CIF State Basketball Tournament: Northern California scores, highlights, brackets, roundup heading into semifinals

It’s all or nothing now. No room for error. Every season is on the brink.

Here are some highlights from some terrific CIF Northern California quarterfinal boys and girls playoff games, and all the semifinal matchups.

FULL CIF STATE BRACKETS

BOYS

GIRLS

CIF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PLAYOFFS

(All times 7 p.m. unless noted)

BOYS

Open Division

Wednesday’s quarterfinals

No. 3 seed St. Ignatius 72, No. 6 Sheldon-Sacramento 54: Ty Landers had 15 points and eight rebounds, Raymond Whitley 14 points and eight rebounds and Anthony D’Acquisto added 11 points as the short-handed Wildcats (25-4) continued their remarkable season with a decisive home victory over the Sac-Joaquin Section power.

Having lost three starters to season-ending injuries in the last month, St. Ignatius showed off its massive depth once more, also getting strong games from Shawn Boquiren (nine points, four assists) and Noah Kirsch-Lopez (eight points, 11 rebounds) while winning its first game playing in the Open Division, which began 13 years ago.

Third-seed St. Ignatius now travels to Contra Costa College at 7 p.m. Saturday for a semifinal game with second-seed Salesian-Richmond.

Known for its offensive efficiency and shooting, the Wildcats did connect on 12 three-pointers, including three from Boquiren, but it was their defense which stood out Wednesday, limiting Sheldon leading scorer Baron Sabir to 11 points, 13 below his average. The Huskies also managed just five points in the third quarter, when St. Ignatius scored 17 to take complete command.

Sheldon, the SJS runner-up, finished 27-6. It won previous NorCal titles in 2018 and 2019

Modesto Christian 71, De La Salle-Concord 59: An 11-0 run in the second quarter broke a 18-18 tie and that’s all the separation needed for the host Crusaders (26-6), who got 16 points from Trevor Dickson and 13 apiece by Cole Martin and Sincere Hudson.

High school boys basketball — Modesto Christian’s Trevor Dickson went for 22 points including four three-pointers but it wasn’t quite enough in a tough 64-58 loss to Riordan. | Photo by Sam Stringer

Despite 16 points from Ibrahim Monawar and 15 from David Pachulia, the visiting Spartans (24-8) couldn’t overcome the fastbreaking Crusaders, who eliminated De La Salle for a third time in the NorCal playoffs.

Modesto Christian now travels to top seed Riordan 7 p.m. Saturday for a semifinal game. The teams met once this season, a 64-58 Riordan win on Jan. 24 at the Crush in the Valley Showcase at Napa Valley College.

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 4 Modesto Christian (26-6) at No. 1 Riordan (27-1)

High school boys basketball California — Riordan's Cole White (0) goes up for a basket over Ty Landers (33) during a win over St. Ignatius in the Central Coast Section Open championship game at USF on Feb. 27 | Photo by Sylas Garcua

No. 3 St. Ignatius (25-4) vs. No. 2 Salesian (27-3) at Contra Costa College

Division 1

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 9 The King’s Academy 60, No. 16 Jesuit-Carmichael 49: Two days after Jesuit shocked top seed Buchanan, it couldn’t quite deal with the depth and balance of the host Knights, who got 19 points from Scott Beamish, 15 from Claxton Ladine and 12 by Boss Mhoon.

No. 13 Oakland 77, No. 5 Clovis North 75 (OT): Freshman phenom D’Ari Bruce had 25 points, Romyn Waugh added 21, including two key three-pointers at the end of regulation, and Da’Sean Armstrong contributed 10 as the Wildcats traveled nearly 200 miles to upset the Central section power. Oakland (25-7), which was upset in the Oakland Section final to Oakland Tech without Bruce, the OAL MVP (groin injury), was down by 10 at halftime, cut the deficit to six early in the fourth quarter before Clovis North hit back-to-back 3s. From there, Bruce and Waugh took over.

No. 3 Folsom 63, No. 6 Franklin 61: Jack Shull scored 20 points and the third-seeded and host Bulldogs (27-6) won for the 22nd time in 24 outings. Parks Weaver and Scott Nardinelli combined for 23.

No. 7 Dougherty Valley 59, No. 2 Clayton Valley 55: In a rematch of a North Coast Section Open Division semifinal game, visiting Dougherty Valley turned the tables with a breathtaking win it never trailed after jumping to a 15-5 lead by hitting five straight three-pointers. Rashod Cotton had 22 points, Alonzo Walker added 17 and Luke Hansen 12 for the Wildcats, who lost 55-50 at the same gym the previous week when the same trio combined for 17. This one had family drama as the two head coaches are cousins by marriage and sons of famous coaches. SEE COMPLETE STORY.

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 13 Oakland (25-7) at No. 9 The King’s Academy (25-4)

No. 7 Dougherty Valley (23-10) at No. 3 Folsom (27-6)

Division 2

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 1 San Joaquin Memorial 60, No. 9 Woodcreek 57: The top seed (25-7) recorded its second straight home win after losing in the Sectionals to Bakersfield Christian with an overtime win Woodcreek (24-9), which forced overtime with the last five points of regulation, got 25 points from Max VanLaningham and 14 by Michael Kirby Jr.

No. 13 Clovis West 84, No. 5 University-San Francisco 69: Jace Kellogg had 28 points and Jamell Castro and Hunter Bradford combined for 35 as the visiting Golden Eagles had too much size, skill and athleticism for the Red Devils, who got 23 points from Lucas Lau, and 17 from Sam Newmeyer. “It wasn’t a good matchup for us,” said University coach Randy Bessolo, whose 28-6 team averaged 78 points, the most in school history. “They face our type of pressure often in our league and though we forced 19 turnovers they converted often. We didn’t shoot well from the perimeter. … It was a great season. Our guys really over-achieved. Couldn’t be prouder of their commitment and effort.”

No. 6 Oakland Tech 69, No. 14 Clovis 67: Saddiq Alarbesh had 20 points, Brandon Woodards 16 and Jordan Price 15 for the host Bulldogs, which held off a very scrappy Clovis team, which had two shots just fall off the iron with 15 and 10 seconds left. Woodards made one free throw to make it 69-67 and Clovis called timeout with 6.6 seconds left with a chance to tie or win. Via a NFHS replay, Woodards took a charge on a drive to the basket by Sier Harbin with 1.0 seconds left. After a timeout, Tech threw a length of the court pass that was tracked down by Tech player Alarbesh who either gathered the ball before it went out of bounds and then momentum carried him out or he caught it out of bounds, which would bring the ball back to where the ball was inbounded — from Clovis’ end line. The three referees huddled at midcourt and indeed brought the ball back to Clovis end line where the pass was thrown. Clovis players and coaches assumed they would be given the ball with one last chance to score. Instead the ball was awarded to Oakland Tech — as if the previous pass never occurred — and the Bulldogs inbounded the ball without pressure (Clovis thought it was inbounding the ball) and the final horn sounded. Tech celebrated, Clovis coaches asked for an explanation, but then eventually shook hands with the Tech team and it was over. An odd finish. Clovis finished 25-10. WATCH NFHS STREAM

No. 7 Amador Valley 69, No. 2 Sacramento 64: Jaylen Smith scored 22, Cade Krueger added 13 and Elijah Stanley 10 as the visiting Dons (21-12) won their third straight tight game on the road.

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 13 Clovis West (20-12) at No. 1 San Joaquin Memorial (25-7)

No. 7 Amador Valley (21-12) at No. 6 Oakland Tech (22-10)

Division 3

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 1 Natomas 73, No. 9 San Lorenzo 62: Alfred Wilkins had 19 points, Manno Jenkins 17 and Diego Villanueva added 16 as host Natomas won its 14th straight game.

No. 4 Priory 71, No. 5 Branson 57: After winning a state D5 title last season, Priory is after a crown two divisions up and got a balanced scoring attack led by Jai Gerrodette (15 points) and Mate Palotai (12) to offset a mammoth 33-point effort from MCAL Player of the Year N.J. Gray, who had 33 points.

No. 3 Cornerstone Christian 56, No. 6 Palma 46: James Perry had 18 points and Benjamin Lukacs added 14 as the host Antioch private school trailed in each of the first three quarters before going on a 20-9 run in the fourth quarter.

No. 2 Willow Glen 59, No. 7 Los Gatos 48: Brayden Gumabo had 18 points, Whatt Ahlbrand 17 and Caiden Morefield 11 as the host Rams (26-2), drilling 10 three-pointers, stunned Los Gatos (22-7), which got a combined 21 from Milos Grabovac and Dionysis Maroudas. See report.

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 4 Priory (22-6) at No. 1 Natomas (25-9)

No. 3 Cornerstone Christian (26-8) at No. 2 Willow Glen (26-2)

Division 4

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 8 Marysville 65, No. 1 Chico 58: Steven Martin had 19 points and five steals and Zackary Granger added 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks as Marysville (26-7) pulled off the stunner on the road over the Panthers (19-11).

No. 5 Half Moon Bay 56, No. 13 Sanger West 54: Gio Garduno-Martin had 31 points lifting the host Cougars to a wild win over Sanger West (30-5), which led 27-26 at halftime and trailed 41-37 heading into the fourth.

No. 11 Burlingame 52, No. 14 Bret Harte 38: Lucca Maher had 18 points and Jean-Luc Uharriet and Scott Cornelius combined to score 19 to lead Burlingame to victory.

No. 2 Sacred Heart Prep 59, No. 10 Soquel 48: Brady Grossman had 17 points, Zack Beals 16 and Alex Osterloh added 11 as host Sacred Heart Prep (18-11) held off Soquel, which got 20 points from Chase Petersen. It was Soquel’s first NorCal appearance. The Knights finished 2407.

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 8 Marysville (26-7) at No. 5 Half Moon Bay (18-11)

No. 11 Burlingame (20-9) at No. 2 Sacred Heart Prep (18-11)

Division 5

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 1 Mission San Jose 56, No. 8 Oroville 46: The Cinderella story of the Warriors, as told by San Jose Mercury News’ Nathan Canilao, continued as Joseph Stanfield had 24 points and Will Chapman added 20 as the home team built a 19-point lead, faltered somewhat, but won its first NorCal game. It won its first NCS title last week.

No. 13 Weed 59, No. 5 Eureka 52: The 13-seeded Cougars (21-11) went on the road again — 217 miles — and overcame a tough Eureka team and capacity crowd, outscored the Loggers 17-7 in the fourth quarter to pull out a win the home team had all the momentum. Down 35-25 at halftime, Eureka, which got 14 points from Xavier De La Rosa Alcantara and 13 by Ryder Mitchell, outscored Weed 20-7 in the third to take a 45-42 lead heading into the fourth. It wasn’t enough. Weed opened the playoffs Tuesday with a 55-53 win over Argonaut-Jackson, a 278-mile jaunt on Tuesday.

No. 3 San Marin 69, No. 6 Woodland Christian 30: Grant Means had 145 points and Miller Morgan 11 as host San Marin drilled 13 three-pointers and then relied on a very stingy defense to win going away.

No. 2 Rancho Cotate 44, No. 7 Sonoma Academy 42: According to Santa Rosa Press-Telegram reporter Gus Morris, Luke Morris made a contested jumper just above the free throw line with 1.5 seconds left, lifting the host Cougars (25-8) to another historic win for first-year head coach James Slade. Morie scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half. Nsizoa Ndi had 21 points for Sonoma Academy.

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 13 Weed (21-11) at No. 1 Mission San Jose (21-10)

No. 3 San Marin (19-13) at No. 2 Rancho Cotate (25-8)

Division 6

Wednesday’s games

No. 1 Redding Christian 57, No. 8 Averroes 32

No. 4 Mendocino 55, No. 5 Sacramento Adventist 48

No. 3 Victory Christian 74, No. 6 San Francisco Waldorf 66

No. 2 St. Vincent de Paul 64, No. 7 Biggs 52

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 4 Mendocino (23-5) at No. 1 Redding Christian (26-3)

No. 3 Victory Christian (25-3) at No. 2 St. Vincent de Paul (21-10)

GIRLS

Open Division

Wednesday’s quarterfinal

No. 4 San Ramon Valley 51, No. 3 Carondelet 44: Just four days after Carondelet upset the Wolves for the NCS Open Division title 50-49, San Ramon Valley turned around the result as freshman Presley Uchikura had 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks and Ella Gunderson and Alyssa Rudd added 13 points apiece for the Wolves (26-4) who never trailed. Carondelet fought uphill all night and closed to 38-37 behind a balanced attack led by Layla Dixon (10 points), but San Ramon Valley was just too determined. See complete story.

High school girls basketball California — San Ramon Valley's Alyssa Rudd tries to get past Carondelet star sophomore Niylah Christopher | Photo by Jeff Chambers

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 4 San Ramon Valley (26-4) at No. 1 Mitty (26-2), 6 p.m.

No. 3 St. Mary’s-Stockton (25-2) at No. 2 Clovis West (29-3)

Division 1

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 1 Clovis 62, No. 9 St. Ignatius 55: Clovis has played one of the toughest schedules in Northern California and it paid off on Thursday. The Cougars have won 11 of 12.

No. 5 Priory 45, No. 13 Clayton Valley Charter 44: Sasha Johnson had 16 points and Ugreat Daniels added 15 for Priory, which outscored the Eagles 17-4 in the third quarter. Lucy Guitron had 15 points on five three-pointers for Clayton Valley Charter (23-10).

No. 6 Central East 51, No. 3 Piedmont 49: A remarkable 24-3 run in the second quarter, led by Sanai Herod and Chyna Roland (14 points apiece), was all visiting Central East would need to pull out a win at Piedmont, which got 22 points from Andrea Martin. Piedmont finished 22-5.

No. 7 St. Francis 68, No. 15 Bishop O’Dowd 65: Paige Spencer had 16 points and Sophie Holmes contributed four three-pointers and 15 more points as the Lancers held off O’Dowd, which got 19 points from Myella Chapman and 14 each by Jayla Stokes and Ella Bibbins.

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 5 Priory (23-6) at No. 1 Clovis (24-10)

No. 7 St. Francis (22-7) at No. 6 Central East (20-10)

Division 2

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 8 Salesian 49, No. 1 McClatchy 46: The battle-tested Pride (23-10) got a combined 24 points from Angelina Pantoja and Ezra Palec, and used a 14-6 fourth-quarter run to stun the top seed. Oriannah Birden and Faith Thompson combined for 25 rebounds.

No. 4 Oakland Tech 70, No. 12 Del Oro 54: Behind the college-bound standouts Terri’A Russell (UNLV) and Jhai Johnson (Vanderbilt), the Bulldogs won their 11th straight after trailing 21-18 after one quarter. The host Bulldogs (20-10) used a 17-8 run in the fourth quarter to win going away.

No. 6 Woodcreek 48, No. 14 Vanden 42: Chloe Preuss had 26 points leading the Timberwolves to the tough victory. Preuss, a 5-8 guard, made two three points and swished 14 of 20 from the free-throw line. She also had nine rebounds, four assists and three steals. Kennedy Hull, a freshman, added 11 rebounds.

No. 2 Sierra Pacific 66, No. 10 Folsom 57: The Golden Bears got 13 first-half points from Apajok Ayuen and finished with 21 points and Kimora Gardner added 15 points and Nyang Ayuen 11 for the winners.

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 8 Salesian (23-10) at No. 4 Oakland Tech (20-10), 5 p.m.

No. 6 Woodcreek (26-7) at No. 2 Sierra Pacific (22-11)

Division 3

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 8 Scotts Valley 45, No. 16 Notre Dame-Belmont 42: The magical 29-1 season of Scotts Valley continued, but barely, thanks in part to 11 points apiece from Sammy Rebbert and Hanna Shehorn and 15 rebounds and 10 points by Isabelle Jas. According to Jim Seimas of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Sammy Kakala had a game-high 15 points for Notre Dame, which used a 16-0 run to take the lead late but Scotts Valley found a way to win again.

No. 4 Valley Christian 45, No. 12 Los Gatos 43: Kenedi Nomura had 17 points, Anaya Bannarbie 11 and Evelyn Gittens 10 for the host Warriors (14-15). Sophie Riese had 12 points for Los Gatos (21-8).

No. 11 Menlo-Atherton 56, No. 14 St. Bernard’s 43: Lita Fakapelea had 17 points according to the San Mateo Daily Journal, and Luisa Tava 16 for Menlo-Atherton (23-5). Despite 17 points from CJ Figas and having to travel more than 300 miles, St. Bernard’s, the 2024 state champion, was eliminated.

No. 2 East Union 48, No. 7 West Campus 45

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 8 Scotts Valley (29-1) at No. 4 Valley Christian (14-15)

No. 11 Menlo-Atherton (23-5) at No. 2 East Union (28-6)

Division 4

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 1 Faith Christian 54, No. 8 Miramonte 50: Long Beach State signee Lauren Harris, the national record-holder in three-pointers, had 22 points and Presley Berry added 19 and Mia Berry 12 for Faith Christian (30-1).

No. 4 Liberty Ranch 59, No. 5 West Valley 48: Haley Smith, Madisyn Robbins and Kamrynn Blevins led the way for Liberty Ranch (27-6), which now travels to Faith Christian.

No. 3 Lathrop 49, No. 6 University Prep 42: The host Spartans improved to 32-1 with a hard-earned win over University Prep (20-10). Lathrop got strong play from Jaleiyah Ray, Breanna Wiseman and Shakara Porter in the tough win.

No. 10 Benicia 56, No. 2 Bret Harte 53: According to the Vacaville Reporter, Benicia stormed back from a 16-point deficit to win, holding Brett Harte to just four points in the fourth quarter. Ella Lim had 20 points and Kalea Cronin added 13 points for the Panthers.

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 4 Liberty Ranch (27-6) at No. 1 Faith Christian (30-1)

No. 10 Benicia (22-10) at No. 3 Lathrop (32-1)

Division 5

Thursday’s quarterfinals

No. 1 Modoc 53, No. 9 Marin Academy 44: Katie Erquiaga had 15 points and 17 rebounds and five steals, while Mackenzie Diven and Madelyn Moltzen added 10 apiece as the host Braves (14-5) held off the Wildcats (19-13), who got 14 points from Penelope Lee and 10 points and 12 rebounds by Lucy Robinson.

No. 4 Escalon 48, No. 5 Durham 37: According to the Modesto Bee, Arianna Velasco had 23 points, her fourth 20-point plus game in a row, as the home team won again.

No. 6 Woodland Christian 37, No. 3 Palma 35: The defending state Division 5 champion outscored Palma 14-11 in the fourth quarter to force overtime, where it gave up just one point to end Palma’s 21-game win streak.

No. 2 John Adams Academy 56, No. 10 Lowell 47: A power outage moved the game an hour away, but it didn’t slow Elliott Schwartz who had 19 points and 11 rebounds, while her sister Parker Schwartz added 12 points.

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 4 Escalon (26-6) at No. 1 Modoc (14-5)

No. 6 Woodland Christian (30-3) at No. 2 John Adams Academy (28-5)

Division 6

Saturday’s semifinals

No. 4 Ferndale (20-10) at No. 1 Cornerstone Christian (25-7)

No. 3 Forest Lake Christian (19-8) at No. 2 Redding Christian (28-3), 5 p.m.