Prep roundup: Davit Pachulia hits game-winner as De La Salle completes comeback vs. Oakland
With just over five seconds remaining and the game tied at 42, De La Salle put the ball in junior Davit Pachulia’s hands.
The 6-foot-3 son of former Golden State Warrior center Zaza Pachulia caught the ball near the left elbow and went to work. He found his way into the paint only to see a wall of Oakland High jerseys.
With seconds on the clock, Pachulia took his shot at winning the game. He jump-stopped and threw up a contested layup over two Oakland defenders.
And he delivered.
Pachulia’s buzzer-beating layup at the buzzer completed De La Salle’s comeback as the Spartans escaped with a 44-42 win at home.
Pachulia finished with a team-high 16 points in the victory.
“Coach called my number, so I had to deliver and I did just that,” Pachulia told De La Salle broadcaster Pat O’Rourke after the game.
Mariano Lopez-Aarden added 14 points and Ibrahim Monawar had a game-high 10 assists.
De La Salle trailed by 10 going into the second half, but slowly chipped away at Oakland’s lead. Pachulia believed a fiery halftime speech from the coaching staff helped De La Salle play with more energy in the second half.
“It wasn’t pretty in the locker room at all,” Pachulia, who scored 11 second-half points, said. “What was said really changed the trajectory of the game and I thought the boys handled it well and you saw the outcome.”
De La Salle (12-3) will open East Bay Athletic League play on Friday at San Ramon Valley.
Freshman D-Ari Bruce scored a team-high 14 points for Oakland, which dropped to 10-5.
No. 2 Archbishop Riordan 86, Sacred Heart Cathedral 52
The Fightin’ Irish put a scare into the Crusaders early, winning the first quarter 26-18. But SHC would only score 26 more points over the next three quarters as Riordan cruised to a West Catholic League opening win on the road. Andrew Hilman had 23 points and JP Pihtovs had 22 to lead Riordan, which improved to 8-1, 1-0. Cory Wong had a team-high 17 points for SHC (7-4, 0-1)
No. 3 St. Ignatius 83, Serra 57
This Jungle Game belonged to the Wildcats. Raymond Whitley scored 19 points and Steele Labagh added 17 as St. Ignatius made easy work of Serra on the road. Wyatt Von Blanco led Serra with 20 points. St. Ignatius (10-1, 1-0) will host Valley Christian on Friday. Serra (8-3, 0-1) will travel to Mitty for its next game.
No. 4 Bellarmine 79, St. Francis 59
Will Corbett scored a game-high 23 points as Bellarmine (9-2, 1-0) cruised to a home victory in its WCAL opener. The Bells led by eight at halftime and used a 22-point third quarter to seal the win. Luca Chan had 15 points and senior Brennan Williams added 10 in the win. Ayaan Bawa had 17 points for St. Francis, which dropped to 7-4, 0-1.
No. 8 Archbishop Mitty 59, No. 19 Valley Christian 36
The Monarchs snapped their three-game skid with a convincing win over Valley Christian to open WCAL league play. Senior Joseph Seifu scored a team-high 14 points and Brady Clugage had 13 for Mitty, which improved to 7-4, 1-0. Kayden Ramirez and Evan Lee each had seven points for Valley Christian (8-3, 0-1).
No. 17 Dougherty Valley 59, No. 9 Bishop O’Dowd 57
Rylan Sevilla hit a step-back jumper with 1.5 seconds left to lead the Wildcats to their best win of the season. Sevilla ended with 14 points and fellow junior guard Devyn Ranola scored 19 of his game-high 21 points in the second half. Nathan Canilao was in San Ramon and has the story here.
No. 18 Menlo-Atherton 62, Jefferson 26
Three players scored in double figures as M-A easily routed Jefferson at home in its Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division opener. Senior Jacob Sutton led the Bears with 15 points, Evan Makielski added 12 and Luca Auer had 10. M-A improved to 7-3, 0-1. Jefferson dropped to 5-6, 0-1.
Albany 63, Pinole Valley 60
Albany squeaked by Pinole Valley behind a 17-point performance from junior Antonio Cabrini to win its Tri-County Athletic League Rock Division opener at home. Pasha Azar added 16 points and Kaelin Morris had nine for Albany (13-1, 1-0). Point guard Ahmari Otis had a game-high 24 points for PV, which dropped to 11-3, 0-1. Albany will have a rare back-to-back league game when it travels to Salesian on Wednesday.
Freedom 66, Heritage 57
Senior John Reed had 14 points, Delvin Evers-Lyles had 13 and Freedom (9-6, 1-2) defeated Heritage to earn its first Bay Valley Athletic League win of the season. Julian Njelita scored 21 points to lead Heritage, which dropped to 9-7, 1-2.
Fremont-Sunnyvale 75, MacDonald 35
The Firebirds built a 21-point halftime lead and didn’t look back in this Santa Clara Valley El Camino Division matchup. Fremont’s Kai Daron led all scorers with 16 points while Aztlan Santana, Matthew Ramirez and Kishan Shah each had 11. Fremont improved to 7-5, 2-0. MacDonald is now 6-3, 0-2.
Girls basketball
No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 82, No. 16 Valley Christian
Mitty star McKenna Woliczko continued her hot start since returning from injury. She scored 21 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out four assists while shooting an efficient 10-for-11 from the field to lead Mitty to a blowout victory in its league opener. Sophomore Mailya Hunter added 20 points for Mitty, which improved to 11-1, 1-0.
No. 2 San Ramon Valley 82, Redwood 27
The Wolves made easy work of the top team in the North Bay behind Carly Stern’s 17 points and three rebounds. Ella Gunderson had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists while San Jose State commit Alyssa Rudd scored 11 points and recorded five rebounds. SRV improved to 12-2, 1-0 and will play against Carondelet on Friday.
No. 4 Pinewood 50, St. Joseph-Santa Maria 48
Andri Wilkinson’s 19 points and Caitlyn Kramer’s 14 points propelled Pinewood past St. Joseph-Santa Maria at home. Pinewood remains undefeated through nine games and will host Salesian on Saturday.
No. 14 Salesian 89, Kimball 29
Five players scored in double figures in Salesian’s 60-point rout of Kimball of Tracy. Emma Bryant led all scorers with 14 points, and Oriannah Birden had 13. Salesian improved to 6-5.
Alameda 63, College Park 35
Jennalyn Apodaca scored 16 points as Alameda (9-4) routed College Park at home. Desiree Shoblo added 13 and Mia Borja scored 10.
Mission San Jose 33, Washington-Fremont 30
Adhuna Devineni had a game-high 13 points as MSJ (10-4, 2-1) defeated Washington in a low-scoring Mission Valley Athletic League matchup. Kaia Dumagan had nine points for Washington (7-5, 1-2).