‘They counted us out’: Granada uses late run to beat Amador Valley, advances to NCS D1 title game

PLEASANTON — The hug came before the horn’s echo had time to settle.

As Amador Valley’s desperation heave clanged off the backboard and skittered harmlessly away, the black and gold mob spilled from the bleachers and onto the hardwood. Water bottles popped. Towels twirled. Granada players disappeared beneath a wave of students while, in the handshake line, two men from Philadelphia — Willis Gardner and Quaran Johnson Sr. — wrapped each other in an embrace that looked more like a family reunion than the end of a North Coast Section semifinal. 

For 32 minutes inside the Pleasanton school’s gym, friendship had been suspended. All that remained was a 53-50 Granada victory, carved out possession by possession and sealed by Johnson’s son at the free-throw line.

Granada erased a five-point deficit in the final 2:45 with an 8-0 closing burst, silencing an Amador Valley crowd that had watched its team control much of the chippy first half. Quaran Johnson Jr. calmly knocked down the go-ahead free throws in the final seconds, sending the Matadors to the NCS Division I championship game against Bishop O’Dowd and keeping alive Johnson’s pursuit of the only accolade missing from his résumé: A section title. 

Amador Valley, meanwhile, will regroup for a winner-take-all third-place game against Liberty with a NorCal berth at stake. 

As Granada players marched toward the locker room chanting, “They forgot about who?” The message was clear: Overlooked or not, they’re still standing.

“They counted us out from the very beginning,” Johnson Sr. said. “They didn’t expect us to be here, let alone win that game, let alone be in the main game. To win that game, to pull that game off, it just means everything for me, for my boys, for my guys, for the love that they don’t get. They got to respect us now. They got to give us some credit.”

Junior Brandon Hahn led Granada with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Damien Miles had 12 points, Johnson Jr. scored 11 and Cordell Taylor finished with seven.

Jaylen Smith led Amador Valley with 20 points and Elijah Stanley scored 14. 

Granada held a one-point lead after the third quarter, but it seemed like the momentum was shifting in favor of the home team early in the fourth. The Dons opened the final period with an 8-2 run, giving them a 50-45 advantage when senior Cade Krueger hit two free throws at the 2:54 mark. 

But like they have done all season, the Matadors figured out a way to claw their way back into the game. 

It started with a layup from Hahn on the next possession that cut the lead to three. One stop later, Miles found space near the rim as he cut to the basket and finished a contested layup while getting fouled. He made the free throw to tie the game at 50.

With under 20 seconds remaining, the Matadors got the ball back and put the ball in Johnson Jr.’s hands. The freshman drove hard to the rim and got fouled, giving the Matadors a chance to take the lead late. 

He delivered. 

Johnson Jr. calmly knocked down two free throws, giving Granada a 52-50 advantage. 

Hahn knocked in a free throw and the Matadors got two consecutive stops to ice the game and punch its ticket to the NCS Division I title game. 

“We knew it was going to come down to the last couple of minutes,” Hahn said. “Our coaches prepared us for this moment. It was nothing new to us.” 

The Matadors have come a long way since totaling just eight wins last season – a year in which Johnson Sr. took a leave of absence to care for his newborn child. 

Granada opened the year winning eight of its first 10 games and played solid enough through the East Bay Athletic League play to earn a Top 4 seed. Under Johnson, Granada has been an East Bay powerhouse as a perennial NorCal playoff contender. In 2023, he took his team to a NorCal Division I state championship game and has made the NorCal playoffs in five of the six seasons he has been Granada’s coach.

“We just kept working hard and believing in ourselves,” Hahn said. “We didn’t let one year dictate our next year and it’s a testament to the work we put in.” 

For Amador Valley, the Dons suffered yet another heartbreaking loss this season. The Pleasanton school lost three of its last four games of the regular season in the last minute of a game. 

Amador Valley won’t have time to sulk, though, as its season will be on the line on Friday against Liberty, a team it has beaten earlier this season, at home. 

“Liberty is coming here with a chip on their shoulder, like Granada did,” Gardner said. “I know the game won’t be easy, another dog fight. We just got to pull together.”