Basketball roundup: San Ramon Valley stuns No. 13 Granada in overtime to keep EBAL chaos alive

If the East Bay Athletic League couldn’t get more unpredictable, San Ramon Valley made sure it stayed that way Friday night at Granada. 

The Wolves stole a 70-64 overtime win just days after Granada had a statement victory over Dougherty Valley. 

SRV (10-12, 3-2) outscored Granada 14-8 in the overtime period. 

“This team, they have composure and they execute,” SRV coach Brian Botteen said in a phone interview. “We got some clutch rebounds and made some clutch shots. That’s what this team has been doing and they’re scrappy.” 

Tommy Ambidge led SRV with 22 points. Senior point guard Tyler Smith scored 18 points, Pierce Iattoni added 12 and Hudson Garcia had 11. 

SRV led by as much as seven in the third quarter, but Granada’s offense turned a corner late in the second half. The Matadors got 27 points after halftime from stars Brandon Hahn and Damien Miles. 

A last-second foul gave the Matadors a chance to win the game at the free throw line, but the Livermore school hit just one of two shots, forcing overtime.

From there, it was all SRV.

Nate Dessoye, who hadn’t scored all game, poured in five points and hit three crucial free throws to lift SRV in OT.

The win catapulted SRV back into the postseason mix. The Wolves came into EBAL play with just seven wins and will need to finish with a .500 record overall, in league play or against Division I opponents. 

With four league games remaining, the Wolves have a heightened sense of urgency.

“We’re fighting for our lives to play and make the playoffs,” Botteen said. “We’ve had some rough growing pains for a team that really returns only one player that played about six minutes a game last season. So they’ve learned how to play and how to compete, and how to make up for some deficiencies that maybe we don’t have against other teams.” 

Granada (15-6, 2-3) got 25 points from Hahn and 16 points from Miles. 

No. 2 Archbishop Riordan 61, Valley Christian 44

This matchup was stopped in the second quarter when Valley Christian center Teniola Bamisebi took a hard fall and remained down on the floor for an extended period of time. Trainers attended to Bamisebi for nearly 20 minutes, and VC athletic director Ryan Realini confirmed to the Bay Area News Group that paramedics were called and Bamisebi was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Realini said Bamisebi has total control of his extremities and added, “We feel good he will be OK.” Both teams warmed up once Bamisebi left the court and eventually restarted the game, which Riordan led 9-8 with 7:39 remaining in the second quarter. Bamisebi had seven of VC’s eight points and was still the Warriors’ leading scorer at halftime when they trailed 23-17. Emmanuel Ahamefule and CJ Ani each had nine points in the win. 

No. 4 Archbishop Mitty 56, Sacred Heart Cathedral 46

SHC put up a good fight, but the Monarchs were too much in this WCAL matchup. Amani LaMere-Swift scored 17 points and Nicholas Gklaros-Stavropoulos added 12 for Mitty (9-6, 3-2). SHC dropped to 8-7, 1-4. 

No. 6 Clayton Valley 60, Berean Christian 21

Clayton Valley rolled through another Diablo Athletic League challenger. Senior Vince Ellis came off the bench and scored 13 points for the Ugly Eagles. Charlie Sullivan also had 13 points and Zion Grissom added eight. Senior Giovanni Buchanan had seven points for Berean Christian (8-5, 2-3). Clayton Valley won its eighth straight game and improved to 16-3, 7-0. 

No. 8 The King’s Academy 82, Menlo School 57

Claxton Ladine propelled TKA to yet another West Bay Athletic League win, scoring 21 points. Xavier Barnett added 13, Tristan Wai had 12 and Hezekiah Sires chipped in 10 for the Knights, who improved to 15-3, 4-0. Menlo (9-8, 1-3) got 18 points from William Lenihan. 

No. 9 Dougherty Valley 61, No. 10 Monte Vista 56

The Wildcats only needed five players to score to notch a solid EBAL win over Monte Vista at home. Rashod Cotton Jr. scored 18 points, Rylan Sevilla had 16 and Alonzo Walker totaled 11 as Dougherty Valley (15-7, 3-2) earned a bounce back win. Max Nishikawa scored 14 points for Monte Vista, which dropped to 14-8, 3-2. 

No. 11 Amador Valley 45, No. 14 Dublin 40

The Dons escaped with another defensive win, defeating EBAL foe Dublin on the road. Guard Elijah Stanley led the way with 14 points and San Jose State commit Cade Kruger added 10. Aiden Li had 14 and Izaiyah Romero scored 11 for Dublin, which dropped to 15-7, 2-3. Amador Valley is 14-8, 3-2. 

No. 12 Moreau Catholic 74, Irvington 51

Star big man Brendan Williams continued his strong play, scoring 16 points to lead Moreau to a blowout Mission Valley Athletic League win. Isaiah Clendinen had 13 points and Khollin Ware chipped in 10. Irvington (11-9, 3-5) got 17 points from Aneesh Malyala. Moreau is 16-3, 8-0. 

No. 18 California 69, No. 20 Livermore 59

Despite Livermore’s sophomore sensation Amare Chandler scoring 31 points, California snapped its four-game skid and picked up a much-needed EBAL win. Jaiden Jones scored 16 points, Emeka Ifediora had 14, Juremi Ejuwa recorded 12 and Santa Clara commit Brayde Kuykendall chipped in 11 for California (11-11, 2-3). Livermore dropped to 16-6, 2-3. 

No. 19 Milpitas 87, Mountain View 47

The Trojans continued their dominant run through the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division, this time breezing past Mountain View (8-10, 2-4). Dylan Nguyen had a game-high 29 points, followed by 24 from Pranavram Krishnan. Diego Inocencio led the Spartans with 15 points. Milpitas improved to 17-1, 6-0. 

Acalanes 59, Alhambra 49

The Dons picked up their fifth win in the last six games, downing Alhambra on the road in a DAL game. Gavin Dodge led the way with 19 points and Cameron Hood added 14 for Acalanes (12-9, 4-1). Alhambra, which dropped to 13-7, 1-5, got 15 points from Kingston Sabino and 14 from Cooper Largent. 

Burlingame 51, Terra Nova 48

Sophomore Lucca Maher scored a game-high 19 points and Max Robenalt had 13 to lead the Panthers to a Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division victory. Terra Nova (8-10, 1-5) got 23 points from Kai Gieraths and 14 from Jonathan Martins. Burlingame is 12-5, 4-2. 

Fremont-Oakland 75, McClymonds 53

Zaire Albert had 25 points, Tyreese West scored 17 and Jabari Jones chipped in 11 as Fremont (12-7, 2-1) picked up an Oakland Athletic League win. McClymonds (4-14, 1-2) got 16 points from Antuan Mason and 14 each from Lavonte Jenkins and Josiah McCombs. 

Heritage 58, Antioch 41

Kenyaun Jones had 15 points and Jett Libiran and Aidan Muse each scored 14 as Heritage picked up a Bay Valley Athletic League road win. The Patriots improved to 13-7, 5-2. Antioch dropped to 7-13, 2-5. 

Los Gatos 55, Monta Vista 44

Dionysis Maroudas scored 16 points and Milos Grabovac had 12 in a solid Santa Clara Athletic League De Anza Division win for Los Gatos (14-4, 5-1). Adarsh Inampudi had 17 points and Alex Tashjian scored 14 for Monta Vista, which dropped to 12-5, 2-4. 

Menlo-Atherton 61, Half Moon Bay 48

Four players scored in double figures for M-A (13-3, 6-0 PAL Bay) as the Bears grabbed a comfortable win over HMB. Jerry Williams scored a team-high 18 points, Aiden Atkins had 16 and Luca Auer and Jacob Sutton each had 11 in the win. HMB, which dropped to 11-7, 5-1, got 16 points from Owen Perez, 14 from Gio Garduno-Martin and 12 from Levi Meighan. 

Mt. Eden 56, Encinal 46

Devin Santos dropped 21 points, Denzel Jackson had 17 and Cash Gonzales scored 12 as Mt. Eden won its third West Alameda County Conference Shoreline Division game. Kimani Mayfield had 17 points for Encinal, which dropped to 8-9, 0-4. Mt. Eden is now 11-8, 3-1. 

Saratoga 47, Fremont-Sunnyvale 46

Saratoga squeaked by Fremont behind three double-digit scorers. Junior center Anson Hulme scored 19 points, Cole Sheehy had 13 and Aidan Liu added as Saratoga (11-6, 6-1) picked up a SCVAL El Camino Division victory. Fremont (10-7, 5-2) got 17 points from Kota Xu and 10 from Kai Daron.

Serra 64, St. Francis 54

The Padres held a 14-point halftime lead and didn’t look back to notch a solid WCAL win. Wyatt Vonblanco scored a team-high 25 points, dished out four assists and had three steals. Senior shooting guard Tyler Bailey had nine points. Serra improved to 10-6, 2-4 while St. Francis dropped to 8-9, 0-6. 

Ygnacio Valley 75, Miramonte 69

Jalan Cody recorded a triple-double, scoring 16 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists in YV’s DAL win over Miramonte. Machai Alston led all scorers with 27 points and Jaelyn Cox had 21 and nine rebounds. YV improved to 8-10, 4-2. Miramonte dropped to 11-9, 2-4. 

GIRLS BASKETBALL

No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 76, Sacred Heart Cathedral 21

Mitty (15-2, 4-0) continued to roll along in West Catholic Athletic League play, this time with its second-biggest win of the season. The Monarchs employed a balanced scoring attack led by McKenna Woliczko, who poured in 11 first-quarter and 18 first-half points, finishing with 25 overall and making 11 of 12 field goal attempts. She added seven rebounds and seven assists, the latter a career high. Maliya Hunter was next up with 21, and Devin Cosgriff added 12. Sofia Teresi had seven points. For SHC (5-13, 0-5), Lea Escobar led the way with seven points. Mitty held the Irish to seven points or fewer in every quarter, including three in the third.

No. 2 San Ramon Valley 92, Granada 20

This one was over quickly, as SRV (17-3, 6-0) led 33-0 after a quarter and then pulled its starters. Freshman Kellan Thornson led the Wolves with 15 points, and Hania Bowes had 13 points and six rebounds. Fellow freshmen Presley Uchikura (nine points, nine boards) and Isla Allen (nine points) contributed as well. Granada dropped to 7-15, 0-5.

No. 4 Priory 64, Harker 19

Taylor Marsland led Priory (12-5, 4-0) with 14 points, three rebounds and two steals as the Panthers took care of business to remain unbeaten in West Bay Athletic League play. Sasha Johnson added 13 points, three steals and three rebounds, and Abigel Smuk had 10 points, four rebounds and four steals. Harker fell to 8-8, 4-4.

No. 5 Pinewood 74, Menlo School 27

It was raining 3s in Los Altos Hills as Pinewood (14-1, 3-1) poured in 16 3-pointers (12 by halftime) en route to routing Menlo (11-5, 1-3). Pinewood’s proficiency from distance gave the Panthers 52 first-half points. Abigail Yew led Pinewood with 20 points, and Alex Tseng scored 14. Anusha Krishnan had 12, Andri Wilkinson chipped in 10 and Caitlyn Kramer scored nine plus 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Sophia Longinidis led Menlo with 14 points.

No. 6 Archbishop Riordan 64, Valley Christian 26

Fresh off a week of big wins, Riordan (10-5, 2-1) bounced back from a tough loss to Mitty, getting back on track with a big win in the City. The Crusaders spread the scoring out very evenly, as Tallyah Nasol (10 points), Nylah Dyson (nine), Mafalda Fontan (nine), Ariah Thompson (eight) and Marina Bravo (eight) all played key roles. Valley Christian (7-11, 1-4) was led by Jahniya Payne with six points, with Evelyn Gittens and Anaya Bannarbie adding four apiece.

No. 18 Half Moon Bay 51, No. 17 Menlo-Atherton 49

In a thrilling finish in Atherton, Half Moon Bay completed a successful trip across Highway 92 and beat M-A thanks to Makena Glynn’s 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds to play. Luisa Tava’s 3 at the buzzer rattled out for M-A. Glenn Reeves was in Atherton and has the full story here.

No. 19 Dougherty Valley 55, Monte Vista 34

DV (16-3, 4-1) continues to establish itself as one of the better teams in the EBAL, now third in the league behind SRV and Carondelet. Newly minted Bay Area News Group athlete of the week Keira Tom led the way with 22 points and added four rebounds and three steals. Chloe Omega had 13 points plus five assists, four steals and a rebound. Vanessa Nguyen had 11 points, three assists, four rebounds and two steals. Monte Vista dropped to 10-10, 2-3.