Dougherty Valley's Ryan Beasley proved to be nearly unstoppable
With the ball in his hands and defenders doing all they could to slow him down, Dougherty Valley basketball star Ryan Beasley did what comes so naturally to him. He scored, a lot.
There was no deficit or opponent that could corral the Usf-bound guard this season as he helped lead Dougherty Valley to championships in the Bay Area's strongest league and the North Coast Section's top division.
“We've got special dudes,” coach Mike Hansen said after one game in February.
Beasley was the dude among dudes on a team that captured Dougherty Valley's first East Bay Athletic League and NCS Open Division titles.
The 5-foot-11 guard averaged 23.2 points per game during the regular season. In the postseason, he was even better for the San Ramon school. Counting the EBAL tournament, Beasley averaged 30.6 points over his final five games.
He finished the season at 24.8 points per game.
For this, the senior has been named the Bay Area News Group's boys basketball player of the year.
“Beasley is incredible,” De La Salle coach Marcus
Schroeder said after his team lost to Dougherty Valley 65-51 in the NCS Open final.
In a high school career filled with signature moments going back to his freshman season — when he went 16 for 16 from the foul line and finished with 22 points in a double-overtime loss to Dublin in the EBAL title game — Beasley penned one for the history books on Feb. 9.
That night, in the semifinals of the EBAL tournament, Dougherty Valley trailed on its home court against San Ramon Valley 60-33 during the third quarter.
Beasley and the other half of Dougherty Valley's prolific backcourt tandem, Connor Sevilla, led a jaw-dropping comeback, erasing the 27-point deficit to win 86-83.
Held to 13 points through two quarters, Beasley finished with 42, including 24 in the fourth quarter when he was 14 of 14 from the free-throw line.
The only things that slowed down Beasley were illness and injury. He missed eight regular-season games, including a handful during league play.
Once he returned for good, Beasley led the Bay Area News Group's topranked team to two wins over De La Salle, two wins over Granada, the comeback victory over San Ramon Valley and an emotionallypacked win at rival Dublin.
Even his final game, a loss to St. Joseph-santa Maria in the semifinals of the Norcal Open Division regional, was memorable. Trailing by 21 points in the first half. Dougherty Valley charged back to within three late in the third quarter before eventually falling 87-76. Beasley had 36 points. Afterward, he held his head high and said of his team's performance, “To be honest, I am just happy, man. We fought back. That's all we could ask for, to leave it on the floor. That just shows our character.”