Hawks bounced from NorCals by second seed
Liberty Ranch’s boys basketball season came to an end in the Bay Area on Wednesday with a 92-85 loss to Lick-Wilmerding of San Francisco in the first round of the CIF NorCal playoffs.
The 15th-seeded Hawks led 45-42 at halftime after outscoring No. 2 Lick-Wilmerding 29-15 in the second quarter, but the Tigers switched defenses and slowed things down in the third quarter.
“When they ran their halfcourt trap in the second half,” Liberty Ranch coach Josh Williams said, “they’re so long, it felt like there were seven or eight guys out there.”
Hawks freshman Jalen Patterson led the game with 26 points, with Corey Potthoff adding 18, Chandler Garcia 13, Chris Fielding 10 and Jack Lopez, a first-year player and starter, had seven.
Despite the loss, Williams said the season was a success, with a second consecutive Sierra Valley Conference championship and third straight appearance in both the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals and the NorCal playoffs.
“We have a freshman point guard, a sophomore guard, a first-year player as a starter,” Williams said, “and usually when that’s part of you lineup, don’t expect to win a league championship and go to the NorCal playoffs.”
Lick-Wilmerding jumped out to a 27-16 lead at the end of the first quarter before the Hawks kicked into gear to take the lead at halftime. After the Tigers slowed things down in the third quarter, the Hawks weren’t able to get closer than five points.
“We overachieved once again. I’m proud of their resolve,” Williams said. “We started 4-4, then we went 16-3 or something. We lost a couple of guys throughout the year — one to transfer, one to grades, one quit for whatever reason. It just goes to show the resolve in the locker room.”
The Hawks (22-9) head to the offseason with one main goal next year — a section championship. Lick-Wilmerding (25-8) will host No. 7 West Campus (22-10), which bounced Liberty Ranch from the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals on March 1 before losing in overtime to Central Catholic in the Division IV championship. West Campus defeated No. 10 Marin Catholic 63-56 in the NorCal first round.