Boys Basketball: Gregori beats Lincoln behind Monk’s 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left
For Gregori sophomore Kyle Monk, it was a dream come true.
With 1.3 seconds remaining on Wednesday, Monk drained a 3-pointer from the left corner to seal Gregori’s 77-74 victory over Lincoln-Stockton in the first round of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section boys basketball playoffs.
“It was one of my greatest moments,” Monk said. “Julian (Brown) had the ball and my man (defender) helped him and I was saying ‘Right here’ and he hit me and I just threw it up and held my release and it went in.”
Monk had 11 of his 21 points in the final 65 seconds as Gregori erased a late 10-point deficit to win the school’s second ever playoff game.
The 6-foot-2 Monk said the team just had to keep fighting in the last two minutes and he wanted the ball in the final possession after Lincoln senior DJ Balanon tied the game at 74 with a 3-pointer with 9.4 seconds left.
“I knew I had the hot hand,” Monk said. “I wanted to get open to get a good look.”
Jaguars (25-4) coach Ryan Green said Monk is the team’s “secret weapon” and can score points quickly.
“He can get hot at any point in a game,” Green said.
Gregori senior Luke McClellan added 18 points and junior Carlos Hernandez added 17. Senior Ben Almaraz led Lincoln (25-4) with 24 points.
Gregori trailed after each of the first three quarters and struggled early in the fourth by allowing easy baskets in the paint.
Green said the team will have a “light” walk-through on Thursday before Friday’s quarterfinal game at No. 1 Sheldon.
Wednesday was also the first home playoff game in school history.
Division I
Modesto Christian 84, Edison 65: The Crusaders (20-9) led the entire game in their victory over the Vikings (20-9). Modesto Christian is at No. 4 Rocklin on Friday.
Div. II
Jesuit 64, Pitman 40: The Pride (15-10) fell on the road to the No. 1 seeded Marauders.
Div. III
Central Catholic 93, Center 52: Senior guard Dayton Magana led the Raiders (22-7) with 34 points and junior guard Arvind Sandhu added 17 and senior Nic Sani had 14. Central Catholic hosts Del Campo on Friday.
Christian Brothers 71, Beyer 39: The Patriots (18-11) saw their season end with a loss to the Falcons (17-12). Junior Michael Moreno led the Falcons with 20 points while senior Ryan Toschi added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Div. IV
Sonora 63, Riverbank 45: The No. 1 seeded Wildcats (25-3) host West Campus on Friday after its victory over the Bruins (16-13).
Venture Academy 69, Ripon 51: The Indians (15-14) fell behind early and trailed for most of the game in the loss.
“Early in the game, we had problem with their pressure (defense),” Indians coach Justin Graham said in an interview with the Manteca Bulletin.
Sophomore Bronson Burrow led the Indians with 16 points and junior Malik Taylor added 10 points while senior Nico Ilardi had eight points, five rebounds, and four assists.
Amador 60, Escalon 55: The Cougars (17-12) led after the first two quarters but struggled in the fourth.
Calaveras 51, Hilmar 42: Hilmar (20-9) held Calaveras to two points in the first quarter but were outscored 35-20 in the second half.
Div. V
No. 3 Denair (25-2) had a first round bye and will host Buckingham Charter on Friday in the second round. Buckingham Charter beat Leroy Greene Academy, 61-54, on Wednesday.
Div. VI
No. 1 Ripon Christian (20-7) had a first round bye and will host Lodi Academy on Friday. Lodi Academy beat Big Valley Christian, 62-59, on Wednesday.
This story was originally published February 19, 2020 at 10:15 PM.
