Prep roundup: Salesian coach wins 600th. San Ramon Valley edges Granada in another EBAL nail-biter.
Boys basketball
Salesian coach wins 600th
Salesian coach Bill Mellis captured his 600th victory on Thursday night as the Pride, playing at home in Richmond, rolled past St. Mary’s-Berkeley 82-37 in a Tri-County Athletic League Rock Division game.
According to Cal-Hi Sports’ record book, fewer than 50 boys basketball coaches have reached 600 wins in state history.
Mellis did it in his 25th season.
“It feels like any other win, and that must mean I’ve been coaching for a long time,” Mellis said, laughing. “I’m older and grayer now.”
The coach added, “The longevity of my career has everything to do with having great players, assistant coaches like Ed Foster, and support from administrators. I’ve had the same great athletic director, Chad Nightingale, for all 25 years.”
Mellis gave a shout-out to his coach at Santa Cruz High, Pete Newell Jr., son of the legendary Cal coach.
If Mellis were to give advice to his younger self, he said it would be, “Enjoy it.”
“When I was younger, I was too caught up in the wins and losses,” Mellis said. “Now it’s about teaching the players, getting them to college and the next level, and trying to enjoy the little things. I guess you could say my perspective has changed.”
Thursday, Zander Jimenez (18 points), Carlton Perrilliat (13), Emerson Jones (12) and Jaylen Wheeler (11) reached double figures for Salesian in the scoring column.
The Pride — ranked fourth by the Bay Area News Group — improved to 16-7, 7-0.
St. Mary’s is 7-14, 2-6.
SRV survives EBAL thriller
San Ramon Valley has lost its share of gut-wrenchers since East Bay Athletic League play started.
Thursday, the Wolves got a view from the other side.
Playing at home in Danville, they held off a fourth-quarter charge from Granada to win 61-60 in EBAL play as Seamus Deely scored 19 points and Parker McClaughry and Luke Isaak had 11 apiece to lead the way.
Seventh-ranked San Ramon Valley led 24-10 after the first quarter, 37-29 at halftime and 52-41 entering the final period.
But just as it did Tuesday at home against De La Salle, No. 8 Granada rallied down the stretch only to fall short at the end. The Matadors (16-6, 2-3) lost to De La Salle by two.
SRV (18-5, 2-4) knows the feeling. Its four league losses — to Dougherty Valley, California, De La Salle and Dublin — have been by six points or fewer.
Deely ignited SRV with 12 points in the opening quarter, giving the home team a cushion it would need to close out the victory.
Andrew McKeever – Granada’s 6-foot-11, Saint Mary’s-bound center – had 24 points to lead the Livermore school. He was 10 of 11 at the foul line.
The Matadors also got 11 points from Tyler Harris and 10 from Nate Keaney.
Saturday, Granada visits Dublin and SRV travels to Foothill.
SI stuns No. 6 Archbishop Riordan
St. Ignatius, which lost at home to Riordan by 11 points on Jan. 4, flipped the script on the Crusaders’ home court Thursday in West Catholic Athletic League play.
Trailing 30-24 at halftime, SI outscored Riordan by nine in the third quarter to grab the lead and held on to hand the Crusaders their first league loss.
Riordan (14-4, 7-1) now shares the WCAL lead with Archbishop Mitty, which will play host to the San Francisco school on Feb. 7.
SI improved to 10-8, 4-4.
In the WCAL record book, SI and Riordan now have identical league records. Since the WCAL was formed in 1968, they both are 400-296, which leads the league.
Raymond Whitley led St. Ignatius with 18 points. Caeden Hutcherson added 17 points and Kreekor Karageuzian and Theo Lamb each scored 10 points for the Wildcats.
Jasir Rencher had 17 points and Achilles Woodson finished with 10 points for Riordan.
No. 2 De La Salle 61, Foothill 40
Billy Haggerty scored 19 points and Evan Wells added 13 as the seniors helped De La Salle roll at home over Foothill on Senior Night. After winning their previous three EBAL games by a combined eight points, the Spartans cruised in this one. They led 15-5 after the first quarter, 31-17 at halftime and 51-31 through three periods. De La Salle (19-4, 6-1) has won six in a row and 10 of 11 heading into a non-league showdown Saturday against Southern California powerhouse Harvard-Westlake at Mater Dei-Santa Ana’s Nike Extravaganza. Foothill fell to 13-10, 1-5. The Falcons got 15 points from Siddharth Swarup and 12 from Carter Donlon.
No. 6 Archbishop Mitty 53, Bellarmine 50
In a WCAL game that was tight the entire way, Mitty held on at home as Princeton-bound Derek Sangster scored 16 points and Nathan d’Abreu Noronha had nine points to pace the Monarchs. Mitty improved to 15-3, 7-1. Brayden Harris (14 points), Nick Corbett (12) and Tariq Weiser (11) scored in double figures for Bellarmine. The Bells fell to 7-10, 2-6.
No. 9 Dublin 56, Amador Valley 48
On the heels of its two-point victory at San Ramon Valley on Tuesday, Dublin had no letdown as the Gaels prevailed on the road over Amador Valley. Courtney Anderson Jr. scored 19 points and Mehki Thomas and Donovan Cooks each had 15 to lead the visitors. Dublin (16-7, 5-1) plays host to Granada on Saturday night. Amador Valley had three players score in double digits: Colton Cash (21), Javier Gros (12) and Mateo Jackson (10). The Dons slipped to 11-11, 1-5.
No. 12 Campolindo 56, Northgate 35
Campolindo won its fourth straight Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division game as the Cougars beat Northgate on the road. Logan Robeson scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds, Clay Naffziger had 11 points and two blocks, and Dylan Mansour had 10 points to lead the visitors. Campolindo improved to 15-5, 6-1. Northgate dropped to 7-14, 3-4.
Girls basketball
No. 10 Heritage 70, Freedom 53
McDonald’s All-American Amanda Muse scored a team-high 21 points in Heritage’s Bay Valley Athletic League win over Freedom. Senior guard Caitlyn Smith scored 14 points and Grace Hernandez hit three 3-pointers on her way to 11 points for Heritage, which also got 10 points from Kendall McClure. Heritage, which has won all of its league games by double-digit margins, improved to 17-4, 6-0. Freedom dropped to 5-15, 1-5.
No. 11 Monte Vista 75, Dougherty Valley 44
Monte Vista scored 22 points in the second quarter to stretch a two-point advantage after one period to 11. Then the Matadors really got going, outscoring their host 28-3 in the third quarter to turn the EBAL game into a rout. Monte Vista had four players score in double figures: Rachel Brans (20), Alyssa Rudd (18), Sarina Nagra (17) and Nia Coleman (15). The Matadors improved to 17-4, 5-1. Dougherty Valley dropped to 7-9, 2-4. Mikala Caston finished with 12 points and Nomen Iselen had 10 for the Wildcats.