Sports briefs: Redwood boys knock off Branson, earn top seed
The Redwood High boys basketball team hosted The Branson School on Saturday night with the MCAL league title and the top seed in next week’s playoffs on the line.
The Giants (21-5, 15-1) pulled out a 51-46 victory to avenge a loss earlier in the season and finish in a first-place tie with the Bulls (22-3, 15-1). The Giants take the top seed based on the tie-breaker numbers while Branson settles for the No. 2 seed.
Redwood awaits the winner of Monday’s play-in game and will host one semifinal at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday night.
Branson is set to host No. 3 San Marin in Wednesday’s other semifinal. The championship game was scheduled to be at Redwood regardless of which team finished with the top seed.
No further details were available at press time.
- Marin Catholic (11-15, 7-9) pulled away in the second half for a 61-44 victory against Archie Williams (11-14, 6-10) on Saturday night. The result, combined with Terra Linda’s win against Novato, sets up a play-in game between MC and TL for the fourth seed in next week’s MCAL playoffs. MC hosts TL at 7 p.m. on Monday. The full story of Saturday’s game can be found at marinij.com/sports and will run in Monday’s print edition.
- Terra Linda came up big in a 72-57 victory against Novato. Dylan Martin led the Trojans (16-10, 7-9) with 28 points, while Kai Walker added 12 points. Jacob Martin scored 10 points and Max Funk pulled down 15 rebounds. Joshua DeVore grabbed 14 points and 10 rebounds for Novato (4-21, 4-12). Andy Gates posted 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Dominic Scafani had nine points.
Girls basketball
Marin Catholic capped an undefeated league campaign with a 70-47 win against Archie Williams on Saturday. Gracyn Lovette scored a game-high 23 points for MC (21-5, 16-0), Cecily Hadd scored 12 and Madie Dayton added 10.
The Peregrine Falcons (15-12, 8-8) got 15 points from Carly Amborn and nine from Jessie Gauna, but were eliminated from MCAL playoff contention with the result.
- Hannah Golan led three Branson players in double figures with 19 points in a 63-48 victory against Redwood. Avery Myerberg added 16 points for the Bulls (15-10, 12-4) and Rosie Slayen chipped in with 13. Despite the loss, Redwood (16-10, 9-7) clinched the fourth and final playoff spot. Kitty White scored 13 for the Giants and Maddie Sofnas scored 10. Redwood travels to face MC in a semifinal at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Branson hits the road against San Marin at the same time in the other semifinal.
- Julie Martinez hit five 3-pointers as part of a 17-point night, pacing San Marin to a 49-36 win against Tam (11-13, 6-10). Keeley Wright stuffed the stat sheet for the Mustangs (21-5, 14-2) with 13 points, eight steals and five rebounds. Earlier in the day, the San Marin JV girls team won to wrap up that league title.
Wrestling
Three Redwood High wrestlers were undefeated as the Giants joined the field Saturday for the North Coast Section Division II Redwood Empire Duals at American Canyon High. Redwood’s Niko Sellers (134 pounds) scored a team-best 16 takedowns in two matches, while teammates Ali Hamzia (122) and Alexander Berkowitz (154) also went 2-0. Sophomore Tony Santos (22) had the fastest pin at 24 seconds.
The seventh-seeded Giants defeated No. 10 Lower Lake, 41-24, in their first match, but then fell to No. 2 Ukiah, 63-12, in the quarterfinals. Redwood lost to No. 6 Petaluma in the consolation bracket of the double-elimination tournament.
MCAL champion Novato, seeded fifth, opened with a tough matchup against No. 4 Casa Grande in a 57-18 loss. The Hornets defeated Lower Lake in a consolation bracket matchup.
The teams are gearing up now for the MCAL Individual Championships, scheduled for Feb. 11, beginning at 10 a.m. at San Marin.
Women’s basketball
Brittney Cedeno scored a team-high 20 points but Dominican University was undone by a rough second quarter in an 82-73 road loss to Azusa Pacific. Jenna Duley and Olga Faasolo had 12 points apiece for the Penguins (4-10, 12-5 PacWest), who were outscored 25-13 in the second quarter by Azusa Pacific (20-3, 15-1).
Men’s basketball
Marcus McCutcheon and PJ Volz scored 14 points apiece but Dominican was unable to keep pace with Azusa Pacific, falling 93-62. Garrett Siebels added 10 points for the Penguin (11-13, 7-10), who were trailing 48-21 at the half.
College baseball
Former San Rafael High standout Jake Verwiel had nine strikeouts and allowed two hits in six shutout innings to lead College of Marin to an 8-2 win against Sequoias on Saturday. Jacob Campbell added two hits and two RBIs for the Mariners (2-4).
College softball
Upset-minded Dominican fell 3-2 to No. 11-ranked Cal State San Marcos in the final inning at the Great Park in Irvine. The Penguins led 2-1 heading into the top of the seventh before the Cougars took the lead on a two-run double.
Girls soccer
Chloe Swindle scored off of a cross from Raya Leikin in first half as Marin Academy prevailed 1-0 against Tam in a battle between two of the top teams in the county.
Boys soccer
Devon Green, Parker Mascott and Dominic Yu all scored as Marin Academy remained unbeaten in league following a 3-1 home win against Lick-Wilmerding on Friday. Tristan Schauble and Elia Janes had assists for the Wildcats (13-1-1, 8-0-0 BCL West).