SAN FRANCISCO — California High had its moments.
The Grizzlies showed flashes of brilliance, underscoring why many have labeled them as a contender in the always tough East Bay Athletic League.
But playing Archbishop Riordan – the reigning NorCal Open Division champions – one thing was clear: There’s levels to this.
The San Francisco school kicked off its 66th annual Crusader Classic by trouncing California 82-66 on Thursday night.
And the home team made it look easy.
Riordan led by as much as 18 as the Crusaders’ high-flying offense proved too much for one of the East Bay’s top teams.
“It’s a good learning experience,” Riordan coach Joey Curtin said. “We were playing a good team that has some scorers that can really get hot and we let them get hot a little bit in stretches. … But hey, you know, I’m glad they rallied and built the lead back up.”
University of San Francisco commit Andrew Hilman led Riordan with 23 points, six rebounds and two assists. JP Pihtovs had 13 points and seven rebounds while DJ Armstrong had 11 points, including a posterizing slam that got the home crowd rocking in the fourth quarter.
Jaiden Jones had 22 points, Santa Clara-bound guard Brayde Kuykendall had 16 and senior Emeka Ifediora totaled 14 for California.
“Give Riordan credit, they took us out of rhythm,” California coach Steve Ohlmeyer said. “We started playing a little faster than we’d like to. Guys aren’t getting the normal touches they’d get, so that rhythm gets thrown off, and guys start going a little more one on one than we wanted.”
A strong second quarter, buoyed by strong rim drives from Hilman, built a 13-point advantage for Riordan by halftime. The vaunted Riordan defense held Kuykendall scoreless through the first two quarters.
The Crusaders sped the game up in the third quarter using full- and half-court traps that led to multiple turnovers for the Grizzlies. While the San Ramon school got 11 free throw attempts in the period, the Grizzlies only made four shots from the field and trailed by 17 going into the fourth quarter.
Though Riordan held all the momentum, California strung together one more run to make things interesting to open the fourth.
The Grizzlies opened the quarter with a 9-1 run that energized the visiting team and forced Riordan to call a timeout.
But it was all Hilman from there.
From that point, Hilman scored eight of Riordan’s next 11 points. The Crusaders shut the door on California for good when Armstrong rose up for his posterizing slam.
“I just stopped playing when I saw DJ’s dunk,” Hilman said. “It was so funny because he never did that before. I really liked seeing that.”
No. 2 St. Ignatius 72, No. 18 Acalanes 46
St. Ignatius dominated from start to finish, defeating Acalanes at the Crusader Classic behind the Wildcats’ patient offensive attack. Sophomore Alex Moore had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Raymond Whitley led the Wildcats in scoring with 12 points and Noah Kirsch-Lopez added nine. Gavin Dodge had 14 points and four rebounds for Acalanes, which dropped to 1-1.
No. 5 Amador Valley 71, Carlmont 53
Carlmont hung tough with Amador Valley’s explosive offensive attack, but the Dons pulled away in the second half to come away with an easy win. The Scots trailed by just eight at halftime, but were outscored 36-19 in the third quarter. Junior point guard Jaylen Smith had a team-high 25 points and Cade Krueger had 18 for Amador Valley. Junior Jordan Rice had a monster game, racking up a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds for Carlmont.
University-San Francisco 72, San Ramon Valley 61
The Wolves struggled to deal with University’s full-court trap, trailing by as much as 24 in the loss. Senior Tyler Smith scored 15 points and Hudson Garcia had 13. Scoring sensation Lucas Lao led the San Francisco school with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Girls basketball
No. 5 Pinewood 61, Clovis North 55
Three players scored in double figures to lead Pinewood to a close win over Fresno-area powerhouse Clovis North. Senior Caitlyn Kramer led the way with 16 points, sophomore Abigail Yew had 13 and freshman Sophia Bowles chipped in 10 points for Pinewood.