Basketball roundup: No. 17 Monte Vista stuns No. 5 California in San Ramon behind stingy defense, balanced scoring
DANVILLE — Not many picked Monte Vista to be one of the favorites to win the East Bay Athletic League but after beating California on Tuesday night, the Mustangs have officially put the EBAL on notice.
Monte Vista picked up a signature win, defeating California 64-53 on the road to remain perfect through two league games. Four different players scored in double figures as Monte Vista’s balanced scoring attack proved too much for the Grizzlies.
“I was so proud of our guys,” Monte Vista coach Nick Jones said after the game. “The first half was as good as we had played in a long time. I mean, we were lights out defensively in the first half, the ball was moving. We were making plays. … They really came to play today, which was fun to see.”
Max Nishikawa led Monte Vista with 21 points, Ian Desai added 12, Liron Cojocaru scored 11 and Gavin McMilllan chipped in 10.
Brayde Kuykendall led California with 20 points.
Jones said Monte Vista’s defense in the first half was the best his group has played all season.
The Mustangs held California to just 12 points in the first half – three coming in the second quarter – and built a 32-12 advantage by halftime.
“I thought we were very good defensively, and actually, I thought our defense triggered our offense,” Jones said. “We had a lot of steals, came up with a lot of fifty-fifty balls, deflections early that allowed us to get out and transition, which kind of set the tone for the game.”
California made a push in the third quarter that cut Monte Vista’s halftime lead to just 10. But the Mustangs kept their lead in the fourth quarter and notched their best win of the season.
California, which was coming off back-to-back wins over No. 3 St. Ignatius and No. 14 Dublin, looked like the early favorites to win the EBAL. But after Monte Vista’s win, the Mustangs have firmly inserted themselves into the conversation.
“I think our league is so good,” Jones said. “The coaching, the talent is really good as everybody knows.We just take things one day at a time. We’re going to enjoy the Cal win and we’re going to move on to Foothill tomorrow night.”
No. 1 Salesian 79, Bethel 36
This one was over fast. The Pride built a 27-4 lead after the first 10 minutes and cruised to a 43-point Tri County Athletic League Rock Division victory. Elias Obenyah led Salesian (14-2, 3-0) with 12 points while Jahlil Lindsey had 11. Jameer Hicks and Redley Goff had eight points each for Bethel, which dropped to 9-7, 0-3.
No. 4 Bellarmine 51, Sacred Heart Cathedral 36
Chico State commit Will Corbett turned in another solid performance, this time scoring 19 points to lead Bellarmine to a bounce-back win in West Catholic Athletic League play. Senior Cory Wong scored a team-high 17 points for SHC, which dropped to 8-5, 1-2. Bellarmine improved to 10-3, 2-1.
No. 11 De La Salle 75, No. 9 Dougherty Valley 66
After going down two at halftime, the Spartans outpaced the Wildcats in the fourth quarter to leave with a gritty home win. Davit Pachulia led the way with 28 points while two different Spartans had double-doubles. Mariano Lopez Arden had 18 points and 18 rebounds while Olanre Owoborode scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Dougherty Valley’s Rashod Cotton Jr. led all scorers with 29 points.
Campolindo 57, Alhambra 50
Peyton Beld and Noah Henry each scored 13 points to help Campolindo (12-4, 3-0) remain undefeated in Diablo Athletic League play. Henry added 10 rebounds to give him a double-double. Cooper Largent had 13 points for Alhambra, which is now 12-4, 1-2.
Girls basketball
No. 4 Pinewood 68, Notre Dame-Belmont 31
Sophomore Abigail Yew scored a game-high 17 points as Pinewood easily breezed past Notre Dame-Belmont in its West Bay Athletic League opener. Caitlyn Kramer scored 13 points. Pinewood improved to 11-0, 1-0 while Notre Dame-Belmont (11-1, 0-1) suffered its first loss of the season.