Recap: Night 1 of CCS Boys Basketball Playoffs
The CCS Open Division is stacked this year, and we got a preview at some teams that can make some noise in NorCal.
Friday night’s slate of games marked the beginning of the 54th year of CCS Playoffs. Take a look at the matchups, game recaps, odds, games to watch, and scenarios needed for all teams vying to compete in the Open Division Championship at Leavey Center.
(6) Milpitas 55, (3) Bellarmine 44
Coming into Friday night’s matchup, no public school had beat a WCAL team since the CCS Open went to pool play in 2022. Since CCS added an Open in 2013, public schools are 4-30 vs. WCAL teams, not counting consolation games. On Friday, Milpitas (22-3, 11-1) made it 5-30.
The 6th seeded team in the CCS Open Division bracket overcame an early deficit to grind out a win on the road. Will Corbett and Dylan Nguyen each exchanged threes early on in the first. The Bells proceeded to score five straight off a bucket inside by JJ Barton and another triple by Corbett to extend the lead, holding the Trojans scoreless for just under four minutes. Corbett continued his strong outing with a slick euro step layup to tack on to his 8-point first quarter. Trojans’ Wrencher nailed a tough elbow jumper just before the buzzer to shrink the Bells lead to just 18-14 after one.
Onto the second quarter after a back-and-forth first, the Trojans were able to cut the lead to two with a quick bucket from Pranavram Krishnan. The Bells proceeded to hit back-to-back buckets, giving them a 23-16 lead after a Razavi triple with 6:17 to go. Milpitas then answered back with a mini 8-3 run, concluding with a Wrencher three-pointer at the 4:54 mark in the quarter. From there, both teams had been scoreless for the next five minutes. Razavi finally nailed a fall away jumper with 45.3 remaining to halt the scoring drought, giving the Bells a slim 28-24 lead at the halftime break.
Milpitas, who had trailed by as much as seven points early in the second, started off the third quarter blazing hot on offense. The Trojans went on an enormous 13-1 run with the help of Dylan Nguyen’s 5 third-quarter points and Wrencher’s aggressiveness on the glass. The Bells gave up the lead on senior Isaac Sisay’s jump shot with 4:40 remaining in the quarter.
Not just on offense, but the Trojans were lethal on the defensive end, holding the Bells to just five points in the third quarter. Unironically, Corbett scored all 5 of those points for his team, giving him 13 on the night. Although he was the team’s only scorer in the quarter, nobody for Bellarmine could get anything to go. Milpitas tallied three blocks and a couple steals in the quarter alone.
Into crunch time where the Bellarmine Bells are very familiar. Krishnan started off the quarter with a strong attack to the basket for the and-one, giving the Trojans a 41-33 lead with 7:35 to go in the game. Though his only points in the quarter, he racked up 14 in the game after an 8-point first half. Isaac Sisay’s three-pointer with 3:50 to go gave Milpitas a 10-point lead, sealing the win for the Trojans. They went on to beat the Bells 55-44, completing an 18-point turnaround on the road.
For Milpitas, Wrencher and Sisay each had 14 points and combined for 10 rebounds. Pranavram Krishnan played incredibly well off the bench and gave a boost for the Trojans, tallied 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists. Lamont Davis, although quiet on the scoring side, had distributed the ball well and was scrappy on the glass especially in the first half, had 5 assists and 8 rebounds.
For the Bells, a subpar second half led to their embarrassing playoff loss at home. The team got outscored 31-16 in the final 16 minutes to give up an early 7-point lead. Corbett (17-5-2) and Razavi (13-4) combined for 30 of the Bells’ 44. The rest of the team’s starters had just eight points total. A valiant effort the two stars for the Bells but a lack of effort to allow 15 and 16-point quarters for the Trojans.
NEXT UP FOR MILPITAS: at St. Ignatius (2), vs. Junipero Serra (7)
NEXT UP FOR BELLARMINE: vs Junipero Serra (7), at St. Ignatius (2)
(1) Riordan 59, (8) Mitty 45
It was an all-out fight for the Monarchs on Friday night as they battled against the states 8th ranked team without their star player, Caeden Hutcherson (ankle). The team gave every breath and sweat in an all-out effort against Archbishop Riordan (24-1, 14-0).
The Monarchs came out physical to start the game, forcing four turnovers in just the first minute and 46 seconds. Crusaders’ John Tofi started off the scoring in transition off a steal and layup at the 4:22 mark. After a 6-0 start for Riordan, Jalal hit a short jumper for the Monarchs, who trailed 6-2 with 2:14 remaining. Buckets by Hillman and Pihtovs ended a 10-2 quarter for the Crusaders, who held Archbishop Mitty (14-12, 6-8) to just one basket.
Throughout the second, the Monarchs hung around in striking distance, as they brought it to within seven when Brady Clugage hit a corner three in the front of the Crusader bench, trailing 14-7 with 6:25 to go. Crusaders extended the lead to 11 after a Pihtovs layup inside the paint.
With 1:41 to go, Jalal nailed an incredibly difficult stepback three with Hillman’s hand in his face, forcing a Crusader timeout and cutting the lead to just seven, down 20-13. After forcing a miss on the other end after the break, Jalal raced down the court and found Daniel Ryan in the corner for a three-pointer. Crusaders’ Pihtovs was able to easily scoop home a layup inside, then Cabebe hit a right wing three over him off another find from Grayson Jalal with 35.3 seconds to go in the first half. The Monarchs were able to get a stop down the other end to end the quarter on a 9-2 run, with three consecutive triples, trailing just 22-19.
The Crusaders got outscored 17 to 12 in the second quarter, marking just the fifteenth quarter this season that Archbishop Riordan has been outscored in out of 98 quarters.
Jasir Rencher knocked down an open three to bring the Crusader lead back up to eight with 4:26 to go in the third. Monarchs’ Joseph Seifu answered right back with a high-arcing three-pointer in the corner off a nice feed from Daniel Ryan. Lamere-swift buried a triple late in the third to bring it back to single digits for the Monarchs. Riordan’s height became a big factor for Mitty as head coach for the Crusaders, Joe Curtin, went with Emeneke and Pihtovs on the floor together. Cole White then hit a three of his own to bring the Riordan lead back up to 11, their biggest of the game since the 3:24 mark of the second quarter. Archbishop Mitty still never went away as junior, Joseph Seifu hit his second three of the quarter with 25.9 seconds remaining in the quarter. After cutting the lead to just eight, Hillman finger rolled a pretty layup at the third-quarter buzzer to give the Crusaders a 40-30 advantage with just eight minutes remaining.
Rencher found sophomore guard for the Crusaders, Cole White, on the right wing for an open three, extending the Riordan lead to 13, their biggest of the game. Rencher halls in the rebound on the other end and pushes a 3-on-4 fastbreak. He feeds White in the corner who banked in a WILD three off the top corner of the backboard, giving him his third consecutive three and an absolutely insane heat check. Crowd loved it. The Crusaders had gone on an 11-3 run dating back to the end of the third quarter, now leading 46-30 with 7:02 to go. White with nine of those eleven points.
Monarchs’ Lamere-swift finds Clugage in transition, finding a wide open lane until Rencher goes up for the block, but instead fouls him on the and-one. Suddenly, Monarchs still have life as they trail 46-36 with 6:07 remaining in the game.
Cole White scores the reverse layup on the other end, giving him eleven points on the game and scoring the last eight for the Crusaders, who now lead 48-36 in the final 5:51.
A scary sight for the Monarchs as Jalal seemed to hurt his ankle midway through the fourth quarter. Remains in the game, and less than a minute later, he finds Clugage in the corner for his second three of the evening.
Just as the Monarchs bring it to within nine, Texas A&M commit, Jasir Rencher, was given just a little bit of room at the top of the key and buried the dagger three for the Crusaders, who came out victorious, 59-45.
For the Crusaders, Jasir Rencher finished with a game-high 12 points (9 in the second half), 9 rebounds, and 2 assists. Hillman had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists. Sophomore, Cole White tallied 11 points, all in the second half. Went on a solo 8-0 run at the beginning of the fourth, including an insane heat check to give the Crusaders their biggest lead of the evening.
For the short-handed Monarchs, though lacking Hutcherson (ankle) and Burke (ankle), they fought a long, scrappy game. Daniel Ryan had a team-high 11 points, as well as 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Jalal had 10-6-6, huge in the second and fourth quarter to keep the game afloat. Clugage with nine points and a couple much-needed buckets in the fourth that brought the game to single digits.
Friday night’s 59-45 win for the Crusaders marked their closest margin of victory (14) against a league opponent (regular season and playoffs) since February 23, 2024 against Archbishop Mitty in the playoffs (59-53).
NEXT UP FOR RIORDAN: vs. Menlo-Atherton (5), vs. Valley Christian (4)
NEXT UP FOR MITTY: at Valley Christian (4), at Menlo-Atherton (6)
(4) Valley Christian 65, (5) Menlo-Atherton 51
Warriors had a good first quarter. Efficient offense led to a 20-11 lead at the break. The team scored at all three levels and involved several different contributors.
The Bears trailed 34-22 at the half after a clinical first two quarters for Valley Christian. A lot has gone well for them, plus several open shots. Bears had fought back a bit, but Warriors remained on top after two.
The lead was 45-33 for the Warriors after three quarters. Any time Menlo-Atherton cut the lead to sub-10, the Warriors brought it up.
Subsequently, Bears didn’t have enough in the tank and the Warriors defeated the Bears 65-51 on Friday night. The team could make some noise in NorCal if they continue to play at a high level.
NEXT UP FOR VALLEY CHRISTIAN: vs. Mitty (8), at Riordan (1)
NEXT UP FOR MENLO-ATHERTON: at Riordan (1), vs Mitty (8)
(2) St. Ignatius 69, (7) Serra 56
Friday night’s playoff matchup marked the 25th time the Padres and Wildcats have met in the last ten years and their fourth time in five years in the playoffs. St. Ignatius had taken care of Serra in the regular season (57-43, 66-60), and did so yet again in the first game of CIF-CCS Open Division pool play.
The Padres (15-10, 6-8) started off a lot better than they had in their previous two matchups against St. Ignatius (18-7, 10-4). Mikey Ballout nailed a contested corner three then Rice scored over Whitley off the steal and assist by Sebastian Margate, giving Serra an early 8-4 lead with 5:47 remaining in the first quarter. Wildcats’ Boquiren hit his first three of the game then finished with a filthy crossover move inside. A couple buckets by Ty Lewis and a three by Vince Crisp concluded a 9-0 run for the Wildcats, giving them a 16-10 lead over the Padres with 2:31 to go in the quarter. From there, Serra went on a run of its own, nailing four consecutive threes, one from Margate and Rice each, and two by Mikey Ballout, who nailed the left-wing three at the buzzer, adding on to his 12-point (3 3-PT) first quarter. His three-pointer concluded a 12-1 run in the final 2:07 for the Padres, who led 22-17 at the end of one.
The second quarter was a balanced affair for both sides. Crisp had the first four for the Wildcats, then Whitley proceeded to score five straight. The two combined for nine of St. Ignatius’ 11 second-quarter points, ending with a Crisp bucket inside to cap off an 11-0 Wildcat run, holding the Padres scoreless for just over four minutes. Free throws by Tyler Bailey tied it back at 30 to send both teams to the half.
St. Ignatius started off the third quarter blazing hot, scoring nine straight and adding on to a 20-3 run extending back from the 5:13 mark in the second quarter. That’s just three points in the last 8 minutes and 32 seconds for the Padres. For Serra, Rice hit back-to-back buckets and Margate finished with two tough fallaway jumpers to bring Serra back to down just 48-41 after three.
The fourth quarter was a lousy one as the Padres were fighting to get back into the game. If there was anybody who can put the team away for a third straight time, it was Raymond Whitley. He scored 11 of the Wildcats 21 fourth-quarter points. Threes by Ryan Rice and Zorba Apostolou gave the Padres life, bringing them to within seven, down 62-55 with 1:51 to go. The Wildcats, though, finished on a 7-1 run, beating Serra 69-56 in Game 1 of the CCS Open Division Championships.
For St. Ignatius, Whitley finished with a game-high 24 points (11 4th-quarter), four rebounds, and five assists. He also went 8-for-12 from the foul line. Vince Crisp had 17 off a balanced attack on all levels of the floor. Shawn Boquiren continued to be the nemesis for the Padres, scoring 12 points on 3 threes.
For the Padres, what really hurt the team is the free throw discrepancy, which was 26-12, in the Wildcats’ favor. Mikey Ballout scored a team-high 17 points (12 1st-quarter) and tacked on six rebounds; he went 2-for-6 from the free throw line. Sebastian Margate scored 14 points for the Padres, had a couple rebounds and six assists. He kept the Padres in it for a majority of the game, doing what he does best, which is finishing quarters strong. Ryan Rice had 13 points (3 3-PT) and four rebounds.
NEXT UP FOR ST. IGNATIUS: vs. Milpitas (6), vs. Bellarmine (3)
NEXT UP FOR SERRA: at Bellarmine (3), at Milpitas (6)
Pathway to the Championship
All eight teams in the CIF-CCS Boys Basketball Open Division bracket seeks to make it to Santa Clara on Friday, February 28th at Leavey Center. See how each team can find their way there with implications from each pool.
Riordan (1-0), Valley Christian (1-0), St. Ignatius (1-0), Bellarmine (1-0)
Wins the pool if they win both remaining games (3-0).
If they go 2-1, they need the tiebreaker (head-to-head or point differential) against another 2-1 team.
Menlo-Atherton (0-1), Mitty (0-1), Milpitas (0-1), Serra (0-1)
Must win both games (2-1) and hope for a three-way tie at 2-1 where they hold the tiebreaker.
Championship Berth Odds After Night 1
POOL A
Riordan (1) - 80%
Undoubtedly the best team in the field, undefeated in WCAL, and already 1-0. If they keep playing like they have all season, they should win out.
Valley Christian (4) - 10%
Nice win against Menlo-Atherton on Friday night. Solid team, but they have to face Riordan. If they can pull off the upset, their chances skyrocket! Otherwise, a great team that can really make a deep run in NorCal.
Menlo-Atherton (5) - 7%
Lost to Valley Christian already, meaning they need to win out and hope for tiebreaker help.
Mitty (8) - 3%
Played a great, hard-fought game against Riordan. Non-stop effort for 32 minutes straight. Plays at Valley Christian on Monday, split the season series with them. Also needs to win out and get tiebreaker help… as well as a prayer.
POOL B
St. Ignatius (2) - 45%
Aside from Riordan, most dominant WCAL team. Beat Serra convincingly at home, and in control of final two games at home.
Milpitas (6) - 30%
Came back to beat Bellarmine on the road, great league record with a couple solid wins against decent opponents. Their matchup against St. Ignatius on Monday evening will be a big deciding factor.
Bellarmine (3) - 15%
Lost to Milpitas at home decisively. Given their two big wins against the Wildcats in the regular season, I’m not entirely ruling them out. But, they face off against Serra on Monday night, a team that’s out hustled them twice in the season. That game will be a big deciding factor as well.
Serra (7) - 10%
Tough team in a great league, but 0-1 and has to win out while hoping for tiebreakers. Has beat the Bells twice this season, but always difficult to beat a team three times, especially in the WCAL! They still need St. Ignatius to lose both of their games (at home), while they must win two very difficult road games.
Must-Watch Monday
Monday night is game 2 of 3 for all CCS Open Division teams. Below are a couple games that I think could make or break quite a few teams’ chances at making it to the Championship game in Santa Clara.
Milpitas (6) at St. Ignatius (2)
This will be the only matchup on Monday night where two 1-0 teams face off. St. Ignatius has proven to be dominant, inside and out of the WCAL. They’ve unquestionably been handled by Bellarmine in the regular season, who spoiled the Wildcats’ senior night a little over a week ago. The Bells’ home loss to the Trojans could spark some questions about the matchups between Milpitas and St. Ignatius. Both teams are lengthy and athletic, and some may say polar opposites. The Trojans typically get into the paint more and rely on the star power of Wrencher as well as their bench, mainly from Krishnan. The Wildcats’ three-point shooting this year has been an immense contribution to their success. A majority of their scoring is relied on by their starters, including Whitley and Boquiren. The Trojans visit the Wildcats on Monday night at 6:00 pm.
Serra (7) at Bellarmine (3)
Monday night’s game will mark the third time these two teams have met this year. Serra has gotten the best of the Bells both times, two of their minimal six league wins this season. The Padres grinded out a win on the road against Bellarmine, overcoming a 13-point deficit on a game-winning three by junior guard, Ryan Rice. Based off Bellarmine’s performance against Milpitas on Friday, the team must figure out where they will get their scoring if it’s not from Corbett. The Bells’ defense needs to tighten up, especially against a team like Serra. Ultimately, both teams need this win to stay alive in the vie for a berth in the championship. The loser of this game will officially be eliminated from any chances of making it to Santa Clara on Friday night. The Padres visit the Bells on Monday night at 7:00 p.m.