Prolific Prep goes 'Zoom-Zoom,' pulls out wild win; Riordan finishes, Salesian steals win: Crush of the Valley Basketball Showcase live update summary (1-20-2024)
SAN PABLO, CALIFORNIA — The Crush of the Valley Basketball Showcase has hit primetime.
The second of a three-day event at Contra Costa College features eight games, seven of which are between California Interscholastic Federation squads, while Prolific Prep, ranked fourth nationally by SBLive, plays Dream City Christian of Glendale (Ariz.) in a battle of academy schools that don't play for state championships.
Here's a schedule of the day's games.
SATURDAY
10 a.m. — Moreau Catholic (10-7) vs. Fortune School (9-10)
11:30 a.m. — Bishop O’Dowd (11-6) vs. St. Patrick-St. Vincent (11-6)
1 p.m. — Monterey Trail (17-1) vs. Branson (14-6)
2:30 p.m. — Vanden (12-7) vs. Clovis North (16-5)
4:15 p.m. — Millennium (17-3) vs. Salesian (19-1)
6:15 p.m. — Prolific Prep (19-3) vs. Dream City Christian (22-9)
8 p.m. — Centennial (17-8) vs. Riordan (11-4)
9:30 p.m. — Weston Ranch (15-3) vs. Bullard (15-6)
Scroll down for the latest live updates, previews, recaps, matchups and game times.
Weston Ranch 94, Bullard 53
In the eighth and final game, played well after 11 a.m., Weston Ranch (17-3) clearly wasn't fatigued or sleepy putting up the biggest total of the day behind Darrion Lilly (30 points, four rebounds, five steals) and Richard Banks (20 points, five rebounds).
Dalen Felder had 16 points and Ja'Vance Coleman nine for Bullard (16-7), coached by Tim Amundsen, whose brothers Ty Amundsen (Millenneum) and Tony Amundsen (Clovis North) are head coaches at two other participating schools.
"Those are three really good coaches — all from one family," Salesian coach Bill Mellis said. "All three do a phenomenal job."
Meet the Amundsen brothers (L-R) Ty (Millenneum), Tony (Clovis North) and Tim (Bullard), all head coaches for teams that participated Saturday in the Crush in the Valley at Contra Costa College
Photo: Eric Taylor
Riordan 69, Corona Centennial 58
On Monday, Riordan jumped to a 10-0 lead on Salesian but dropped a 61-48 game in the second to last game of the MLK Classic at De La Salle.
On Saturday, the Crusaders raced to a 12-3 lead in the next-to-last game of the Crush in the Valley, gave up the lead by middle of the second and trailed by 12 in the third.
A repeat finish seemed destined.
Not so. Not even close.
A 14-1 run starting late in the third and another huge game from 6-foot-8 St. Mary's College signee Zion Sensley (24 points, four rebounds, three assists) led the Crusaders (12-4) to a resounding win over one of Southern California's powerhouses.
Jordy McKenzie added 14 points, Andrew Hilman contributed 10 points and five rebounds and 6-10 Nes Emeneke gave a huge second-half boost with nine points and five rebounds as Riordan didn't wilt as it did Monday.
Combined with a big 51-48 overtime win over Mitty and 51-40 victory over Bellarmine, it proved to be a very productive week for the Crusaders.
Isaiah Rodgers had 16 points, Arizona-signee Carter Bryant and UCLA-bound Eric Freeny added 15 apiece and Tariq Iscandari contributed 11 for the Huskies (17-9).
Sensley capped the 14-1 run with his second 3-pointer, this one under heavy duress at the third-quarter buzzer. He capped the game with one of three dunks just before the final horn.
He and the Crusaders seemed to be having fun.
"Basketball is a fun game and that is what it's all about," he said. We came in very prepared and knew we were playing a great team. We executed, played hard and everyone played a key role."
Basketball is particularly fun for Sensley who attended Riordan as a freshman and then spent the next two years at Prolific Prep.
"It's been a great experience being back home," he said.
It will be even more so if the Crusaders reach their peak. With eight players who have been offered scholarships, the sky is the limit.
"We can tak it all the way," Sensley said. "Winning state, that's the goal. We're prepared for that."
If they play like they did the first four and last 10 minutes, anything seems possible.
(See entire Sensley interview below)
Play-by-play
* Sensley finishes it with dunk. Riordan beats Corona Centennial 69-58. Sensley finishes with 24.
A putback by Emeneke and fastbreak hoop from Jordy McKenzie puts Riordan up 59-46, late in 4Q.
* A 14-1 run to end the third quarter puts Riordan back up in command. Zion Sensley, a St. Mary's-signee drills his second 3-pointer in the run, this one under heavy duress to end the period.
Prolific Prep 83, Dream City 79
Zoom Diallo scored 23 second-half points lifting Prolific to the wild win over Dream City, which was in control for much of the game.
Aiden Sherrell had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Crew (20-3), who trailed by 12 early in the third quarter. That's when Diallo, a Washington signee, took over with a series of acrobatic drives to the hoop and buckets.
Winters Grady (16 points) also got hot from the perimeter with three 3-pointers, the last to put Prolific Prep up 77-70 with a minute to go. Two quick buckets from Dream City, a jumper by Alejandro Aviles (team-high 23 points, seven rebounds) and layup from Gabe Pickens closed the game to 77-74.
Prolific Prep's Zoom Diallo goes up for two of his 20 points in the second half.
Photo: Eric Taylor
But four free throws by Diallo and two by Grady down the stretch clinched the win and avenged three losses in the last four meetings against the Academy School rivals from Goodyear (Ariz.), which got 21 points and five assists from Ikenna Alozie and 13 points from Jamari Phillips.
Diallo wasn't on the team last season, but coaches made it clear this was a big win.
"They told us we can't let them come in and get comfortable," Diallo said. "They got a big lead on us and it was good for them for a while. But we came back and punched them back."
Especially Diallo, who said he missed a lot of easy shots in the first half. Scoreless early in the third, he took over. "I knew I needed to make plays," he said. "I knew my shots were going to come. ...I was just telling myself to stay calm and collected."
(See the rest of the interview at the top of the page)
Tyran Stokes had 13 points, five rebounds and three steals for the Crew, while Mikey Lewis had 10 points and five rebounds and A.J. Dybansta contributed nine points, six rebounds and four assists.
Dybansta, a 6-9 forward and the No. 1 junior in the country, went out with an injury in the third quarter and didn't return. Combine that with Alabama-signeee Derrion Reid out with an injury for the sixth straight game, as well as the absence of backup center Emmanuel Jamgbadi, made this a particularly gritty win for the Crew.
Prolific Prep's Mikey Lewis (0) goes up during a second-half surge.
Photo: Eric Taylor
Play-by-play
* Tyran Stokes with a tip-in to close to 64-63 with 5:00 left. A technical on Dream City and Winters Grady makes two free throws to give Prolific a 65-64 lead, its first in a couple quarters, with 5:00 left. PP also gets the ball and Grady drills a 3, giving Prolific a 68-64 lead. What a sequence. A seven-point play.
* An 11-2 run, keyed by three buckets from Zoom Diallo, who scored all nine of his points in the third quarter, gives the fourth-ranked team in the nation momentum entering the fourth quarter. Diallo, a Washington signee, scored four tough, flying layups after Dream City had opened up a 55-43 lead. Alejandro Aviles leads Dream City with 17 points and Aiden Sherrell had 12 for Prolific Prep.
Salesian 69, Millennium 68
Alvin Loving scored just two points and wasn't among the five Pride players who scored in double figures.
But he made the play that counted, a steal with three seconds left lifting Salesian (21-1) the gritty win over one of the top teams in Arizona, an impeccably coached squad that plays a national schedule.
Down most of the game, Millennium (17-4) had a chance to win it with 7 seconds, but point guard Cain Sabien lost his balance on an interior pass to Kingston Tosi (15 points, 11 rebounds) off a pick-and-roll. Loving knifed in and stole the pass clean and took a couple dribbles before the final buzzer went off.
De’Undrae Perteete is surrounded by Millennium players in a tight down-to-the-wire game.
Photo: Eric Taylor
"I saw a pick and roll from the top and I was just helping the helper," Loving said. "I didn't want to get a foul call so I just tipped the ball and got out of the way. It feels good."
Loving's drilled 3 straight 3-pointers Monday to key a big 61-48 win over Riordan at the MLK Classic and earlier this season he made a 35-foot jumper at the buzzer to defeat Branson in the title game of the Gridley Tournament.
"This feels just as good, we go the win," Loving said.
Salesian hit Millennium with its best shot early and late but the Tigers (15-4) wouldn't go away due largely to big games from Cameron Holmes (24 points) and Tosi.
But the under-sized Pride has played a killer national schedule as well and they would not wilt. As usual, they got contributions all around led by sophomore Elias Obenyah (14 points), along with De'Undrae Perteete (12), Aaron Hunkin-Claytor (12), Zion Zeargin (10) and Amani Johnson (eight), who hit two key 3-pointers in the third quarter.
The Pride took haymakers from the Tigers, who took a four-point lead late in the third. A 3-pointer off the bench by Isaiah Davis and tough interior bucket by Obenyah gave Salesian a 63-56 lead midway through the fourth. But a 3-pointer by Brayden Barrett and 3-point play from Holmes finished off an 8-2 run to close to 65-64.
Aaron Hunkin-Claytor goes in for two of his 12 points for Salesian.
Photo: Eric Taylor
Again the Pride responded on a tough layup by Zeargin over Tosi and two free throws from Hunkin-Claytor to seemingly put the Tigers down, 69-64 with 1:01 left. But A reverse layup by Tosi and layup by Cain cut the lead to 69-68.
When the Tigers forced a turnover, they had a chance to win it.
"For one, they're extremely well coached," Salesian coach Bill Mellis said of Millennium. "When you play a team that's 17-3 and ranked in the top 30 in the country, they're not going to go away. It's not surprising it came down to one play, one possession."
But Loving came to the rescue.
"Last year we weren't winning these games," Mellis said. "We had a big late-season run and it helped with our confidence this year. We've been winning these kinds of games. It all snowballs. It gives you confidence and you don't get rattled in certain situations."
Millennium with big second-quarter surge, closes to 31-30 at halftime versus Salesian behind 19 first-half points from Cameron Holmes. Aaron Hunken-Claytor with 10 for Salesian, which was outscored 17-9 in 2Q.
(See Salesian reaction: Alvin Loving, Elias Obenyah and coach Bill Mellis below):
Clovis North 79, Vanden 63
For the second time in a week, Clovis North traveled close to 200 miles one way to beat up on a Sac-Joaquin Section opponent, thanks to 25 more points with four rebounds and four assists from senior guard Connor Amundsen, the son of Tony.
Amundsen, a 6-foot guard, had 26 during a 78-66 victory over Jesuit-Carmichael Monday in the MLK Classic at De La Salle.
Connor Amundsen (30) goes up for two of his 25 points.
Photo: Eric Taylor
On Saturday, the Broncos (18-5) used a big second quarter, crisp passing and balanced scoring to take down Vanden, which got 18 points from 6-6 Tyler Thompson.
Loukas Jones had 12 points and Jordan Espinoza and McKae Amundsen added 10 points apiece for Clovis North. Ahsan Huff had eight points and 12 rebounds and Jayden Robisnon and Isiah Dixon combined for 18 points for Vanden (13-8).
(All photos below by Greg Jungferman)
Branson 86, Monterey Trail 66
A theme throughout the day is toughness of schedule. Being battle tested. Unshaken. Confident in tough situations.
Despite six losses, the Bulls of Branson is considered by most one of the top 25 teams in the state and they showed it emphatically with a wire-to-wire victory over a talented, skilled but perhaps not-as-battle-tested group, which dropped to 18-2.
Semitri Carr, a lighting quick 6-foot-1 guard had 26 points, five rebounds and four assists while Illinois-bound Jase Butler, a 6-4 guard, did a bit of everything with 15 points, nine assists, six rebounds, three steals and even a couple blocks as the Bulls improved to 16-6. Joaquin Aguillon added 13 points and six rebounds for the winners and Pierce Curtin and Finley Keeffe contributed 10 points apiece.
(All photos below by Greg Jungferman)
Butler called Branson's win a "B," but solid performance. (See interview below)
Brandon Gibson had 23 points and Kentrell Kelly 14 for Monterey Trail which shot a high percentage (27 of 51) but couldn't get many stops.
Carr said locking down on defense is key for the Bulls moving forward. (See interview below).
Bishop O'Dowd 69, St. Patrick-St. Vincent 52
Leo Chapman had 20 points and Samuel Chavarin 15 points and six rebounds as the Dragons (12-6) scored an impressive win over the Bruins (13-7), who got 21 points and eight rebounds by Deuce Walker and 11 points from Christian Trusdair.
(All photos below by Greg Jungferman)
O'Dowd coach Lou Richie was happy his team could perform at a high level at a big venue. His team sustained a tough overtime loss to Capital Christian-Sacramento at the MLK Classic in Concord on Monday, but rebounded nicely with a decisive win here against a formidable foe which gave Salesian a good tussle earlier this season. .
(See complete interview below)
