California closes in on section playoff spot after edging out Amador Valley at home
SAN RAMON — California High spent the last month learning what it feels like when the margin for error disappears.
So when Amador Valley’s final look at a tying 3-pointer came up short on Tuesday night, California coach Steve Ohlmeyer didn’t exhale. He turned toward the student section and waved his arms, demanding more noise. A few seconds later, senior Jaiden Jones hammered home a vicious dunk after the buzzer that ignited the crowd even more as the San Ramon school celebrated a 64-61 win over Amador Valley that finally let the Grizzlies breathe again.
“This game was very important. All practice, all week, we’ve been preparing for this,” Jones said. “We had nothing to lose coming into this game. So, we really wanted it for this game and I’m just really glad that we pulled it out as a team.”
The victory all but locks California into the North Coast Section playoffs, ensuring that the preseason East Bay Athletic League favorite will finish with at least a .500 record overall or in league play with one game remaining.
It was fittingly a chaotic clincher. A back-and-forth game with no true separation as Amador Valley played without star guard Jaylin Smith, who was out with an illness.
The game got so intense that Dons coach Willis Gardner dislocated his shoulder in the fourth quarter before having it popped back into place during a timeout.
After a four-game skid had pushed California into win-and-in territory, Tuesday’s result kept its season alive and shifted the Grizzlies back into the postseason picture they expected to own from the start.
“The proverbial monkey is off our back,” Ohlmeyer said. “It just feels good to just become eligible for NCS.”
Jones led California with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Santa Clara commit Brayde Kuykendall scored 16 points and dished out four assists while senior Emeka Ifediora added 12 points.
While California led for most of Tuesday’s game, the Grizzlies never pulled away with their advantage not exceeding more than seven points.
Late in the fourth quarter, Amador Valley used a 9-2 run, capped off by a stepback jumper from Dante Ventura, to tie the game at 58 with under 90 seconds remaining.
But even as Amador Valley threatened, California trusted its playmakers to hit big shots.
On the following possession, Kuykendall found an opening on a cut to the basket and finished a layup to give California a two-point lead.
After Amador Valley made one-of-two free throws to cut the deficit to one, Jones found the lane and hit a jumper that kissed the backboard and rattled in, extending the Grizzlies’ advantage to three.
A quick layup from San Jose State commit Cade Krueger cut the lead back down to one as the Dons’ had to foul to stop the clock. The Pleasanton school put Kuykendall on the free throw line and the 6-foot-6 forward hit both shots to build the lead back to three.
With one last chance, Amador Valley brought the ball up the court but a clean look wasn’t there as the Dons’ final heave fell short.
Ballgame.
“That is what kind of happens at the end of games – the team just gets the ball into Jaiden’s hands or my hands and lets us attack, shoot or distribute. It worked.”
California poured off the bench as the horn sounded, a release more than a celebration. The Grizzlies have been living on the edge for weeks as a team built for the top of the EBAL suddenly stared down the possibility of missing the postseason altogether.
Tuesday’s finish felt like a season exhaling in real time.
While California felt the pressure, Ohlmeyer said the urgency that hovered over the program during the skid has sharpened the group, not broken it. With one regular season game left, California can now stop scoreboard watching and focus on tightening the details that have slipped at times during the last several games.
“We didn’t expect it to go like this, but we pushed through and we’re finally here,” Jones said. “All we have to do is just keep winning and just continue to play as a team.”