Salesian boys edge De La Salle to advance to NCS Open championship game

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Salesian's Elias Obenyah dunks during a game last season. On Wednesday at Albany High School, he had a game-high 17 points in a 54-51 win over De La Salle in a North Coast Section Open Division semifinal win. (Courtesy of Greg Jungferman)


The airtight, gritty, down-to-the-wire history of Salesian-Richmond and De La Salle-Concord basketball matchups continued Wednesday night at Albany High School.

Big plays and shots by Stanford-bound Elias Obenyah (17 points), Leon Powe Jr. (12 points) and Asante Johnson led Salesian to another grind-it-out victory, 54-51 in a North Coast Section Open Division semifinal game.

But it was the Pride's defense that once again led the way, limiting De La Salle to five points in the final quarter and no points the final 3 minutes, 20 seconds.

Salesian goes after its 12th NCS title - all since 2006 - at 7 p.m. Saturday at San Leandro High School against Clayton Valley Charter-Concord, a 55-50 winner over Dougherty Valley-San Ramon. Both teams own sparkling 25-3 records.

Asked if Salesian's 11-day layoff had anything to do with its sluggish offensive performance or 11-point deficit early in the third quarter, Pride coach Bill Mellis shook his head.

"It was (De La Salle) more than the layoff," Mellis said. "I think (De La Salle coach Marcus) Schroeder did a really good job with his game plan. They controlled the tempo. … Down the stretch, we made a couple plays and got a couple offensive rebounds and made free throws. That was probably the difference."

Mellis would know. He's the section's active leader in wins with 693. Salesian and De La Salle have now split their past eight meetings since 2013. The cumulative score: De La Salle 390, Salesian 379.

De La Salle (23-7), the defending champion, which fell to Dougherty Valley 70-59 in the East Bay Athletic League playoff final, was coming off a 71-68 first-round overtime home win over Moreau Catholic-Hayward. The Spartans got 16 points from senior point guard Ibrahim Monawar, and 11 points each from Austin See and Davit Pachulia (nine rebounds) against Salesian.

But Monawar, who has fasted during the daylight all week to honor Ramadan, cramped up badly with 4:20 to go while trying to block a Johnson made 3-pointer, and didn't return. That. combined with top scorer and rebounder Mariano Lopez-Aarden fouling out. and Salesian's tenacious defense was too much to overcome. Three free throws down the stretch by Salesian's Isaiah Davis broke gave Salesian a 54-51 lead before two 3-point attempts in the final five seconds by See and Pachulia were heavily guarded and missed.

De La Salle now faces Dougherty Valley in Friday's 7 p.m. third-place game ahead of the CIF Northern California playoff seedings, which will be announced Sunday. All Open teams advance to NorCals, while the top three only in the other divisions move on.

"We just kept chipping away, chipping away until we came all the way back," Obenyah said. "I just think it was due to our experience that we pulled it out."

High school basketball playoffs

BOYS BASKETBALL

SAN FRANCISCO SECTION

Thursday's championship at Chase Center

Lincoln (17-10) vs. Lowell (16-11), 5 p.m.

OAKLAND SECTION

Wednesday's semifinals

No. 1 Oakland 61, No. 4 Fremont 49

No. 3 Oakland Tech 78, No. 7 McClymonds 30

Friday's championship at Merritt College

No. 1 Oakland (23-6) vs. No. 3 Oakland Tech (19-10), 7 p.m.

CENTRAL COAST SECTION

(all games 7 p.m. unless noted)

Open Division

Pool A

Wednesday's games

No. 1 Riordan 68, No. 4 Bellarmine 45
No. 5 The King's Academy 60, No. 8 Serra 36

Pool B

Wednesday's games

No. 2 St. Ignatius 65, No. 3 Mitty 56
No. 7 Menlo-Atherton 67, No. 6 Valley Christian 62

Friday's championship

No. 1 Riordan (26-1) vs. No. 2 St. Ignatius (24-3) at USF, 8 p.m.

Division 1

Thursday's semifinals

No. 3 Carlmont (15-10) at No. 2 Los Gatos (20-5), 7:30 p.m.
No. 4 Palo Alto (16-9) at No. 1 Milpitas (24-1)

Division 2

Thursday's semifinals

No. 3 St. Francis (10-16) at No. 2 Christopher (19-6)
No. 5 Burlingame (18-8) at No. 1 Willow Glen (22-2)

Division 3

Thursday's semifinals

No. 3 Pioneer (14-11) at No. 2 Sacred Heart Cathedral (9-16)
No. 5 Leland (18-8) at No. 1 Soquel (22-5)

Division 4

Thursday's semifinals

No. 3 Menlo School (14-11) at No. 2 Half Moon Bay (15-10)
No. 4 Pacific Grove (13-12) at No. 1 Sacred Heart Prep (13-11)

Division 5

Thursday's semifinals

No. 3 Oakwood (20-4) at No. 2 Priory (18-6)
No. 5 Pinewood (17-8) at No. 1 Palma (23-2), 7:30 p.m.

NORTH COAST SECTION​

(All games 7 p.m. unless noted)

Open Division

Wednesday's semifinals

No. 1 Salesian 54, No. 4 De La Salle 51
No. 2 Clayton Valley 55, No. 6 Dougherty Valley 50

Saturday's championship

No. 1 Salesian (26-3) at No. 2 Clayton Valley (26-3) at San Leandro HS

Friday's third-place game

No. 6 Dougherty Valley (21-9) at No. 2 De La Salle (23-7), 6 p.m.

Division 1

Saturday's championship game

No. 3 Granada (22-7) vs. No. 1 Bishop O'Dowd (22-7) at San Leandro HS, 5 p.m.

Friday's third-place game

No. 4 Liberty (25-4) at No. 2 Amador Valley (18-12)

Division 2

Wednesday's semifinals

No. 1 University 69, No. 5 Albany 50
No. 3 St. Mary's 69, No. 7 San Lorenzo 57

Saturday's championship

No. 3 St. Mary's (20-10) at No. 1 University (26-5)

Saturday's third-place game

No. 7 San Lorenzo (18-11) at No. 5 Albany (22-9), 3 p.m.

Division 3

Friday's championship game

No. 2 Cornerstone Christian (23-8) vs. No. 1 Branson (18-14) at College of Marin

Friday's third-place game

No. 6 College Park (17-3) at No. 5 Brave Christian (25-6)

Division 4

Wednesday's semifinals

No. 4 Mission San Jose 49, No. 1 San Marin 45

No. 2 Rancho Cotate 59, No. 6 Alhambra 40

Friday's championship

No. 4 Mission San Jose (19-10) vs. No. 2 Rancho Cotate (23-7) at Montgomery HS, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday's third-place game

No. 6 Alhambra (20-9) at No. 1 San Marin (16-13), 3 p.m.

Division 5

Saturday's championship game

No. 2 Eureka (17-12) vs. No. 1 Sonoma Academy (23-5) at Cardinal Newman, 5 p.m.

Friday's third-place game

No. 4 Drew (21-11) at No. 3 Redwood Christian (21-10)

Division 6

Wednesday's semifinals

No. 1 St. Vincent de Paul 58, No. 4 Averroes 52
No. 2 Mendocino 62, No. 3 San Francisco Waldorff 44

Saturday's championship

No. 2 Mendocino (22-4) at No. 1 St. Vincent de Paul (20-10)

GIRLS BASKETBALL

SAN FRANCISCO SECTION

Thursday's championship at Chase Center

Lowell (15-10) vs. Washington (15-6), 7 p.m.

OAKLAND SECTION

Wednesday's 5:30 p.m. semifinals

No. 1 Oakland Tech 68, No. 4 Skyline 26
No. 3 Oakland 69, No. 7 McClymonds 47

Friday's championship

No. 1 Oakland Tech (17-10) vs. No. 3 Oakland (13-15) at Lake Merritt, 5:30 p.m.

CENTRAL COAST SECTION

(All games 7 p.m. unless noted)

Open Division

Pool A

Wednesday's games

No. 1 Mitty 66, No. 4 St. Ignatius 28
No. 5 St. Francis 68, No. 8 Half Moon Bay 27

Pool B

Wednesday's games

No. 3 Archbishop Riordan 53, No. 2 Priory 40
No. 6 Pinewood 69, No. 7 Alisal 32

Friday's championship

No. 1 Mitty (25-2) vs. No. 3 Riordan (18-7) at USF, 6 p.m.

Division 1

Thursday's semifinals

No. 3 Homestead (21-4) at No. 2 Los Gatos (19-6), 6 p.m.
No. 4 Los Altos (21-4) at No. 1 Menlo-Atherton (19-5)

Division 2

Thursday's semifinals

No. 3 Aragon (13-11) at No. 2 Hillsdale (18-7)
No. 4 Monta Vista (17-8) at No. 1 Valley Christian (10-15)

Division 3

Thursday's semifinals

No. 3 Pioneer (15-10) at No. 2 Santa Cruz (17-9)
No. 4 Notre Dame-San Jose (11-14) at No. 1 Mills (12-13)

Division 4

Thursday's semifinals

No. 3 Sacred Heart Prep (15-7) at No. 2 Scotts Valley (25-1)
No. 4 Menlo School (16-9) at No. 1 Notre Dame-Belmont (18-4)

Division 5

Thursday's semifinals

No. 6 St. Francis SCP (14-11) at No. 2 Castilleja (11-10), 5:30 p.m.
No. 5 Crystal Springs Upland (13-7) at No. 1 Palma (22-3), 6 p.m.

NORTH COAST SECTION

(All games 7 p.m. unless noted)

NCS girls basketball playoffs

Open Division

Wednesday's semifinals

No. 1 San Ramon Valley 74, No. 4 Clayton Valley Charter 44
No. 2 Carondelet 52, No. 3 Piedmont 39

Saturday's championship

No. 1 San Ramon Valley (25-3) vs. No. 2 Carondelet (25-5) at Dublin HS, 7 p.m.

Friday's third-place game

No. 4 Clayton Valley Charter (22-8) at No. 3 Piedmont (20-4)

Division 1

Friday's championship game

No. 7 Heritage (23-6) vs. No. 1 Redwood (24-6) at Marin Catholic

Saturday's third-place game

No. 11 Pinole Valley (18-13) at No. 4 Acalanes (21-9), 3 p.m.

Division 2

Wednesday's semifinals

No. 1 Salesian 51, No. 5 Lick-Wilmerding 34
No. 3 Justin-Siena 47, No. 2 Moreau Catholic 45

Saturday's championship

No. 3 Justin-Siena (26-5) vs. No. 1 Salesian (20-10) at San Leandro HS, 3 p.m.

Saturday's third-place game

No. 5 Lick-Wilmerding (24-7) at No. 2 Moreau Catholic (22-7), 3 p.m.

Division 3

Friday's championship

No. 2 Benicia (20-9) vs. No. 4 Miramonte (17-13) at Alhambra HS, 7 p.m.

Friday's third-place game

No. 11 Mission San Jose (17-12) at No. 1 St. Bernard's (21-8)

Division 4

Wednesday's semifinals

No. 1 Rancho Cotate 46, No. 4 Las Lomas 25
No. 2 Branson 40, No. 6 Marin Academy 25

Friday's championship

No. 1 Rancho Cotate (16-12) vs. No. 2 Branson (19-12) at Montgomery HS, 7:30 p.m.

Friday's third-place game

No. 6 Marin Academy (17-12) at No. 4 Las Lomas (16-13)

Division 5

Saturday's championship game

No. 6 San Domenico (12-13) vs. No. 4 Healdsburg (13-17) at Cardinal Newman

Saturday's third-place game

No. 10 Sonoma Academy (15-11) vs. No. 9 Gateway (14-12) at SF Waldorf, 5 p.m.

Division 6

Wednesday's semifinals

No. 1 Cornerstone Christian 67, No. 5 St. Vincent de Paul 43
No. 2 Ferndale 54, No. 3 Grace Christian Academy 27

Saturday's championship

No. 2 Ferndale (19-9) at No. 1 Cornerstone Christian (23-7)

After De La Salle opened the second half with a 6-0 run to go up 37-26, Mellis called timeout and "challenged them," he said. "It was like, ‘Hey, snap out of it.'"

And they did. With a 14-3 run, started with a 3-pointer from Johnson and a putback by Powe.

"We prepared so hard," said Pachulia, the oldest son of former Golden State Warrior Zaza Pachulia. "Right now it's not the best feeling to come up short, but I know in a couple of days, we'll look back and say we gave it our all and just fell a little short. It's back to the drawing board."

• Cannon Simpson had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Vince Ellis and Zion Grissom combined for 22 in Clayton Valley's win over Dougherty Valley (21-9), which got a combined 28 points from Devyn Ranola and Rylan Sevilla. Clayton Valley, which hasn't played Salesian since at least 2004, has won 18 straight.

More NCS boys: Down 20-9 after the first quarter, top Division 2 seed University (25-5) outscored Albany 60-30 the rest of the way in a 69-50 semifinal win. Lucas Lau (25 points), Thomas Meehleib (14) and Sam Newmeyer (13) led the way for the Red Devils, who now host St. Mary's-Berkeley, a 69-57 home winner over San Lorenzo (18-11), in Saturday's 7 p.m. championship. St. Mary's, which led 24-2, got 19 points from Christopher Baltrip. "I loved our toughness and believe in what we do," University coach Randy Bessolo said. "We are looking forward to St. Mary's, which is big and very, very good."

Central Coast Section boys: Riordan vs. St. Ignatius, Part III, is on after each won third straight home Open Division pool play games on Wednesday. Andrew Hilman, DJ Armstrong and JP Pihtovs combined for 35 points in a 68-45 win over Bellarmine, while Anthony D'Acquisto had 20 points and Noah Kirsch-Lopez added 12 for St. Ignatius in a 65-56 win over Mitty, which got 18 from Joseph Seifu. … The San Francisco and state powers will play for the Open title at 8 p.m. Friday at USF after Riordan won the first two games 53-51 and 100-95 in double overtime. "We made plays," St. Ignatius coach Jason Greenfield said about Wednesday's win despite being down three starters with injuries. "We had a chance to crack and instead made big shots, big plays. … There's no secret plan (against Riordan). We hung with them twice. We just need to make a few more plays."

NCS girls: Ella Gunderson and freshman Presley Uchikura each scored 16 points and Hania Bowes and Kaitlyn Mills added 13 apiece as No. 1 Open Division seed San Ramon Valley-Danville (25-3) breezed past fourth-seed Clayton Valley Charter 74-44 to move into Saturday's 7 p.m. championship at Dublin against No. 2 Carondelet-Concord (25-5), a 52-39 winner over Piedmont (20-4). … Faith Thompson had 15 points and Caleigh Edwards added 10 to lead Salesian (20-10) to a 51-34 Division 2 semifinal win over Lick-Wilmerding (24-7), which got 14 points from Amaya Tavu. Salesian will play Justin-Siena, a 47-45 winner over Moreau Catholic, in Saturday's 3 p.m. championship at San Leandro.

CCS girls: McDonald's All-American McKenna Woliczko had 20 points, Tee McCarthy 12 and Maliya Hunter 11 leading Open top seed Mitty (25-2) to a 66-28 Pool A win over St. Ignatius. The Monarchs go for the 34th CCS title Friday 6 p.m. against Riordan (18-7), a 53-40 win at Woodside Priory-Portola Valley thanks to a 17-point explosion in the fourth quarter by Chloe Yan. It snapped a 15-game winning streak for Woodside Priory.

This article originally published at Salesian boys edge De La Salle to advance to NCS Open championship game.

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