Boys basketball: San Domenico wins first round in rivalry with MA

Wins aren’t likely to come easy this season, but as long as they come, San Domenico head coach Tyler Gaffaney is satisfied.

“Sometimes you have to win ugly,” Gaffaney said after the Panthers held on in a nailbiter for a 54-51 victory over rival Marin Academy in Thursday’s Bay Counties League opener.

The Panthers kept a narrow lead throughout the second half, but the Wildcats made it a one-shot game with 1 minute left on the clock after baskets by Grayson Rothbart and Trystan Standfield. Marin Academy got the ball back with 22 seconds left to play and got it in the hands of hot-shooting Kainoah Ho. His shot from beyond the arc to tie the game with 12 seconds left was off target, however, and the Panthers were able to kill the clock for the win.

“In a league as good as ours, every game is going to be very competitive, and Marin Academy has a very good team,” Gaffaney said.

Oskar Valiauga dominated the paint as he scored a team-high 18 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for the Panthers (13-3, 1-0 BCL), who also got 15 points from Ika Jokhadze. Stephen Song scored from everywhere on the court for 10 points, all in the first half.

“We’ve got to have more confidence in our shooting,” Gaffaney said. “We got a lot of open shots because Oskar is such a big presence down low. We’re going to get a lot of open looks because teams are going to double- and triple-team him.”

Ho scored a game-high 19 points for the Wildcats (12-4, 0-1). Standfield helped power a second-half Marin Academy rally and finished with 14 points.

Thursday’s win gives San Domenico a good footing before Saturday’s showdown with powerhouse University (11-4, 1-0).

“When you play only 10 games in league, each game matters,” Gaffaney said.

Marin Academy will look to pull even in league on Saturday against Stuart Hall.

“From last year when we finished tied for sixth in the league, it’s night and day,” Marin Academy head coach Khalil Murphy said. “We’re looking to finish in the top half of the league. We know we can compete with anyone in the league. We have nine games to go.”

San Domenico jumped out to a 10-0 lead behind Valiauga’s forceful play around the basket. But Marin Academy’s shooters found their rhythm to close the gap. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Ho and Standfield kicked off an 11-0 Wildcats run to close out the first quarter with Marin Academy leading 23-17.

Valiauga made his presence felt in the second quarter as the San Domenico defense clamped down and the Panthers outscored Marin Academy 18-6. A putback from Jokhadze gave the Panthers the lead for good with 2 minutes left before the break. Nagis Skladas followed with a 3-pointer and Song sank a layup to give the Panthers a 35-29 lead at halftime.

“San Domenico dominated the rebounding in the second quarter,” Murphy said. “Valiauga is a big body and he did a phenomenal job.”

The Panthers struggled with their shooting from beyond the arc, but were on target in the paint as they fought to seize control of the game in the second half, but never led by more than seven points.

A turnaround jumper in the key from Standfield brought Marin Academy to within three points with 1:19 left in the third quarter. But a pair of free throws, then a running jumper from JP Magalhaes gave the Panthers a 47-40 lead entering the final quarter.

“Stanfield and Ho are dynamic scorers,” Gaffaney said. “They can make one-on-one plays and make different shots. You can make sure they don’t get anything easy. They’re going to get hard shots because they’re such talented players, but you have to make sure they don’t get the easy shots.”

Ho rallied the Wildcats to within two points to start the fourth quarter, but a 3-pointer by Jokhadze and a dunk from Valiauga restored the Panthers’ lead to seven points with 2 minutes left.

The Wildcats watched their junior varsity team win on a last-second 3-pointer earlier in the night, and hoped some of the same magic was left on the court for them. Rothbart and Standfield set up Marin Academy for some more late drama, but Ho could not get a clear shot off to force overtime.

“It was an extremely exciting game,” Murphy said. “San Domenico is a great opponent, and I’m looking forward to seeing them again.”