De La Salle reserve saves day in NorCal Open final
Down by a point in the final seconds, with a CIF Northern California Open Division title on the line, De La Salle went to Colby Orr.
And the 6-foot junior point guard, who had only one basket to that point, delivered. His three-point play with 4.9 seconds remaining gave the Spartans a 41-40 victory over Modesto Christian on Saturday night at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, sending them to the state final.
“We have a lot of seniors on this team and I didn't want to let any of them down,” said Orr, a reserve who averages five points a game. “I just wanted us to win and play another day. ... I just saw a lane and tried to make a play.”
Orr scored all five of his points in the final 1:41, lifting the Spartans ( 31-2) into next weekend’s championship game against Chino Hills.
Modesto Christian ( 32-2) had taken a 40-38 lead when Nico Rojas hit a baseline shot with 22.5 seconds left.
De La Salle called timeout with 16.2 seconds left and called a play for Jordan Ratinho. Caught in midair, Ratinho got the ball to Orr, who drove hard from the wing and shot while being fouled.
“When I was saw him going to the hoop, I knew he was going to make an and-one,” De La Salle’s Emeka Udenyi said. “He’s fearless. That’s the kind of player he is.”
Nikhil Peters had 11 points and Udenyi had nine points and 13 rebounds.
Udenyi did a superlative job holding down 6-10 Robinson Idehen, who had just four points and eight rebounds.
“I've been playing with Emeka for years and he does everything for us,” Orr said. “That didn't surprise me at all. He shut down their big guy and made so many big shots. He was awesome.” Berkeley 61, Menlo-Ather
ton 51: At Sleep Train Arena, Niles Malone scored 18 points, Bryan Morris added 17, Bryant Monroe 14 and Sean Spikes 11 as the Yellowjackets (24-8) won the Division I crown. Coach Mark DeLuca was thrilled to have a championship banner; the Berkeley girls have won 14 NorCal crowns. “Can’t wait to put up a big banner one for the boys,” DeLuca said. “I’m incredibly proud of the boys. I can’t put it into words.” Menlo-Atherton (28-5) got 16 points from Blake Henry but made just 19 of 50 shots. “You just have to give them the credit,” M-A coach Mike Molieri said. “They made shots. They made a lot of tough shots. This wasn’t about us, it was about them.” Berkeley will face Crespi-Encino on Thursday for the state title.
Serra 59, El Cerrito 53: John Besse made 8 of 9 shots and scored 17 points as the Padres (25-5) edged the Gauchos (22-14) for the Division II title at Sleep Train Arena. Jeremiah Testa added 14 points, including a key three-pointer to start the fourth quarter, and Jake Killingsworth had 12 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists for Serra, which will meet Long Beach Poly for the state championship. Sayeed Pridgett and Edward Gray scored 17 apiece for El Cerrito (22-14). Manteca 70, Bishop O'Dowd-Oakland 45: At American Canyon High, Anand Hundal had 25 points and eight rebounds and Kenny Wooten Jr. added 13 points and 20 rebounds for Manteca (29-6), which outscored the Dragons 43-19 in the second half to win the Division III title. B.J. Shaw had 14 points for
Bishop O’Dowd (17-16). St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda 67, Stuart Hall 58: Jade Smith made 10 of 14 shots, scored a game-high 27 points and added 11 rebounds and six steals to lead the Pilots (26-9) to a tripleovertime victory in the Division V championship game at American Canyon. Stuart Hall (22-12), which got 26 points and 18 rebounds from 6-5 senior Zeke Crawford, took a 53-49 lead in the second overtime, but Darne Duckett (14 points, eight rebounds) and Smith scored back-toback hoops in the final minute to force a third overtime. St. Joseph will play St. Bernards-Playa Del Ray in the state final.