Thursday’s CCS basketball semifinals: Top storylines, surprises, trends, more
LATE RUN SENDS PALO ALTO BOYS TO D-I FINAL
Leigh was in position for more late-game magic in the semifinals of the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs on Thursday night.
When Brody Le buried a 3-pointer while drawing a foul and then made the foul shot, the visiting Longhorns held a two-point lead over top-seeded Palo Alto midway through the fourth quarter.
But unlike Tuesday, when Cade Robertson hit a half-court shot at the buzzer in overtime to beat Mountain View, fifth-seeded Leigh’s section playoff run came to an end.
After the four-point play, Palo Alto scored the next eight points and went on to a 40-35 victory to advance to the Division I final on Saturday night against Carlmont at Mission College.
Isaiah Phillips curled around a screen and sank a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to put Palo Alto in front 34-33.
Justin Fung followed with a steal and a drive to the hoop for a layup that made it 36-33. Phillips extended the margin to 37-33 when he made 1 of 2 free throws and Jorell Clark’s lay up gave the Vikings a 39-33 advantage.
Palo Alto (22-4) returns to a CCS final for the first time since it captured back-to-back Division I crowns in 2019 and 2020.
The loss prevented Leigh (16-10) from reaching a second CCS final in program history. The Longhorns won the Division III title in 1991.
– Darren Sabedra
MILLS GETS REMATCH WITH NOTRE DAME-SJ
Mills’ bid for back-to-back CCS Division III championships was spoiled last season by Notre Dame-San Jose, which beat the Vikings in overtime 52-47 to celebrate the title.
It was an emotional loss for Mills and its coach, Justin Matsu, as the team dedicated its season to Matsu’s father, Dave, who died of a stroke a few months earlier.
Dave was Mills’ longtime coach. He had shared the coaching duties with Justin when Mills beat Santa Cruz for the CCS Division III title in 2023.
As recently as Tuesday, Justin visited his father’s gravesite before the team’s quarterfinal win to reflect on the program and his dad’s legacy.
Thursday, second-seeded Mills breezed past Santa Cruz 60-30 to reach the Division III final for the fourth consecutive season. Sofia Kwan had 16 points and Kalyssa Chu added 10 to lead the way.
Saturday, the Vikings will get a rematch against Notre Dame-San Jose as the bracket’s top-seeded team advanced with a 63-28 win over Pioneer.
The final will be held at Santa Clara High at 1 p.m.
“We’re excited for the opportunity,” Justin Matsu said in an email to the Bay Area News Group. “They’re a great team and very well coached. Ali (Bueno) does a great job with them and has them playing really well this year. Our girls understand the task at hand.”
– Darren Sabedra
THE KING’S ACADEMY CRUISES INTO CCS D-IV FINAL
The team some thought belonged in the CCS Open Division is stating its case in the section’s Division IV bracket.
The King’s Academy, the top seed, had little trouble with No. 4 Sacred Heart Prep on Thursday night in Sunnyvale, earning a comfortable 64-50 win and advancing to the championship game against No. 2 Carmel. A 17-5 run made the difference as the Knights pulled away in the third quarter.
Alex Osterloh led all scorers with 18 points for SHP (16-10), followed by Alex Straser with 14.
Karan Kolappa paced TKA (22-4) with 15 points, and Caedmon Dickson and Boss Mhoon each scored 14.
It was TKA’s third win over SHP this season. The Knights face Carmel at 3 p.m. Saturday at Santa Clara High School.
– Christian Babcock
CHRISTOPHER BEATS WILLOW GLEN, SECURING REMATCH WITH WESTMONT
Not one, not two, not three…
Christopher has seen a lot of Westmont this season, and after Thursday’s action, the Cougars will see even more. The Gilroy school, the top seed in the Division II tournament, defeated Willow Glen 60-52 at home to secure its spot in the D-II final.
Waiting for the Cougars once again will be Westmont, which Christopher (24-2) has already faced three times this season.
The Cougars have won the first three matchups. Can they do it again with a CCS title on the line?
We’ll find out at 7 p.m. Saturday at Santa Clara High.
Senior Davian Kennedy led Willow Glen (15-12) on Thursday with 27 points.
– Christian Babcock
LOS GATOS GIRLS PUNCH TICKET TO D-I FINAL
As expected, Los Gatos will have a chance to win another section title.
The Wildcats, a clear favorite in the girls Division I bracket as the top seed, took care of business in the semifinals with a 56-35 win over No. 4 Salinas.
Now the Cats (19-8) will meet No. 3 Menlo-Atherton in the D-I championship game after the Bears upset No. 2 Evergreen Valley 56-37 in San Jose.
The two teams have not met this season. Los Gatos posted a perfect 12-0 record in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division, while M-A (19-7) finished first in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division, going 10-2 in league play.
The pair of Bay Area heavyweights will do battle at 3 p.m. Saturday on the Mission College court.
– Christian Babcock
MENLO GIRLS ON CUSP OF FOUR IN A ROW
Apparently, there is no stopping Menlo School in the CCS Division IV girls bracket.
The top-seeded Knights extended their playoff winning streak to 11 games on Thursday night with a 51-26 victory at home over fourth-seeded Notre Dame-Belmont in the semifinals.
Saturday, they will aim for their fourth consecutive Division IV title when they play Harker, the opponent they defeated to capture the 2022 crown.
In the semifinals, Ruiqi Liu led Menlo with 20 points and seven assists and Karen Xin added 17 points as the Knights improved to 17-8.
Menlo had split two previous meetings this season against Notre Dame-Belmont in West Bay Athletic League Foothill Division play, winning 45-33 on Jan. 31 and losing 52-42 on Jan. 14.
The rubber match was no contest.
Menlo led 22-5 after the first quarter, 34-11 at halftime and 46-15 after three quarters.
– Darren Sabedra
ON TAP FOR FRIDAY
The CCS’s heavyweights will be at Santa Clara University on Friday night for the Open Division championship games. In the 6 p.m. girls final, Archbishop Mitty will try to win its 33rd CCS championship when it plays longtime rival Pinewood. In the 8 p.m. boys title game, Archbishop Riordan will be aiming for back-to-back Open titles when it takes on St. Ignatius, which is appearing in its first Open final, a division the CCS added in 2013. … All four finalists went 3-0 in pool play to reach the championship games. On the boys’ side, the only other team with a winning pool-play record was Milpitas, the runner-up to SI. Milpitas beat Bellarmine and Serra to finish 2-1. … Riordan and Priory went 2-1 in girls pool play. … Menlo-Atherton, routed by the Riordan boys on Monday, ended pool play with a nice bounce-back win over Mitty on Wednesday.
— Darren Sabedra