Alec Blair sidelined for De La Salle with a shoulder injury. San Ramon Valley boys, girls win MLK showcase games.
CONCORD — De La Salle did the best it could without its star player.
The Concord school was without star player and Oklahoma commit Alec Blair heading into its big-time matchup with Sunnyslope-Phoenix at the De La Salle MLK Classic, but showed fight in its 53-46 loss at home.
Junior Ibrahim Monawar led De La Salle with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Blair was a last-minute scratch from Monday’s game with a shoulder injury and is questionable to play tonight against Dublin, per De La Salle coach Marcus Schroeder.
“We didn’t play great tonight,” Schroeder said. “We gotta get better and obviously with taking two losses in a row, we hit some adversity. With a huge game in league play tomorrow, we gotta get better quickly.”
De La Salle kept the score close in the first half, keeping the high-powered Sunnyslope offense led by 6-foot-11 sophomore Darius Wabbington under control.
But in the third, the Arizona school found its groove.
The Vikings ended the third quarter on a 10-2 run as the Spartans struggled to hit shots. Sunnyslope took a 12-point lead on a Wabbington alley-oop dunk.
Wabbington finished with 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
The Spartans made it interesting in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to five after Monawar made one of two free throws. But De La Salle couldn’t get enough stops to get any closer as the Spartans dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.
“We’ve had a great year, but we haven’t played well the last two games,” Schroeder said. “We got to do some soul searching.
No. 2 Salesian 81, Clovis West 42
The Pride dominated from start to finish as they beat Fresno-area powerhouse Clovis West by 39 points.
Ronnie Selleaze led Salesian with 13 points and Carlton Perrilliat scored 12.
“We’re trying to continue to grow as a team,” Salesian coach Bill Mellis. “We’re starting to get a little bit close to playoff time, so we got to kind of tune things up and play good and play smart basketball.”
No. 4 San Ramon Valley 76, Bishop O’Dowd 66
SRV cruised to a comfortable win in the opening game of the MLK Classic at De La Salle.
The Wolves took a four-point halftime lead and outscored the Dragons 17-10 in the third quarter behind Elliot Conley, who finished with a game-high 22 points. Luke Isaak totaled 18 points and Thomas Conley added 19.
“I think the 9 a.m. component was the hardest thing,” SRV coach Brian Botteen said. “I thought the first half was good for a 9 a.m. game, but that’s not who they are. They really turned around in the second half. The execution in that third quarter really opened that game up.”
Josh Green led O’Dowd with 21 points. Brandon Roundtree and Ose Oriabure each had 10 points.
Riverside Poly 66, No. 7 Moreau Catholic 56
Pacific-bound forward Kellen Hampton scored a game-high 26 points, but fouled out in the fourth quarter as the Mariners fell to Riverside Poly.
Moreau held a six-point lead at halftime, but watched its advantage evaporate as the Bears outscored the Mariners 15-3 in the third period.
JRob Croy finished with 25 points for Poly and Chris Holland had 21.
“Anytime you score three points in a quarter, it’s going to be tough for you to win,” Moreau coach Frank Knight said. “We were up 14 in the first half, but in the third we just came out kind of flat.”
No. 13 Liberty 61, Grant-Sacramento 52
Liberty rolled to its 13th straight win, defeating Grant at the MLK I Have a Dream Basketball Classic at Merritt College.
Senior Andrew Vixon led the Lions with 18 points followed by sophomore Jaiden Miller and senior Alex Zenn Dash who each had eight.
Cornerstone Christian 66, Heritage 64
The reigning NorCal Division VI champions upset showcase host Heritage on a go-ahead 3-pointer from senior Kamel Johnson with 1.5 seconds left.
Sophomore Benjamin Lukacs had a game-high 26 points in the win. Heritage senior Jace Bernard scored 21 points.
Girls basketball
No. 3 Carondelet 66, No. 16 Salesian 65
The Cougars survived a furious Salesian comeback to give head coach Kelly Sopak his 500th career win.
Carondelet freshman Niylah Christopher scored 15 points, junior Layla Dixon had 13 and Sophia Ross totaled 11.
Vanessa Parilla had a game-high 19 points for Salesian. Jamia Sawyer scored 13 points and her sister Janiya Sawyer totaled 11 points.
“What a way to end MLK weekend,” Carondelet coach Kelly Sopak said. “We had to push. The first half was a little too easy for us. It’s always good to come away win like that.”
Carondelet led by 14 at halftime, but Salesian stormed back in the third quarter. The Pride outscored the Cougars 20-13 to come within seven points going into the fourth.
Salesian got as close as two points in the final two minutes, but Carondelet closed the final period strong to deny Salesian’s comeback. Parilla’s last second 3-pointer cut the Carondelet lead to one, but with zeroes on the clock, Salesian came up just short.
“Our girls never give up. It’s a Salesian thing,” Salesian coach Stephen Pezzola said. “At halftime we just talked and I told them to play their game. We just had to pick up the defensive intensity a little bit and when our girls play like that, we can play with anybody.”
No. 4 San Ramon Valley 54, Francis Parker 50
Alyssa Rudd took home the game MVP at the St. Mary’s-Stockton MLK showcase, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead SRV over Francis Parker of San Diego.
Ella Gunderson totaled 17 points and eight boards while Hania Bowes scored seven, which included a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch.
No. 15 Bishop O’Dowd 50, No. 18 California 43
Jayla Stokes made three 3-pointers and scored a team-high 18 points as host Bishop O’Dowd defeated California in the program’s annual MLK Day showcase. Teammate Madison Gordon, who is committed to Tulane, chipped in 11 points to join Stokes in double figures.
Cal senior Taylor Lim showed off a flair for the dramatic, beating the buzzer with jump shots to end the second and third quarters. Sofie Addiego led all Grizzlies with 14 points as Cal dropped to 11-7. Bishop O’Dowd improved to 10-6.
Centennial-Las Vegas 81, No. 7 Piedmont 66
Youthful Piedmont kept up with the visitors from Nevada for a while at O’Dowd before Centennial pulled away in the fourth. Briana Webb, one of the few upperclassmen on the team, led the Highlanders with 24 points. Freshman Andrea Martin scored 10, as did fellow first-year player Jennelle Solis.
Centennial forward Nation Williams led the Bulldogs with 24 points, and freshman guard D’Arrah Mitchell had 22. Piedmont dropped to 13-3.
Heritage 50, University-San Francisco 49
Sophomore Payton Ladrido scored a game-high 13 points and knocked in the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Patriots over University at the Heritage MLK Invitational.
Bay Area News Group’s Joseph Dycus contributed to this report
CONCORD — De La Salle did the best it could without its star player.
The Concord school was without star player and Oklahoma commit Alec Blair heading into its big-time matchup with Sunnyslope-Phoenix at the De La Salle MLK Classic, but showed fight in its 53-46 loss at home.
Junior Ibrahim Monawar led De La Salle with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Blair was a last-minute scratch from Monday’s game with a shoulder injury and is questionable to play tonight against Dublin, per De La Salle coach Marcus Schroeder.
“We didn’t play great tonight,” Schroeder said. “We gotta get better and obviously with taking two losses in a row, we hit some adversity. With a huge game in league play tomorrow, we gotta get better quickly.”
De La Salle kept the score close in the first half, keeping the high-powered Sunnyslope offense led by 6-foot-11 sophomore Darius Wabbington under control.
But in the third, the Arizona school found its groove.
The Vikings ended the third quarter on a 10-2 run as the Spartans struggled to hit shots. Sunnyslope took a 12-point lead on a Wabbington alley-oop dunk.
Wabbington finished with 15 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
The Spartans made it interesting in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to five after Monawar made one of two free throws. But De La Salle couldn’t get enough stops to get any closer as the Spartans dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.
“We’ve had a great year, but we haven’t played well the last two games,” Schroeder said. “We got to do some soul searching.
No. 2 Salesian 81, Clovis West 42
The Pride dominated from start to finish as they beat Fresno-area powerhouse Clovis West by 39 points.
Ronnie Selleaze led Salesian with 13 points and Carlton Perrilliat scored 12.
“We’re trying to continue to grow as a team,” Salesian coach Bill Mellis. “We’re starting to get a little bit close to playoff time, so we got to kind of tune things up and play good and play smart basketball.”
No. 4 San Ramon Valley 76, Bishop O’Dowd 66
SRV cruised to a comfortable win in the opening game of the MLK Classic at De La Salle.
The Wolves took a four-point halftime lead and outscored the Dragons 17-10 in the third quarter behind Elliot Conley, who finished with a game-high 22 points. Luke Isaak totaled 18 points and Thomas Conley added 19.
“I think the 9 a.m. component was the hardest thing,” SRV coach Brian Botteen said. “I thought the first half was good for a 9 a.m. game, but that’s not who they are. They really turned around in the second half. The execution in that third quarter really opened that game up.”
Josh Green led O’Dowd with 21 points. Brandon Roundtree and Ose Oriabure each had 10 points.
Riverside Poly 66, No. 7 Moreau Catholic 56
Pacific-bound forward Kellen Hampton scored a game-high 26 points, but fouled out in the fourth quarter as the Mariners fell to Riverside Poly.
Moreau held a six-point lead at halftime, but watched its advantage evaporate as the Bears outscored the Mariners 15-3 in the third period.
JRob Croy finished with 25 points for Poly and Chris Holland had 21.
“Anytime you score three points in a quarter, it’s going to be tough for you to win,” Moreau coach Frank Knight said. “We were up 14 in the first half, but in the third we just came out kind of flat.”
No. 13 Liberty 61, Grant-Sacramento 52
Liberty rolled to its 13th straight win, defeating Grant at the MLK I Have a Dream Basketball Classic at Merritt College.
Senior Andrew Vixon led the Lions with 18 points followed by sophomore Jaiden Miller and senior Alex Zenn Dash who each had eight.
Cornerstone Christian 66, Heritage 64
The reigning NorCal Division VI champions upset showcase host Heritage on a go-ahead 3-pointer from senior Kamel Johnson with 1.5 seconds left.
Sophomore Benjamin Lukacs had a game-high 26 points in the win. Heritage senior Jace Bernard scored 21 points.
Girls basketball
No. 3 Carondelet 66, No. 16 Salesian 65
The Cougars survived a furious Salesian comeback to give head coach Kelly Sopak his 500th career win.
Carondelet freshman Niylah Christopher scored 15 points, junior Layla Dixon had 13 and Sophia Ross totaled 11.
Vanessa Parilla had a game-high 19 points for Salesian. Jamia Sawyer scored 13 points and her sister Janiya Sawyer totaled 11 points.
“What a way to end MLK weekend,” Carondelet coach Kelly Sopak said. “We had to push. The first half was a little too easy for us. It’s always good to come away win like that.”
Carondelet led by 14 at halftime, but Salesian stormed back in the third quarter. The Pride outscored the Cougars 20-13 to come within seven points going into the fourth.
Salesian got as close as two points in the final two minutes, but Carondelet closed the final period strong to deny Salesian’s comeback. Parilla’s last second 3-pointer cut the Carondelet lead to one, but with zeroes on the clock, Salesian came up just short.
“Our girls never give up. It’s a Salesian thing,” Salesian coach Stephen Pezzola said. “At halftime we just talked and I told them to play their game. We just had to pick up the defensive intensity a little bit and when our girls play like that, we can play with anybody.”
No. 4 San Ramon Valley 54, Francis Parker 50
Alyssa Rudd took home the game MVP at the St. Mary’s-Stockton MLK showcase, finishing with 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead SRV over Francis Parker of San Diego.
Ella Gunderson totaled 17 points and eight boards while Hania Bowes scored seven, which included a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch.
No. 15 Bishop O’Dowd 50, No. 18 California 43
Jayla Stokes made three 3-pointers and scored a team-high 18 points as host Bishop O’Dowd defeated California in the program’s annual MLK Day showcase. Teammate Madison Gordon, who is committed to Tulane, chipped in 11 points to join Stokes in double figures.
Cal senior Taylor Lim showed off a flair for the dramatic, beating the buzzer with jump shots to end the second and third quarters. Sofie Addiego led all Grizzlies with 14 points as Cal dropped to 11-7. Bishop O’Dowd improved to 10-6.
Centennial-Las Vegas 81, No. 7 Piedmont 66
Youthful Piedmont kept up with the visitors from Nevada for a while at O’Dowd before Centennial pulled away in the fourth. Briana Webb, one of the few upperclassmen on the team, led the Highlanders with 24 points. Freshman Andrea Martin scored 10, as did fellow first-year player Jennelle Solis.
Centennial forward Nation Williams led the Bulldogs with 24 points, and freshman guard D’Arrah Mitchell had 22. Piedmont dropped to 13-3.
Heritage 50, University-San Francisco 49
Sophomore Payton Ladrido scored a game-high 13 points and knocked in the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Patriots over University at the Heritage MLK Invitational.
Bay Area News Group’s Joseph Dycus contributed to this report
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