liberty went on the road and upset Berkeley to advance to the semifinals on Tuesday at Dublin.
No. 3 Dublin 61, No. 6 Campolindo 38:
Jalen Stokes finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists while leading Dublin to a dominant victory at home over Campolindo, which had won NCS Open Division and Division II championships the past two seasons.
Division III boys No. 4 Miramonte 63, No. 5 San Marin 51:
The Matadors had multiple players step up in unique ways to help Miramonte advance to the semifinals. Chris Kaufhold had 13 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, and Jack Quinnild had 13 points and three assists. Marcus Robinson scored a game-high 17points for the Matadors, who improved to 19-11 and will play at No. 1 University-SF on Tuesday.
No. 3 Piedmont 67, No. 6 Alhambra 43:
Brit Burden scored 19 points and surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in Piedmont's rout of Alhambra. Dillon Casey chipped in 14 points and Declan Linnane scored 11. Piedmont will travel to No. 2 Archie Williams on Tuesday.
Division I girls No. 3 Salesian 70, No. 6 Monte Vista 52:
With the score tied at halftime, Salesian broke open the game in the third quarter, outsourcing Monte Vista by 13 points on its way to what became a sizeable victory. Ayla Rege led the Pride with 20 points, 18 on six 3-pointers. Salesian also got 18 points from Janiya Sawyer and 12 points from Madalyn Kanazawa, who added seven assists and five rebounds. Janiya Sawyer had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Salesian (18-10) advances to play at second-seeded Heritage on Tuesday. Alyssa Rudd (22 points), Rachel Brans (15points) and Mahi Jariwala (10 points) scored in double figures for Monte Vista, which finished 18-12.
— Darren Sabedra
No. 4 Alameda 53, No. 5 Liberty 49:
In a game that was close throughout, the Hornets managed to take a one-point lead (27-26) at the half and never gave it up. Alameda's biggest spread after the break was 45-36early in the fourth. It was part of a 6-0run for the host Hornets, who improved to 20-7for the season. Alameda's next challenge will be a visit to San Ramon, where it will take on top seed California on Tuesday night in a semifinal match. Liberty finishes the season at 17-11.
No. 1 California 48, No. 8 Dublin 38:
Lauren Yee scored 12 points and Kaylee Lawson added 11 points as Cal defeated Dublin to advance to the NCS semifinals. The Grizzlies were in control most of the game and held a 12-point lead in the third quarter.
No. 2 Heritage 55, No. 7 James Logan 43:
A big fourth quarter from the Patriots helped hold off a surging James Logan team. Heritage held a one-point lead going into the final eight minutes and outscored the Colts 16-5 to come away with the victory. Freshman Ze'ni Patterson had a game-high 22 points for Heritage. Vanessa Parilla had 14 points and two rebounds for James Logan in the loss.