Division I: St. John Bosco beat San Ramon Valley 78-62
It was all St. John Bosco in the first quarter. The starters are long wing players who move the ball well around the court, no indecisiveness or wasted dribbles, pass and cut. They attacked the paint with the dribble for kick-outs, and will finish shots at the rim, and in the paint. San Ramon Valley was being patient with the length, and speed of Bosco, but it was bothering them a bit as St. John Bosco led 28-11.
Mason Thomas 5 '10 2025 Guard gave the Wolves a lift as he's been playing well the last few games. He scored on a couple nice drives finishing with the inside hand for points and he knocked down a couple of 3's to lead SRV with 13 points at the half. Jack Turner the 6'3 2024 SG from Bosco has 13 points, 5/7 FG, with three 3s. Brandon McCoy, California's top prospect in the 2026 class, showed his versatile skills, and started to assert himself in the third quarter to up his totals to 12 points and five rebounds as Bosco held a 56-45 lead to end the third quarter.
Deely, the undersized CO-MVP in NorCal's top league EBAL, is undersized but gave his best effort on the boards. He had 8 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. Braves’ Elzie Harrington 6'5 2025 is another big ball handler who has good handles, vision and movement on both ends of the court. He had 12 points and 6 assists.
St. John Bosco had four starters in double figures with Jack Turner leading the way with 20 points. The length and pace that Bosco played with was too much for SRV to keep up with. San Ramon Valley’s Luke Isaak the 6'3 2025 rising SG managed to scrape his way to a team high of 18 points and 6-for-6 on free throws while the resurgent Mason Thomas chipped in with 13 points.
- Britt Wright
Division III: Alemany beat Santa Cruz 63-53
Alemany had a size advantage with 6'9 2026 forward Samuel Mbingazo, and Bourgeois Tshilobo 6'8 2025 forward inside. Santa Cruz struggled to get a bucket to go down early with the size and strength of Alemany, shooting 1-for-8 in the first quarter, but only down 10-6 after one quarter. Ben Dotten 6'6 2024 made his free throws 2/2, while 6'5 2025 Kirby Seals also was 2/2 from the line. Rising Sophomore Demarco Hunter 6'5 had the only FG. Hunter started to convert for Santa Cruz moving outside to drop back to back 3's to keep Santa Cruz in the game. He recorded a double-double in the first half with 10 points and 10 rebounds.. At the half Santa Cruz trailed 30-20.
The quick guards of Alemany, Michael Lindsey 6'2 2024 CG, and James Mims 5'10 2024 PG, along with a bit of careless passing forced Santa Cruz into nine turnovers in the third quarter, while the Alemany bigs continued to make it difficult for Santa Cruz to get paint points. The third quarter ended with Alemany up 45-30. Hunter continued to bolster his stats with 22 points, 12 rebounds, while Dotten tried to get himself going in the fourth quarter with back to back buckets, as Santa Cruz got it under ten points with time running out.
To put a wrap on this game: Alemany's size in the paint, and the superb play of the guards was too much for Santa Cruz to overcome. Alemany had 21 steals and 40 points in the paint. Guards Jared Mims, and Michael Lindsey combined for 39 of Alemany's 63 points, While we saw rising prospect DeMarco Hunter of Santa Cruz, 6'5 2026 W/F go for 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Santa Cruz.
- Britt Wright
Division V: Athenian beats Verdugo Hills 67-49
The Athenian Owls rolled over the Verdugo Hills Dons 67-49 on Friday afternoon at Golden One Center in Sacramento to win the Division V state title.
The Owls never trailed in the game and continued to build on the lead as the game went on. They led 18-12 after one quarter and 36-20 at the half. Verdugo Hills never got closer than 9 points in the second half.
Athenian was lead by do-it-all senior guard Evan Lucas who stuffed the stat sheet with 20
points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Head coach Jordan Boreman said Lucas is “our leader” and he challenged Lucas. “He was up for the challenge,” said Boreman. He sure was….
Lucas commented: “I knew I was prepared for this game.” Yes you were Evan.
The Owls shot 54% (24-44) for the game which is a little unusual in a big NBA arena that is
much different (bigger) than any high school gym. But it did not surprise Boreman. “We wanted to go inside out,” said the coach. “We knew we couldn’t rely on our 3-point shooting.”
Boreman added that his team “came out like champions” in this contest. “Our hard work paid off.” In a big way with the ultimate prize…
This was the first state finals appearance for both teams. Athenian closes the season with a 28-8 record while the Dons finish at 25-12.
Scoring Totals:
Verdugo Hills (49): Jabez Agustin 15, Garik Yepremyan 2, Georges Abdoulnour 11, Gianmarco Figueroa 6, Alexander Martinez 12, Saul Alvizures 3
Athenian (67): Noah Oliver 2, Evan Lucas 20, Surya Devasenapathy15, Benson Webb 8, Teni Salako 8, Sid Bharath 2, Koen Feyock 10, Kai Xu 2
- Gerry Freitas
