Boys basketball
No. 1 Salesian 77, No. 7 Oakland Tech 54
Salesian opens the season with a statement win, crushing OAL powerhouse Oakland Tech by 23 points. Stanford commit Elias Obenyah scored a game-high 18 points. Juelz Richo and Asante Johnson each had 11 while two-sport star Carlton Perrilliat Jr. had 10 points. Oakland Tech was led by Xavier Williams, who scored 13 points. Returning starter Jasen Davis added 11.
No. 2 Archbishop Riordan 82, La Mirada 69
University of San Francisco commit Andrew Hilman stuffed the stat sheet, scoring 26 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out six assists to lead Riordan to comfortable win over SoCal powerhouse La Mirada. JP Pihtovs had a solid game, finishing with a 23-point, 13-rebound double-double. He also added five blocked shots.
No. 3 St. Ignatius 55, No. 9 Clayton Valley 53
In a battle of two of the top teams in the Bay Area, St. Ignatius came out on top behind a hot shooting performance from Anthony D’Aquisto. The junior scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the three-point line. St. Ignatius led by as much as eight with just under three minutes left, but a late push from The Ugly Eagles left the door open for a comeback late. But St. Ignatius capitalized on a few costly missed free throws from Clayton Valley, and captured a signature to open the season. Senior Raymond Whitley scored 10 points and sophomore Alex Moore had four blocks. Vince Ellis scored 18 points and junior Zion Grissom added 16 for Clayton Valley, which defeated Clovis North the night before.
No. 4 The King’s Academy 63, Branson 59
Sophomore Boss Moon had a statement game in TKA’s season opener at the NorCal Tip Off Classic, scoring 15 points, grabbing seven rebounds, recording three steals and blocking two shots to lead the Knights to a close win over North Bay powerhouse Branson. Moon also made the game-sealing with under a minute left for TKA, which also got 14 points from freshman Scotty Beamish Jr.
Sunnyslope-Arizona 66, No. 5 Amador Valley 53
The Dons looked primed to upset the ninth-ranked team in the nation — going into the fourth quarter tied at 46 — but it was all Vikings in the fourth quarter as Amador Valley was outscored 20-7 in the final quarter. Jaylen Smith and San Jose State-bound Cade Krueger each had 16 points while Elijah Stanley had 11. Colorado commit Rider Portella 19 points and five rebounds for Sunnyslope.
No. 14 Bellarmine 63, Lincoln-Stockton 55
Bellarmine pulled out a solid win over last year’s CIF Division I state runner-up behind hot shooting and rangy defense. Chico State commit Will Corbett poured in 28 points on 9-for-16 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from behind the three-point line. Sofian Stringfellow added 14 points and Justin Familetti added 11. Lincoln was without star sophomore Tre Simmons, and got 18 points from forward Jagger Merolla.
Modesto Christian 53, No. 15 Dublin 44
A new look Dublin squad, boasting just three seniors, put up a fight but couldn’t overcome a cold shooting afternoon as the Gaels fell to Sac-Joaquin section powerhouse Modesto Christian. Senior Aiden Li had 12 points and eight rebounds while Odin Chadiha added a dozen points.
Girls basketball
Buchanan-Clovis 61, No. 7 Bishop O’Dowd 56
After holding a 10-point lead at halftime, the Dragons went cold in the second half and fell to Buchanan. Senior Jayla Stokes led O’Dowd with 13 points and Ella Bibbins added 11. Gi’Anna Smith poured in 16 points for Buchanan.
St. Mary’s-Berkeley 59, California 52
Elia Anne Kudemus scored a game-high 27 points to lead St. Mary’s to a victory over California to open the Pinole Valley Showcase. St. Mary’s led by as much as 15 in the second half, but the Grizzlies cut the deficit to as little as three in the final quarter before there Panthers put the game away. Garbriela Clement added 12 points and Charlie Davis scored 10 in the win. Mikayla Nielsen led California with 19.