DUBLIN — The nightcap of nine games played Saturday at the NorCal Tip-Off Classic was a matchup De La Salle guard Leo Ricketts had eagerly awaited since the schedule came out.
The Spartans, ranked No. 1 by the Bay Area News Group and 13th in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, opened their season against Southern California power Centennial-Corona at Dublin High.
The Huskies, two years removed from winning the Open Division state championship, were ranked sixth in the state by Cal-Hi.
De La Salle gave up the first basket, a 3-pointer by 6-foot-8 Arizona-bound senior Carter Bryant, and never trailed again after sophomore guard Ibrahim Monawar sliced through the lane for a 4-3 lead.
The Spartans held off a second-half rally in which Centennial cut a double-digit deficit to one and prevailed 62-51, an early statement for a team that could be playing deep into the postseason.
Ricketts, who had hot moments as a junior last season, particularly during a wild MLK victory at home over then-national No. 1 West Linn (Oregon), was named the player of the game by event organizers.
The redhead shot 5-of-8 from three-point range, finished with 21 points and five rebounds and made one dribble move that left a defender on the floor and brought De La Salle fans to their feet.
In basketball parlance, they call it breaking ankles.
Ricketts buried the shot, too.
“I try not to look at the crowd, so I don’t know what was going on there,” he said. “But I was just focusing on the game and came in with the mindset that you can play and beat anyone with how hard we worked and how good of a team we are. We knew how good of a team they were coming in, but that didn’t change our approach or anything.”
Monawar also had a hot shooting hand, making four of his seven three-point attempts and finishing with 22 points and six rebounds.
Braddock Kjellesvig, a transfer from Christopher, had a nice game off the bench, adding six points, six rebounds and four assists.
Alec Blair, plagued by foul trouble much of the night, finished with seven points and three rebounds. But more importantly, the Spartans were plus-20 in points when the 6-foot-6 standout was on the court.
Coach Marcus Schroeder was pleased with what he saw from his team.
“Our best player Alec got in some four trouble, which you’ve seen happen over the years,” Schroeder said. “Our guys responded. We had some other guys really step up. Obviously Leo Ricketts, Ibrahim Monawar, Braddock Kjellesvig. I thought Darrell Cenido gave us great minutes in his first varsity game where he got real significant minutes.
“To beat a team like that, a storied program, a well-coached team, it’s a heck of a win for us.”
No. 3 Salesian 84, Campbell Hall 59
In a matchup between elite NorCal and SoCal programs, Salesian shellacked the visitors at the Bishop O’Dowd showcase to improve to 2-0 on the season. As usual, the Pride enjoyed a balanced scoring attack on Saturday evening, with Alvin Loving and breakout sophomore Elias Obenyah each tallying 13 points. De’Undrae Perteete and Zion Yeargin were right behind them with 10 points apiece.
Branson 65, No. 4 Archbishop Mitty 58
Mitty trailed by 17 points in the second quarter and by 15 at halftime before staging a second-half comeback that fell short at the NorCal Tip-Off Classic.
Gavin Ripp had 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists to lead Mitty. The Monarchs also got 15 points from Tyler Jones and 13 from Nathan d’Abreu Noronha.
No. 14 Moreau Catholic 75, No. 18 Oakland Tech 54
Moreau Catholic improved to 2-0 on the season and at the Bishop O’Dowd Thanksgiving showcase with a route of Oakland Tech, perhaps the best team in the Oakland Section. Tyler Bailey had 14 points to lead the Mariners, and Spencer Shonnard scored 13.
Kevin Chapman added 10 points as Moreau continued to showcase an up-tempo, equal-opportunity offense that fed off an energetic press to score points in transition. Instead of asking a few players to replace the production of Lebrie Goudy-Lee (graduated) and Kellen Hampton (transferred), the Mariners are going with a strength-in-numbers approach.
“We call it organized confusion, because we know what we’re doing, but other people don’t,” Knight said. “We’re not super-big, but we are athletic and fast. We got 15 deep, so that allows us to foul a little more and get in the passing lanes a little more.”
Girls basketball
No. 14 Acalanes 81, Eureka 28
Natalie Frechman and Ariana Hallstrom each scored 19 points as Acalanes’ talented juniors rolled past Eureka at the Pinole Valley showcase. Sophie Chinn scored 18 points and Dulci Vail poured in 12. KK Lacanlale, the fifth junior on the team to score in double-figures, also had 10 assists to go with her 11 points.
No. 3 San Ramon Valley 54, No. 2 Oakland Tech 37
Nine months after Oakland Tech ended SRV’s season in the NorCal semifinal, the Danville school routed the defending Division I state champions at the Pinole Valley showcase. Sofia Bowes scored 15 of her 17 points in the first half to lead SRV in scoring. Sierra Chambers and Avery Knapp both scored 15 points.
