Basketball

trius Roquemore said. “You have to play an entire game in this division.”

It remains to be seen whether the Bulls (23-7) will continue to hone their skills against the best-of-the-best in the NorCal playoffs. The seeding committee makes that decision Sunday.

“Of course we want to play in Open division,” said Branson's super junior guard Semetri Carr, who led all scorers with 24 points including five makes from beyond the threepoint arc. “We feel we've done enough to be in Open going forward.”

For three quarters on Saturday, the Bulls seemed capable of beating any team as they simply pulled away from a big, physical San Ramon

Valley squad and held a commanding 62-46 lead entering the final eight minutes.

But Branson hit a deep freeze at the offensive end failing to convert a single field goal until nearly midway through the fourth quarter when Finley Keeffe broke the ice by converting a layup off a spot-on pass from Carr.

“They got us out of our composure and we were no longer playing as fluid as we were in the first three quarters,” Carr said.

Jase Butler, Branson's Illinois-bound senior, briefly put the Bulls back up by seven when he doggedly grabbed his own missed shot and knocked down the follow shot. He was fouled on the play and delivered the three points.

The Wolves, however, were not finished with their furious comeback and continued

to whittle away at the lead.

SRV's leading scorer Luke Isaak nailed a threepoint shot and sank two free throws on his team's next possession.

Branson's once big advantage was suddenly a thin two-point margin with 48 seconds remaining.

A rebounding foul against Branson resulted in SRV guard Mason Thomas making one of two free throws.

Carr was fouled on the in-bounds pass but missed both free throws at the other end.

The Wolves called timeout and had possession with seven seconds remaining.

But once play resumed, Isaak's tough fall away jump shot hit the rim and Keefe batted the rebound out to Butler, who was immediately fouled.

Butler finished off the Wolves by converting both free throws.

Keeffe (16 points) contributed a strong game in the scoring department after getting called out by his coach in the early going.

“I got on him early for not taking his shots,” Roquemore said. “I told him he's got to shoot.”

Butler was below his season average in scoring with nine points, but he contributed six rebounds, four assists and a steal.

“When Jase scores a lot of points it's always a bonus for us,” Carr said. “He does so many other things well — he's our best defender, he rebounds and he gets us into our offensive sets.”

D.J. Armstrong came off the bench and contributed six points — all in the first half — and starter Joaquin Aguillon had seven points, two assists and a steal.