NCS basketball playoffs 2024: Friday’s top storylines, surprises, game recaps

TOP STORYLINE: DOUGHERTY VALLEY IS BACK

A 25-foot 3-pointer in transition was a truly audacious shot with Dougherty Valley trailing Monte Vista late in the fourth quarter. But DV coach Mike Hansen admitted that he had no problem with the high-risk, high-reward gamble by senior sharpshooter Aadi Malali that gave the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish.

“He’s earned that. If we play on, it’s because of guys like him,” Hansen said after Dougherty Valley beat Monte Vista 50-49. “He’s got the balls to take it and damn, it was bottoms, nothing but net.” 

Malali led Dougherty Valley with 17 points, and Azan Evans had 10 points and eight blocks as the anchor of No. 4 seed Dougherty Valley’s press defense. Max Nishikawa led No. 5 Monte Vista with 13 points and Daniel Cojocaru scored 11. 

A year removed from winning the NCS Open Division championship, the Wildcats are contending for another title. While last season’s team was a high-octane unit that could score 80 on anyone, this year’s unit prides itself on gritty defense. 

“In order for us to be relevant and go where we want to go, we’ve had to be good on defense,” Hansen said. “It’s been one of my staples since I”ve gotten there.”

Top seed Bishop O’Dowd will be a difficult obstacle to overcome for the Wildcats. But if there’s any team that welcomes doubters, it’s Dougherty Valley. 

“It actually pissed us off,” Hansen said about the team not being taken seriously during the preseason. “I told our guys that we still have dudes. I told everyone that would listen, ‘don’t play us in February.”’ 

SURPRISES

No. 7 Liberty dominated the Yellowjackets in Berkeley to stun the No. 2 seed in boys Division I by a score of 63-48. It’s the second year in a row that the higher-seeded Yellowjackets have gone one-and-done in the playoffs against a team from the Bay Valley Athletic League. Pittsburg beat Berkeley last season. … In Division V, No. 7 Athenian pulled off the 64-60 upset over No. 2 Stuart Hall. 

GAME DETAILS

Division I boys

No. 1 Bishop O’Dowd 64, No. 8 Foothill 47: Joshua Green had 10 points, Miles Dixon added nine points and Samuel Chavarin finished with nine points and 12 rebounds to lead the host Dragons to a quarterfinal victory over Foothill. O’Dowd (19-8) advances to the semifinals on Tuesday at home against fourth-seeded Dougherty Valley. Foothill finished 18-12. — Darren Sabedra

No. 7 Liberty 63, No. 2 Berkeley 68: Gavin Cook-Whisenton scored 22 points and Cameron Johnson added 15 as Liberty went on the road and upset Berkeley to advance to the semifinals on Tuesday at Dublin. Nathan Canilao was in Berkeley and has the game story here.

No. 3 Dublin 61, No. 6 Campolindo 38: Jalen Stokes finished with 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists while leading Dublin to a dominant victory at home over Campolindo, which had won NCS Open Division and Division II championships the past two seasons. Darren Sabedra was in Dublin and has the recap here.

Division III boys

No. 4 Miramonte 63, No. 5 San Marin 51: The Matadors had multiple players step up in unique ways to help the Miramonte program advance to the semifinals. Chris Kaufhold had 13 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, and Jack Quinnild had 13 points and three assists. Marcus Robinson scored a game-high 17 points for the Matadors, which improved to 19-11 and will play at No. 1 University-SF on Tuesday. 

No. 3 Piedmont 67, No. 6 Alhambra 43: Brit Burden scored 19 points and surpassed the 1,000-point milestone in Piedmont’s rout of Alhambra. Dillon Casey chipped in 14 points and Declan Linnane scored 11. Cooper Largent scored 11 to lead Alhambra and Geo Alber had 10. Piedmont will travel to No. 2 Archie Williams on Tuesday. 

Division I girls

No. 3 Salesian 70, No. 6 Monte Vista 52: With the score tied at halftime, Salesian broke open the game in the third quarter, outsourcing Monte Vista by 13 points on its way to what became a sizeable victory. Ayla Rege led the Pride with 20 points, 18 on six 3-pointers. Salesian also got 18 points from Janiya Sawyer, 12 points from Madalyn Kanazawa and 11 points from Jamia Sawyer. Kanazawa added seven assists and five rebounds. Janiya Sawyer had eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Salesian (18-10) advances to play at second-seeded Heritage on Tuesday. Alyssa Rudd (22 points), Rachel Brans (15 points) and Mahi Jariwala (10 points) scored in double figures for Monte Vista, which finished 18-12. — Darren Sabedra

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ON TAP FOR SATURDAY

Division II, IV and VI will play second-round games on Saturday. In Division II, No. 4 Moreau Catholic will play host to No. 5 Alameda. No. 14 American will try to follow up its massive upset of Redwood with another improbable victory, this time at No. 6 Benicia. No. 10 St. Patrick-St. Vincent will have the tall task of trying to defeat No. 2 Cardinal Newman (26-3) in the North Bay. Ygnacio Valley is slotted as the No. 2 seed in Division IV, and will try to take care of business against visiting Marin Catholic. Cornerstone Christian is the No. 1 seed in Division VI and will welcome No. 8 Mendocino. … On the girls side, No. 4 Moreau Catholic will play host to No. 5 Foothill, and No. 3 Miramonte will try to defeat Diablo Athletic League opponent Northgate for the second time this season. In Division IV, No, 1 St. Patrick-St. Vincent will play host to Tri-County Athletic League rival St. Mary’s-Berkeley. In Division IV, the California School for the Deaf will travel up to Fort Bragg to play at No 4 Mendocino. 

Darren Sabedra contributed to this report.