The Six Best High School Basketball Games I Saw This Season
One top Bay Area team was on the losing end of two of them.
Now that the dust has settled, I finished the year with a tally of 178 high school basketball games attended. I count any game that I was in the building for at least half of, and thanks to events like the Nor Cal Tip-Off Classic, Bambauer Classic and MLK Classic, I was able to break my personal record this year.
But of the games I caught in person, which were the best? With apologies to one North Bay team, here’s my top six, plus a list of other good games that didn’t quite make the cut.
Why did I choose a top six? Because I couldn’t quite narrow it down to five. My games, my rules.
Other rules to note: I’m mainly looking at quality of play and excitement throughout the game, not just how it ended. Buzzer beaters are great, but the preceding 32 minutes need to be entertaining as well. Also, it takes two to tango, so a lopsided game where one team put together a masterpiece (think San Ramon Valley’s thrashing of Granada in the EBAL Tournament or Riordan’s 20-point win over Mitty) don’t crack the list, though they were great displays of basketball by one team.
6) January 24: Oakland Tech 67, Oakland Tech 61
You might be surprised that I included this game, rather than the Valentine's Day meeting that ArDarius Grayson won at the buzzer. But that game was a choppy affair with tons of fouls, while the first meeting, in which Grayson scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, was a terrific back-and-forth affair throughout, with 14 lead changes and seven ties. While Grayson dominated down the stretch, both teams demonstrated terrific balance throughout the night; each team had three double-digit scorers, and the Wildcats had two more with eight points in the losing effort.
5) March 2: San Ramon Valley 52, Mitty 49 (NorCal Semifinal)
The Monarchs and Wolves were such similar teams that they seemed destined to line up in the playoffs, and their Northern California Division I Semifinal meeting on March 2 didn’t disappoint. It was a game of extreme runs, with Mitty opening on a 13-0 surge and SRV scoring the next 13. The Monarchs then went on a 7-0 run, the Wolves answered with an 8-0 run to take their first lead, Mitty closed the first half on a 7-2 surge and SRV got the first seven of the third. The Wolves finished the game on an 8-0 run, taking the lead on Jack Moxley’s layup with 33 seconds left. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Moxley had missed a point-blank layup, and in early January, he suffered a knee injury that coaches had thought would end his season.
4) February 22: Los Gatos 82, Santa Teresa 80 (OT) (CCS Semifinal)
19 lead changes, 11 ties and the son of a Division I football coach scoring a game-high 31 points in the best section playoff game this season in the Bay Area. What more needs to be said?
Well, if you needed any more, that coach’s son was Scotty Brennan, whose and-1 gave the Wildcats the lead for good with 19.3 seconds left in overtime. SCVAL De Anza MVP Nolan Koch gave Los Gatos 18 points and 10 rebounds and Ronan Chinmulgund scored 15. Santa Teresa got 27 points from Kenny Zuniga, 22 from Adam Nakai, 12 from Casey Tran and 11 from Alex Peoples in a CCS Division I Semifinal played at Fremont HS in Sunnyvale. Both teams deservedly made the state tournament; Los Gatos earned the automatic bid with the win and went on to win the CCS Division I title, while Santa Teresa received an at-large.
3) January 23: Serra 71, St. Ignatius 68 (OT) (Jungle Game)
The hunter became the hunted. Serra scored the first 10 points and led the entire way until Steele Labagh’s 3-pointer with 28.8 seconds left in regulation, tied the game on Andrew McDowell’s drive to the hoop with 2.8 to go and rallied for the final eight points in overtime, including a four-point play by Fordham commit Ryan Pettis to spark the comeback.
Mikey Ballout’s third-chance putback with 37.2 seconds left in overtime gave the Padres the lead for good, and he made two free throws with 12.8 left in the extra period to finish with a career-high 19 points. Pettis led the hosts with 20, McDowell scored 12, Alex Naber had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Angelo Ghattas scored nine with eight boards. Sophomore Raymond Whitley scored a game-high 21 in defeat, and the Wildcats also got 15 points from Labagh and 10 from Marcus Bast, plus eight apiece from Vince Crisp and Theo Lamb.
2) January 15: St. Joseph 69, Branson 66 (MLK Classic)
If you like star power, this game was for you. Illinois commit Jase Butler scored 26 of his game-high 33 in the first half, but it was Tounde Yessoufou and the Knights who emerged victorious after the Beninese junior racked up 30 points and 18 rebounds. Sophomore Julius Price wasn’t too shabby either for St. Joseph, with 15 points and 10 assists.
But the role players had their moments, too. Ramon Cota was scoreless until hitting the go-ahead mid-range jumper with 1:52 left in the game and Gunner Morinini drew a key charge for Semetri Carr’s fourth foul. With Carr and Finley Keeffe in foul trouble, Butler nearly led the Bulls to victory in a matchup of teams that both ended up playing in the CIF Open Division.
1) December 9: Salesian 63, Branson 60 (OT) (Gridley Invitational Championship)
I hope nobody reading this thinks I hold some sort of grudge against Branson. The Bulls just happened to be on the losing end of the two best games I watched this season, games that would have been just as good, if not better, had they won. They were a joy to watch all year, combining star power from future Division I talent and teamwork to be one of the Bay Area’s best.
But Salesian was just a little bit better, pulling out the championship game at the 69th Gridley Invitational on Alvin Loving IV’s 30-foot shot. Aaron Hunkin-Claytor and De’Undrae Perteete Jr. led the Pride with 15 points apiece and Zion Yeargin scored nine off the bench. Jase Butler had a game-high 23 for Branson, and the Bulls also got 11 points from Finley Keeffe, nine from Semetri Carr and eight from Joaquin Aguillon.
So why was this game the best? Admittedly, the first half wasn’t the prettiest, with the Bulls leading just 23-15 at the break. But the dramatic ending helped push this game to the top, and most importantly, it was at Gridley. A last-second 30-foot shot to win Northern California’s best basketball tournament in a farm town of 7,000 that goes all-out to put on the best event each year. You truly can’t ask for anything better.
Best of the Rest
Below, in chronological order, are the other 20 best games I saw this season. Click on the score of each game to access the recap.
November 25: Roosevelt 77, Riordan 72 (Nor Cal Tip-Off Classic): A Riordan team still waiting for three transfers to gain eligibility nearly pulled off a massive comeback against a Mustangs squad that was lethal from beyond the arc. Both teams ended up a few points shy of playing for the CIF Open Division Championship.
November 30: Sacred Heart Prep 62, Granada 61 (Crusader Classic): TJ O’Brien scored a game-high 27 points for the Gators and Granada missed a pair of free throws with 0.1 on the clock. The Matadors went on to win their next 17 games.
December 5: University 64, Sacred Heart Cathedral 60: Cole Boake scored 22 points and Will Perkins had 13 of his 15 in the second half as the Red Devils rallied from 17 down.
December 20: Ygnacio Valley 66, Moreau Catholic 65 (Warren Morse Classic): It was the Wolves’ “we demand to be taken seriously” moment, as they held on for a win over a Moreau Catholic team that had received a shot in the arm with the debut of transfer Cole Loud. Loud had 21 points and 12 rebounds, but Ygnacio Valley got a go-ahead and-1 from Loyal Morris with just under a minute left after Antonio Kellogg Jr., who nearly had a triple-double, fouled out.
December 28: Lincoln 82, Mills 81 (Bambauer Classic): Mustangs head coach Carl Jacobs, irate with his team after allowing 50 points in the first half, hardly spoke with his players at halftime. It worked, thanks to Tyrrell Price’s improbable four-point play with 0.2 left. Jaeden Vazquez scored a game-high 29 off the bench for the Vikings after missing the prior day’s game with an illness.
December 29: Marin Catholic 62, King 55 (Bambauer Classic): Wyoming football commit Charles Williams had arguably the best game of his sensational senior year, scoring 37 to knock off a strong Wolves team from Riverside.
December 30: St. Ignatius 79, University 68 (Bambauer Classic Championship): A Red Devils squad missing two of its top players in Cole Boake and Alec Perkins pushed the Wildcats to the brink before SI closed on a 14-2 run to win the tournament championship. St. Ignatius was missing a key piece as well in Theo Lamb, but got big games from sophomore Raymond Whitley and tournament MVP Marcus Bast.
January 11: Clayton Valley 52, Campolindo 46: Elijah Perryman scored a game-high 25 points as the Ugly Eagles closed on a 21-5 run to beat a pesky Cougars squad. Jacob Gentry hit a pair of clutch threes off the bench to help complete the comeback after sitting for the first three quarters.
January 12: Serra 42, Bellarmine 37: Despite missing three starters, including Fordham commit Ryan Pettis, the Padres gutted out a road victory thanks to big games from juniors Mikey Ballout and Chris Philpott.
January 13: Archie Williams 67, Miramonte 63 (2 OT) (Martin Luther King Jr.-John Lewis Memorial): Five different Falcons scored in double figures as Archie Williams held Miramonte to a single point in the third quarter and overcame a tremendous game by Marcus Robinson, who scored a game-high 29 points.
January 16: Riordan 51, Mitty 48 (OT): Zion Sensley came through under pressure at the free throw line as the Crusaders became the rare team to win a tight game at Mitty.
January 26: Half Moon Bay 52, Menlo-Atherton 48 (OT): If you found yourself longing for a return to the PAL’s geographic divisions, watch this game and forget all about it. Half Moon Bay took full control of the PAL Bay race with an overtime win despite never leading in regulation. Sophomore Gio Garduno Martin scored all 18 of his points across the second half and overtime.
February 3: Gunn 65, Palo Alto 63 (OT): Advaith Krishnan’s Lorenzo Charles-style putback with 1.6 seconds left in the extra period gave the Titans just their second rivalry win in 25 years. Ethan Kitch scored a game-high 32 points in the win despite fouling out late in regulation, and Gunn finished the game down two starters.
February 10: San Ramon Valley 68, De La Salle 59 (EBAL Tournament Championship): Seamus Deely had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Matthew Diekmann played a phenomenal fourth quarter to give the Wolves a rare road win over the rival Spartans. SRV continued its trend of overcoming slow starts, erasing an early 17-4 deficit.
February 13: St. Ignatius 53, Serra 49 (Beach Game): Marcus Bast scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half as the Wildcats fought off Serra in front of a spirited crowd. The Padres rallied from an early 16-0 deficit, but never led.
February 14: Oakland Tech 63, Oakland 60: ArDarius Grayson starred with 27 points and seven assists, hitting the game-winning 3-pointer over a double team at the buzzer.
February 23: Riordan 59, Mitty 53 (CCS Open Division Championship): The CCS Open Division Championship is almost always an excellent game, and this one was no different. Kaia Berridge’s massive dunk in the final minutes helped the Crusaders fight off a Mitty squad that hung tough the whole way.
February 29: Granada 68, St. Ignatius 66 (NorCal Quarterfinal): Cortevious Taylor, who lived in San Francisco most of his life, won the game with a putback after his Matadors rallied from down 18.
March 5: Salesian 49, Riordan 44 (NorCal Open Division Championship): The Pride overcame a rare double-digit deficit, then fought off the Crusaders after Riordan survived a stretch of suffocating third quarter defense. Alvin Loving IV hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:24 left at a packed Contra Costa College.
March 9: Harvard-Westlake 50, Salesian 45 (CIF Open Division Championship): For the first time since Ivan Rabb’s heroics in 2015, a great Open Division State Championship Game! Trent Perry lived up to the All-American hype, hitting late shots to power the Wolverines to back-to-back championships.