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Mountain View, the No. 8 seed in the CIF State Division IV NorCal boys basketball playoffs lit up the scoreboard at Chester F. Awalt Gymnasium in a 91-68 rout of ninth-seeded Athenian of Danville Tuesday evening.
The Spartans (20-7) travel north to take on top-seed Enterprise of Redding (20-8) on Thursday in a second-round matchup at 6 p.m. The Hornets had a first-round bye.
Spartans coach Kevin Mack, in his seventh season, guided the team’s first NorCal win in 2019, upsetting Central Catholic in Modesto. The 91 points was the Spartans highwater mark for the season.
“I told our guys afterward, ‘I don’t think our scoreboard has ever seen 91 points.'”
Mountain View did not score more than 61 points in any game this season and, even with Tuesday night included, average 48.9 points a game.
Mountain View came out with a swarming 2-1-2 full-court press to take control early.
Joey Peir and Joe Brown sunk successive 3-pointers. Brown then stole the ball and converted a layin, forcing Athenian coach Jordan Boreman called timeout at the 6:51 mark.
The deluge continued when Peir hit another trey for a 20-3 edge. Athenian’s Parker Schwantes drained a deep 3-pointer to end the first period, with Mountain View holding a 12-point advantage.
Mountain View continued the 3-point frenzy, making seven 3-pointers in the second period, taking a commanding 54-34 lead at intermission. Peir, a co-captain who showed great hustle, had four treys in the half in a 12-point evening.
Brown led all scorers with 20 points, knocking down five 3-point goals. Maddox Telkamp came off the bench for the Spartans, adding a major spark.
Telkamp had 14 points, netting two 3-pointers in that explosive second period. Mack got more energy from Jackson Kim, who donated 11 points off the bench. The Spartans had 10 3-pointers in the first half, 15 for the game.
“I had seen some film on Athenian,” Mack said. “I was confident going in we could score. At the end of the day, you have to make shots. Our guys shot the ball confidently. They didn’t hesitate. I know we can shoot well when we execute our offense.”
In Athenian’s defense, the Owls were missing two starters due to COVID-19 protocol. The Owls started two sophomores, two juniors and a senior. In contrast, the Spartans started four seniors and a junior. Athenian made 11 3-pointers, five by Noah Olivier, who shared team-high honors with Evan Lucas, the pair each contributing 15 points.
Perhaps, the highlight play for Athenian was a dunk by Lota Amamgbo to end the game.
If there was a single highlight play for the Spartans, it was a block in their own end by Jack Pillsbury, who got the ball before tossing a lead pass downcourt to Patrick Kane for a layin. Pillsbury and Kane provided the muscle inside, combining for 13 points.
The Spartans’ rooting section, many wearing Toga robes, was at its apex when Mountain View approached the 90-point barrier. Andre Rishel’s 3-pointer with a few minutes to play stood as the Spartans’ final points of the evening as the student section erupted.
“It was a great win,” said Peir, a three-year varsity performer. “We came out and shot the ball well. We got a win. That’s the first step down the road in NorCal’s. This is the best team we’ve had since I’ve been on varsity. Our chemistry, our size, our shooting ability. We’ll come ready to play in Redding.”
“I feel good about our matchup,” Mack said. “If we shoot the ball like that, we’ll be in the game.”
Division I
Top-seeded Sacred Heart Prep (24-4) beat Dougherty Valley 83-70 Tuesday and will host No. 8 Oakland Tech at 6 p.m. Thursday.
The Gators will at least match their best finish, first accomplished when the 2015 team lost in the second of the NorCal Division IV playoffs. That team finished 24-5.
Offensively, Sacred Heart Prep was in fine form, shooting 51% as a team. Aidan Braccia scored 28 points, one off his season best, and moved past the 1,400 mark for his career. He’s currently at 1,409 points. Braccia was 6-of-11 (4-of-8 from 3-point range) on the night.
Emmer Nichols scored 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and Kevin Carney added 18 points on 78% shooting. Nichols also added 10 rebounds and three assists.
Sam Norris and RJ Stephens combined for another 11 rebounds.
SHP was also 18-of-18 from the foul line, including Braccia’s perfect 12.
Oakland Tech (23-4) advanced with a 72-65 victory over San Joaquin Memorial.
The teams have one common opponent in Inderkum, the No. 2 seed in Division I. SHP beat Inderkum 78-63 early in the season while Oakland Tech lost 93-69 over the Christmas break.
Division II
No. 7 St. Francis beat No. 10 University 82-75 at home and will travel to Dominican College in San Rafael to meet No. 2 Branson at 8 p.m. Thursday.
No. 12 Menlo-Atherton (20-7) fell to No. 5 Vanden (20-12) at Solano College in Fairfield. Doug Adams scored 15 points to lead the Bears. Ryan Anderson added nine.
Division III
Menlo took the lead early and held on to beat Manteca 51-45 on Tuesday.
Will Eggemeier scored 16 points to lead Menlo (21-7), which travels to Chico to take on top-seed Pleasant Valley (28-3), a 70-42 winner over Santa Cruz.
Eggemeier, who added five assists and five rebounds, made free throws down the stretch, helping Menlo grab a 47-42 lead.
Free throws from junior Lucas Vogel and sophomore Sam Reznik put the Knights ahead by eight.
Daniel Solomon hit a big three-pointer with 2:58 left in the game, then delivered a pass inside to catch Eggemeier cutting to the basket to put Menlo ahead 46-40.
The Knights held the advantage from the tip, but Manteca chipped away to stay close.
In the third, a Ryan Schaefer 3-pointer gave the Knights an 11-point lead. The Buffaloes drew to within one before Daniel Solomon closed the third with a 3 to give Menlo a 40-36 lead heading into the fourth.
Solomon added 14 points and four assists while junior Lucas Vogel had nine points and four steals, Junior Cort Halsey grabbed four rebounds.
Division V
Steve Emeneke scored 17 points, had 12 rebounds and blocked four shots to help No. 4 Priory beat Mariposa County 48-35.
Oliver Conn added nine points and had 13 rebounds for Priory (17-11), which hosts No. 5 Denair (27-4) at 8 p.m. Thursday.
Denair, which has won 14 straight, has beaten Mariposa County in two of three meetings this year. Those teams shared the Southern League title.
Good article but you failed to mention that Mountain View is a division one team seeded against a division five team. This might explain the score.