Central Catholic, two others advance in NorCal basketball playoffs
Central Catholic High boys basketball coach Mike Wilson thought he had seen it all. Blowout wins, blowout losses and nail biters that have both favored and crushed him, but this season was a first for him.
“I’ve been in basketball for 52 years, from the little kid on up, and I’ve never been around anybody that’s broken a nose in a basketball game,” he said. “We had two of them. It was just very weird.”
Wesley Payne went down first in a non-league matchup toward the end of the regular season with St. Mary’s. Tyler Wentworth was injured in the Sac-Joaquin Section quarterfinals against Lincoln.
Payne missed a must-win matchup with Manteca but returned for the first playoff game against Los Banos. He has worn a mask since. Wentworth has missed the two most recent playoff games.
Amid the turmoil and balancing star players in and out of the lineup, the Raiders have gone 4-2 with three postseason wins.
The most recent win kept their season alive as Central Catholic (22-10) beat Jefferson of Daly City (20-6), 71-51, in the first round of the CIF Northern California Division IV Regional Championships.
“I felt as a team they were really coming together and then this happened,” Wilson said. “It’s been an adjustment.”
Still, the Raiders made a postseason run.
They advanced to the Division III section semifinals, falling in a close game to Vanden. As section semifinalists, they secured a spot in the state playoffs.
They had a week between games, which gave the team a chance to regroup and Payne some time to heal.
They blast music in practice, a reward for making the postseason, having fun while they shore up schemes on offense and defense.
“They’re really having fun in practice, even with the stuff that’s tedious,” Wilson said. “They like to be together and are making it fun. At this time of the year, you have to mentally dial in and want it more than everybody else because every game is harder and more difficult and there’s more pressure.”
Senior Malachi Miller scored 29 points in an efficient night from the mid range and freshman Jordan Magana connected on four 3’s, adding 20 points in Tuesday’s win.
The Raiders are now in a win-or-go-home situation.
“It was a big motivating factor,” Miller said of the semifinals loss. “My freshman year, I didn’t even know what sections was. I got my first taste of my junior year and I just always wanted to wear that hat, get that patch. It didn’t happen but we got to move on to the next. We got a little bit more locked in in practice and guys showed that they care more.”
The Raiders held a 42-25 lead at halftime, but saw a variety of defenses mainly centered on their two heavy-hitters.
The Grizzlies switched among man-to-man, zone, press and triangle-and-2 schemes that were especially effective in the third quarter as Jefferson outscored the Raiders, 13-5, and cut the lead to nine by the end of the quarter.
Magana and Miller each scored nine fourth-quarter points as they led the team to a 24-point outburst to seal the victory.
The Raiders travel to No. 3 Marin Catholic Thursday in the second round of the state playoffs.
“Defensively, they get after you, so that’s gonna be the main focus and how we’re going to attack that.” Wilson said.
Ripon Christian 61, Madera South 44: Eli Terpsma scored a team-high 21 points as the third-seeded Knights extended their win streak to 16 games with a victory in the opening round of the CIF Northern California Division V playoffs. Ripon Christian fell behind to visiting Madera South and trailed 19-12 after the first quarter. The Knights’ 20-5 second quarter run powered them to a 32-24 halftime lead. They nearly doubled the Stallions’ scoring in the third, opening up a 51-34 lead that they maintained through the fourth quarter.
Luke Crivello added 11 points and Thys Van Der Hoek and Jace Beidleman added eight points apiece. The Knights host No. 6 Kerman at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Lions beat Vacaville Christian, 84-51, to advance to the second round.
Valley Christian 56, Riverbank 49: Riverbank’s historic season ended with a first-round exit in the CIF Northern California Division IV playoffs. The Bruins traveled to San Jose and nearly came back with an upset. After trailing 39-25 at the end of the third quarter, they outscored the Warriors in the final period. Riverbank outscored Valley Christian 12-4 in the final 5 minutes, 45 seconds to even the score at 43 apiece and force overtime.
In the extra frame, Valley Christian took over to advance to the second round. Riverbank finishes with a 26-5 overall record, a Trans-Valley League co-championship and Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV runner-up honors.
Fall River 75, Big Valley Christian 22: Big Valley Christian gave up 35 first-quarter points on the road against the Bulldogs in Tuesday night’s Division V Northern California Regional playoff game. The third quarter was the Lions’ best on offense, when they scored nine points, but they were unable to substantially cut into Fall River’s lead. The Lions advanced to the NorCal playoffs for the first time and their 21 wins this year are the most in program history since 2009-10.
Escalon 61, AIMS College Prep 36: Escalon’s first CIF Northern California Division V playoff game was not close Tuesday. After making the playoffs for the second straight season, winning their first postseason game since 2004-05 and advancing to the semifinals in 43 years, the Cougars got back in the win column after their Division IV section semifinals loss to Riverbank. After being on the road their entire section playoff run, the Cougars hosted their regional playoff game as the No. 8 seed, taking on the No. 9 Golden Eagles. They advance to play the top seed in Division V, Fall River, Thursday at 7 p.m.
This story was originally published March 1, 2023 at 12:04 PM.
