Riordan wins, De La Salle loses in OT thrillers at Lakers' arena
The Coastal Catholic Classic, played over the weekend on the home court of the Los Angeles Lakers, was a marathon experience for two of the Bay Area's top boys basketball teams.
Archbishop Riordan had a better ending than De La Salle as the San Francisco powerhouse outlasted Bishop GormanLas Vegas 82-81 in overtime on Saturday behind 28 points from Andrew Hilman.
De La Salle closed out the high-profile showcase with a gut-wrenching 7470 double-overtime loss to Notre DameSherman Oaks, last season's Division I state champion.
Notre Dame got 39 points from Houston-bound star Mercy Miller as it improved to 17-0 while dropping DLS to 13-3.
DLS led by nine points at halftime but trailed by one going to the fourth quarter.
Earlier in the day, Riordan was resilient in its victory.
Hilman made the game-winner with 16 seconds left, capping a late flurry in which the sophomore guard scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and OT.
Jasir Rencher (17 points), Zion Sensley (13 points) and Dorde Curcic (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Crusaders, who needed every one of them to turn back a team led by the late Kobe Bryant's nephew, Jett Washington.
Washington, a sophomore forward, made a 3-pointer with one second left in regulation to extend the game an extra four minutes. He finished with 33 points for a team that returned home from Los Angeles with a 13-3 record.
Riordan (7-3) stretched its winning streak to four games.
As for De La Salle, it has played five games in Southern California against elite opponents the past two weeks. The Spartans, ranked No. 2 by the Bay Area News Group, are 2-3 in those games.
Alec Blair scored 22 points Saturday for DLS, which opens East Bay Athletic League play at home tonight against Monte Vista (15-1).
Riordan travels to Serra today for a West Catholic Athletic League game. NEW COACH LEADS RED-HOT BRANHAM >> Nearly a quarter-century ago, Jason Billie was a first-team all-Mercury News player out of Milpitas High. This season, as a first-year head coach at Branham, he is building a case for more postseason honors.
His Bruins are 13-1 overall and 2-0 in the Blossom Valley Athletic League's top division – the Mt. Hamilton – after they rallied on the road to edge Christopher 56-53 on Friday night.
Seniors Ben Lim, Wyatt Sparling, Dasan Poston and Cayden Tanger have led the way.
“I have four really good seniors who can all play college basketball, probably junior college basketball,” Billie said. “They are all different.”
Here is the coach's breakdown: Lim: “No. 4, 6-4 guard. Really coming into his own. Athletic, 4.0 student. He's getting really good.”
Sparling: “Red head. Shooter, Super skilled. Just young. Big-shot maker, bigshot taker, not scared of the moment.”
Poston: “Junior of the year in our league last year. He is very soft-spoken but plays incredibly angry with a motor.”
Tanger: “Toughness and confidence. We kind of follow his lead. He brings a steadiness over our team. He's super consistent.”
Billie had been the lead assistant at West Valley College under Danny Yoshikawa. The West Valley teams he helped lead were highly successful.
“We were a state championship runnerup; we were Elite Eight the last couple of years,” Billie said. “We were pretty good.” Why leave for Branham?
“I was a finalist for two head-coaching college jobs that I did not get,” Billie said. “At the moment, I didn't have my Master's done. At the moment, I had no head-coaching experience. Only 12 years as a lead assistant.
“It kind of worked out perfectly and organically,” Billie said about the move to Branham. “I feel like I am the right guy for them, too.”
Branham next plays on Wednesday at Santa Teresa. First place in the Mt. Hamilton will be on the line.
CAMPO, GRANADA WIN AT SACRAMENTO >> For Granada, it was an uphill climb all game against Sheldon-Sacramento at the Showcase at Capital Christian-Sacramento on Saturday. For Campolindo, it was a gut-check down the stretch after it built a 14-point halftime advantage against the showcase's host.
When the games ended, both Bay Area teams were on the winning side.
Granada, which trailed until it evened the score 50-50, went on to win 57-52 to improve to 13-1 on the season.
Campolindo held off Capital Christian 58-56 for its 13th victory in 16 games this season.
NaVaughn Long scored 16 points and Cortevious Taylor 10 to lead Granada.
Campo got 27 points from Dylan Mansour.