Gridley Quarterfinals: Riordan Starting to Gel
Riordan toughed out a win over a familiar foe at Northern California's most prestigious tournament.
A simple message from head coach Joey Curtin changed Riordan’s fortunes at the quarterfinals of the 69th Gridley Invitational.
He told the bench to wake up.
The bench’s response, which countered the enthusiasm from a San Ramon Valley side that came roaring out of the gates, keyed an 18-0 run that bridged the middle quarters and gave the Crusaders a lead they’d never relinquish in a 70-59 victory.
It also didn’t hurt to have Andrew Hilman on the floor.
The Cameroonian sophomore sensation scored a team-high 25 points, including the first seven of the third quarter to give Riordan (3-2) a 41-31 lead.
“He has a matchup everywhere on the floor,” Curtin said. “If we can get him isolated and move bodies around so he can get a lane, we’re gonna do that.”
Hilman scored 20 of his 25 across the final two quarters. His floater early in the third put the Crusaders up 39-31, and he leaned into a defender at the free throw line to hit an off-balance jumper midway through the fourth to make it 59-50.
“I really like playing with Zion (Sensley) and Jasir (Rencher) because they open space for me,” Hilman said. “I can kick to the shooter or I can finish at the rim.”
Sensley scored 16, including 10 in a back-and-forth first quarter that Riordan emerged from with a 21-20 lead.
Luke Isaak, who scored 25 to lead San Ramon Valley (4-2), hit a pair of threes early in the second quarter to put the Wolves up seven, and point forward Seamus Deely connected from beyond the arc to give the tournament newcomers a 31-23 lead, at which time Curtin rallied the bench to get behind the team.
It was also at that time when John Tofi Jr. started to impact the game.
A transfer from Sheldon whose father played for Riordan and is now on the coaching staff, Tofi’s ability to slash to the hoop and 6-foot-5 frame gave the Crusaders the spark they needed to score the final 11 points of the second quarter.
“He just does everything you need,” Curtin said. “He plays like a coach’s son.”
Between a meniscus tear during the offseason and a broken hand that he suffered in the first game of Riordan’s football season, Tofi had been sidelined for much of the year. In fact, Thursday was his first game action.
He didn’t take long to make his presence known. His coast-to-coast layup in the third put Riordan up 47-36, and he answered an Elliot Conley 3-pointer with a long jumper to make it 51-44 early in the fourth for the last of his seven points. He also drew a charge with 5:52 left, one of three drawn by the Crusaders on the evening.
Rencher finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, including a layup with 2:42 left to give Riordan a 63-53 edge. Isaak with his fifth and final 3-pointer of the night, but Sensley scored on a turnaround elbow jumper out of a timeout and Hilman made five of six free throws across the final 100 seconds to ice the game.
“It took a while, but you can see we’re starting to come together as a team,” said Evansville commit Kaia Berridge, who chipped in five points and three assists while offering a steadying presence.
Deely nearly posted a triple-double in the losing effort, finishing with 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Conley chipped in eight points, but SRV’s bench combined for just three.
Branson 66, Clayton Valley 42
The Branson Bulls have made four prior appearances at the Gridley Invitational, but they’ve never won it.
The 2023 squad might have what it takes to change that.
Illinois commit Jase Butler had 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, junior point guard Semetri Carr posted a double-double and the Bulls used an 18-0 run in the third quarter to pull away from Clayton Valley, defeating the Ugly Eagles 66-42.
Carr had five points, six rebounds and two assists during a 14-2 run in the second quarter that gave Branson (3-0) a 29-14 advantage, and his basket off an inbound play kicked off the decisive 18-0 run after Clayton Valley (2-1) had cut the lead to nine.
The lead grew to 41-27 when Carr rebounded a missed free throw and proceeded to knock down a 3-pointer, and Branson went up by 20 on a Butler putback with 1:58 left in the quarter. Back-to-back dunks, a one-handed rip by Butler and a two-handed slam from Finley Keeffe when Joaquin Aguillon threw a pass off the backboard, stretched the advantage to 27 before Ugly Eagles sophomore Vince Ellis finally ended the onslaught.
Aguillon and Carr matched Butler with five assists. The duo each scored 12 points, with Carr pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds to complete his double-double.
Ellis led Clayton Valley with nine points, while James Moore added eight.
Clovis North 85, Sheldon 59
The Clovis North Broncos overwhelmed the Sheldon Huskies in the last of the four quarterfinals at the 69th Gridley Invitational, closing the first half on a 17-6 run in an 85-59 win.
Balance was the name of the game for Clovis North (4-1), with four players in double figures. Connor Amundsen led the way with 16, while his younger brother, McKae, tallied 15 on five 3-pointers. Cal State East Bay commit Jordan Espinoza scored 14 and Loukas Jones finished with 10.
The Broncos scored exactly 22 points in each of the first three quarters, putting the game out of reach with a 9-0 run early in the third. Sheldon (1-3) trailed 44-31 after a Muhammad Singleton putback, but McKae Amundsen and fellow sophomore Elias Gish each sank 3-pointers.
Connor, who missed the entire 2022-23 season with a torn labrum, assisted on four of McKae’s five 3-pointers. The brothers are sons of head coach Tony Amundsen.
Gish added nine points while Arman Arisian finished with seven.
Jaden Spears led the Huskies with 19 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Singleton scored just two points in the first half after picking up a pair of early fouls, but finished with 14 and gathered a team-high seven rebounds.
Salesian 80, Gridley 30
Salesian will face Clovis North in the semifinals for the second year in a row after dispatching the host Gridley Bulldogs, 80-30.
13 different players scored for the Pride in the winning effort, led by Hawaii commit Aaron Claytor’s 13 points and seven assists. Sophomore guard Elias Obenyah scored 10, Alvin Loving finished with nine and De’Undrae Perteete, Zander Jimenez and Zion Yeargin scored eight apiece.
Salesian (4-0) used a 23-4 second quarter run to take a commanding 44-18 halftime lead, then won the third quarter 26-7 to ensure the fourth would be played with a running clock.
6-foot-8 forward Aaron Kullar, a UC Merced signee, scored a game-high 19 points for Gridley (5-1). He hit a pair of early 3-pointers to give the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead before Salesian fired off a 14-2 run. Travus Boyd added six points in the losing effort.