2nd-chance basket gives De La Salle title
Emeka Udenyi knew if he missed, Justin Pratt would have his back.
Pratt, a 6-foot-3 junior forward, followed in Udenyi’s missed floater in the lane to score with 1.6 seconds left, lifting third-seeded De La SalleConcord to a 53-51 North Coast Section Division 1 championship win over top-seeded Dublin on Friday night at a packed and loud McKeon Pavilion at St. Mary’s College.
After two free throws by Dublin’s Steven Houston (12 points) tied the game 51-51 with 14.3 seconds left, De La Salle called timeout with 6.7 ticks remaining.
Pratt inbounded to Udenyi (14 points, 12 rebounds), and the 6-6, 230-pounder spun in the lane, sending a shot off the front iron. Pratt (13 points) followed on the right side and banked the ball home with his left hand.
The Spartans (26-5), who lost an overtime game to Dublin in the East Bay Athletic League playoff final, will advance to NorCal Open Division play next week after winning their second straight NCS title — their 12th overall.
“That’s just Justin,” Udenyi said. “He’s always at the right place at the right time. That was amazing. Best game I’ve ever been a part of.”
Dublin, which got 13 points from Montana-bound Tim Falls and 12 second-half points from 6-7 junior Jack Nielsen, had one last chance. After a timeout, Jared Smart’s halfcourt shot drew iron, sending up a loud groan on the Dublin end and triggering a wild celebration from De La Salle.
“That was special,” Pratt said. “What an atmosphere. That was a dream finish.”
Not so for Dublin (28-4), which fought back from a 27-19 halftime deficit to take several leads in the second half, the last 49-48 on a bucket by Nielsen.
De La Salle point guard Colby Orr, superb all night with 13 points and five assists, made an acrobatic layup with less than a minute to put his team up 50-49, and after two missed free throws by Dublin, Orr made one more free throw with 15.8 seconds left, missed the second and then fouled Houston, who made two free throws before the final sequence.
“This one hurts,” Dublin coach Tom Costello said. “It might haunt me for a while because it was right there. But I’m proud of our guys. They competed like hell and it was a hell of a game. The fans definitely got their money’s worth.”
His team was trying for its first NCS championship. The Gaels will likely be the top seed in the NorCal Division 1 playoffs.
CENTRAL COAST SECTION
Mitty 57, Bellarmine 54: Kyle Peterson’s deep three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining in overtime, his only points of the game, gave Mitty (17-10) the lead and proved to be the decisive basket in the Monarchs’ win in the Open Division championship at Santa Clara University. Bellarmine was called for an offensive foul with 4.7 seconds remaining in overtime and Riley Grigsby sank two free throws to give Mitty a three-point cushion. Bellarmine’s contested three-point attempt at the buzzer clanked off the rim, snapping the Bells’ 18-game win streak and giving Mitty its third Open Division title in five years. Grigsby was held to 13 points combined during Mitty’s two regular-season losses to Bellarmine (25-2), but scored 20 on Friday night. SAN FRANCISCO SECTION
Mission 41, Lowell 40: It wasn’t pretty or a typical high-scoring Mission affair, but the Bears (30-1) won their third straight section title at Kezar Pavilion. After scoring at least 100 points in three of their previous four games, the Bears had just 21 points after three quarters but managed 20 in the fourth quarter to avoid the upset bid of the Cardinals (20-7). Niamey Harris had 17 points and eight rebounds and Tyrese Johnson added nine points and excellent defense for Mission, which won its fifth section crown in six years. Robert Lee and Ujah Pratt also sparked Mission, which should be a high seed in the NorCal Division 3 playoffs, which open next week. Lowell was led by 13 points from Kevin Fok and 11 by Isaac Finestone. Mitch Stephens, a national columnist for MaxPreps.com, covers high school sports for The Chronicle.