Prep roundup: Dante Vigil’s buzzer beater caps No. 11 Liberty’s wild rally over Weston Ranch

BRENTWOOD — The ball kissed the glass, the horn screamed and Liberty’s gym detonated. 

Senior guard Dante Vigil’s layup dropped at the buzzer, punctuating a furious fourth-quarter comeback and sending a usually stoic scorekeeper – Vigil’s father, Steve Berendsen – sprinting up the home bleachers with a fist raised as pandemonium swallowed the floor. 

Liberty erased a 10-point deficit in the final five minutes, and a 15-point hole earlier in the second half, to stun Weston Ranch 70-69 at home, riding Vigil’s game-high 32 points and his final, fearless drive to the rim for the win. 

“I knew I had to go get a bucket,” Vigil said. “I did a hopstep and got the layup. I just thanked God that I made it.” 

Vigil came off the bench and scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half. Junior point guard Jaiden Miller scored nine points and Jacob Fullard chipped in with eight. 

Liberty – ranked 11th in the latest Bay Area News Group rankings – looked lackluster for most of Thursday’s contest, turning the ball over while allowing Weston Ranch to get open looks on nearly every possession. 

The comeback was so improbable that even Liberty coach Rich Morton thought his team was cooked. 

“I’m gonna be honest, I was thinking that it was not our night,” Morton said. “It was just about pushing different buttons, trying to get different guys in there to make a play. It was just one of those games.”

Weston Ranch opened the game with an 11-0 run, but a strong second quarter from Liberty helped the Lions take a one-point lead at halftime. 

But that lead quickly evaporated. 

A 19-6 burst from the Cougars to open the second half gave the Stockton school its largest lead of the night as the Cougars took a 57-42 lead late in the third. 

Liberty made some headway in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, but with Weston Ranch taking a 10-point advantage with five minutes left, the game looked all but over for Liberty. 

But no one told that to Vigil. 

The senior led Liberty on an inspired comeback, which included the 5-foot-11 point guard scoring the Lions’ final 10 points.

After getting a much-needed stop on Weston Ranch’s final possession, the Lions had 20 seconds to work with and opted not to call a timeout. 

Vigil got a clean look at a 3-pointer at the top of the key, but the shot went in-and-out. Senior forward Brendan Beresford, who collected 12 rebounds on the night, tipped out Vigil’s shot back to him to keep the possession alive. 

Vigil found Fullard near the basket, but the junior couldn’t get a clean look and kicked the ball back out to Vigil. Vigil took one dribble toward the paint, jump stopped and elevated for a finger roll finish that iced the game. 

“Tonight’s game was just about rolling the dice with him and seeing what he can do,” Morton said. “We hit lucky seven with him, that’s for sure. Tonight was his night.” 

Liberty has now notched its 14th win of the season and improved to 14-2. The Lions are heavily favored to come out of the Bay Valley Athletic League, having won the last four BVAL titles. 

Vigil snapped a cold shooting streak dating back to the winter break. He said he hopes a game like this can give him confidence going forward. 

“Having 30 points and getting a buzzer beater is very hard to do in high school,” Vigil said. “I just feel accomplished that I was able to do it.”

St. Mary’s-Berkeley 64, Bethel 56

The uber-athletic duo of CJ Baltrip and Donovan Mikel combined for 38 points to lead St. Mary’s to a Tri-County Athletic League Rock Division win. Baltrip had a double-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Mikel also stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. St. Mary’s improved to 6-6, 1-0 and will play Salesian at home on Saturday in the Rock Game. Bethel dropped to 8-6, 0-2. 

Girls basketball

No. 13 Acalanes 68, Berean Christian 13 

This one was never even close. The Dons won the first quarter 13-0 and didn’t look back as they cruised to a 55-point win over Berean Christian in a Diablo Athletic League matchup. Freshman Millie Jones had a game-high 18 points, Lexi Le added 12 and Sofia and Sienna Fernandez each had 10. Acalanes improved to 10-4, 2-0. Berean Christian dropped to 5-4, 1-2.