NCS basketball playoffs: The best of Tuesday’s opening round
The first round of the North Coast Section boys and girls basketball playoffs started Tuesday night with games in Divisions I, III and V.
There were thrilling finishes, a handful of upsets and results that set the stage for more drama when the quarterfinals are played Friday.
Here is the best of Tuesday’s action:
GAMES OF THE NIGHT
Boys
Livermore wins OT thriller over California: Livermore’s magic carpet ride of a season will continue for at least one more game.
The Cowboys, who have undergone a renaissance this season under coach Mike Tripp, did it again Tuesday night.
Sophomore star Amare Chandler dropped 40 points, including the buzzer-beating 3-point winner in overtime, as No. 10 seed Livermore upset No. 7 California 83-80 on the road in the Division I bracket.
AMARE CHANDLER!!!!! Remember that name. 3-pointer wins it for Livermore 83-80 in overtime. Amazing amazing game. pic.twitter.com/2FDhiXww8h
— Mitch Stephens (@MitchBookLive) February 18, 2026
“Any coach would want somebody like that,” Tripp told the Bay Area News Group. “He made that three to send it into overtime, and then the three at the end there without any hesitation. Just a real, real good scorer, shooter. But the other guys played pretty good too. So it was a dogfight. Great team that we played. We just played hard, man.”
Milestones for the Cowboys (17-9) this season have included their first East Bay Athletic League win since 2014 and their first win over De La Salle since MaxPreps began archiving results in 2004.
By avenging a 10-point loss to Cal earlier this season, Livermore moved on to the quarterfinals on Friday, putting the Cowboys one step closer to what would be their first section championship.
“It was awesome,” Tripp said. “Just played their hearts out and made some big shots at the end.”
Tripp was especially proud of how his team handled the raucous atmosphere in San Ramon.
“We were fortunate to come on top at Cal,” Tripp said. “It’s a hard place to play. I can’t speak for all coaches, but for me, when you have players like I have, every day is a great time to be the Livermore coach.
“Because these guys will run through a wall for me, and their work ethic is just unbelievable. Practice, we get after it. It’s going to be hard when we’re all done, because I got some real solid seniors. It’s been great. When you have a team like this that has a great effort every day out, it’s a pretty good deal.”
Dublin outlasts Berkeley: There was nothing easy about fifth-seeded Dublin’s 70-64 victory over No. 12 seed Berkeley in the opening round of the Division I playoffs.
The Gaels (19-8) led by three points after the first quarter and by three at halftime. They widened the advantage to eight by the end of the third period and then held off Berkeley down the stretch to advance to the quarterfinals on Friday.
A trio of players – Aiden Li (22), Nicolas Lee (16) and Izaiyah Romero (15) – scored in double figures for Dublin, which is no stranger to the postseason.
In the previous five seasons that the NCS has had playoffs, the Gaels have been in the Open Division four times.
In the one season during that stretch that it dropped to Division I (2024), Dublin advanced to the final.
So maybe Tuesday was the start of another deep run.
To advance past Berkeley, the Gaels had to overcome four Yellowjackets scoring in double figures: Donte Joseph (20), Noah Miller (17), Kavi Jivan (12) and Zach Winslow (11).
Berkeley finished 15-12.
Monte Vista survives against Alameda: There was little margin for error for sixth-seeded Monte Vista in its Division I opener at home against No. 11 seed Alameda.
The visitors led by two after the first quarter. The score was tied at halftime. And Monte Vista led by just four going to the final period.
When it ended, the host Mustangs could finally exhale. They won 50-47 to advance to play at third-seeded Granada in an all-East Bay Athletic League quarterfinal Friday.
On Jan. 9, Monte Vista won at home over Granada 51-44.
Tuesday, Max Nishikawa finished with 16 points and Ian Desai added 15 to lead the Mustangs, who improved to 17-11.
Jack Omarra (23 points), Samuel Skolnick (12 points) and Dylan Mann (10 points) provided almost all of Alameda’s scoring.
The Hornets finished 15-12.
Liberty holds on against Freedom: The Lions led by 20 at halftime, but a spirited run from Freedom made this game close.
But in the end, the Brentwood school came out victorious with a 62-59 win, despite struggling in the second half. The Lions played Freedom twice in the regular season, beating the Falcons both times.
“I just think we fell into the trap of playing a team for a third time and not taking them for granted, but just playing down to, playing down their level,” Liberty coach Rich Morton said. “I think the kids felt like we’ve beaten them twice already, so they thought they had the game in hand. It was just one of those type of games.”
Brendan Beresford knocked down shot after shot in the first half to help Liberty take a big lead.
The win advances Liberty to the second round where it will face a familiar foe in Dublin. The Lions lost to the Gaels two years ago in the NCS semifinals in heartbreaking fashion. They then were defeated handedly at home last year in the first round of the NCS Open Division playoffs.
Now, Liberty will get a shot to beat their postseason nemesis.
“It’s a serious matchup. The guys have to come out and take it personal and understand they’ve beaten us the last two times,” Morton said.
Brave Christian gets statement win: The upstart, small Christian school in Dublin notched its first postseason win under second-year coach Joe Fuca as the Lions defeated a tough St. Patrick-St. Vincent team at home.
After turning heads in the preseason and successfully completing a dominant run through the Bay Counties League East Division, Brave Christian proved it can hang with tougher competition. The Lions never trailed and didn’t allow the Bruins to threaten in a 65-55 victory at home.
“This win was big and we really needed it,” Brave Christian coach Joe Fuca said. “The first game is so important. And we shot really well in our own home gym, which was great.”
Adama Kone led the Lions with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Brave Christian will playSan Domenico on the road in the next round.
Girls
Mission San Jose holds off Urban: It took every second of 37 minutes to decide it, but No. 12 seed Mission San Jose held on on the road to beat No. 5 Urban 47-46 for an overtime upset in the Division III bracket.
“Big plays from both teams every second of overtime down to the wire,” MSJ coach Alyysa Hashimoto told the Bay Area News Group.
MSJ’s Stephanie Yu converted a key and-one basket with five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to send the game to OT.
Kaylin Teo finished with 16 points, including five of her team’s eight in the extra session, to lead MSJ (16-11) to victory. Krithi Tandyala chipped in 11.
Stephanie Yu (seven), Adhuna Devineni (six) and Amy Jin (five) provided supplementary scoring.
Urban (19-7) was led by Chloe AuYeung, who had 19 points. Mia Natividad added 12, and Lucy Bone had 10.
Alameda edges Eureka: In another tight 5 vs. 12 game, No. 5 Alameda found a way to hang on against No. 12 Eureka in the Division I bracket, holding off the visitors 57-56.
Desiree Shoblo led the Hornets (18-9) with 18 points and received support from teammates Mia Borja (16), Mia Wang (nine) and Jennalyn Apodaca (eight).
“Fun game to be in,” Alameda coach Kareem Summerville told the Bay Area News Group.
Eureka finished 18-10. After making the long trip south from up near the California/Oregon border, the Loggers were led by Tiarah Maualuga with 22 points and Nashya Williams with 16.
Dublin handles College Park: The second-seeded Gaels got off to a strong start at home in the Division I bracket, beating No. 15 College Park 53-38 to ride a wave of momentum into the quarterfinals.
Dublin (21-7) will remain at home to face Heritage (21-6) after getting 19 points from Arianna Chacon and 11 from Makaela Beltran. Sienna Kwan added eight points and Addison Leomiti had seven.
Taylor Ochoa had 16 points to lead College Park, which finished its season 23-6.
STARS OF THE NIGHT
Boys
– Amari Chandler’s 3-pointer in the final seconds of OT sent the visiting Livermore student section into bedlam as the Cowboys stunned California 83-80.
– Dublin’s Aiden Li had himself a second half, scoring 16 of his 22 points over the final two quarters in the Gaels’ win over Berkeley.
– Brave Christian’s Adama Kone had a monster game, scoring 25 points while grabbing 15 rebounds the Lions’ 65-55 win over St. Patrick-St. Vincent in the first round of the Division III playoffs.
Girls
– Liberty’s duo of Nariyah Cooper and Leosha Baker combined for 24 of the Lions’ 32 points in their narrow Division III win over San Leandro, with Cooper’s 13 leading the way.
RIM SHOTS
Boys
– Berean Christian traveled nearly 300 miles (one way) to play its opening-round Division V game against fifth-seeded Arcata but certainly made the most of its journey. The 12th-seeded Walnut Creek school won 57-51.
– Only two double-digit seeds reached the quarterfinals: No. 10 Livermore in Division I and Berean Christian in D-V.
– Acalanes defeated Archie Williams 66-55 on the road. The Dons dropped two games –– one at home and another at a neutral site –– in the regular season, but win the one that counts the most. Acalanes will travel to top-seeded O’Dowd on Friday.
Girls
– Eighth-seeded Liberty scored just two points in the first quarter of its Division III opener against No. 9 seed San Leandro but ultimately rallied to win 32-27.
– Four double-digit seeds advanced to the girls quarterfinals: No. 11 Pinole Valley in Division I, No. 11 Mission San Jose and No. 12 Archie Williams in Division III and No. 10 Sonoma Academy in Division V.
WHAT’S NEXT
The playoffs continue on Wednesday with opening-round games in Divisions II, IV and VI. The section’s heavyweights get started Thursday with first-round matchups in the Open Division.