SAN RAMON — Jalen Stokes has made an early case as the East Bay Athletic League’s top player after another sensational performance on Friday night.
In a highly-anticipated matchup against Oklahoma commit Alec Blair, Stokes exploded for 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Dougherty Valley to a 59-48 win over De La Salle. Dougherty Valley’s defense stepped up in a big way as the Wildcats used a 2-3 zone to stifle the usually high-powered De La Salle offense.
“It’s always a battle against Blair,” Stokes, a UC Davis commit, said. “We’re both the top players on our respective teams and it’s definitely a battle I love to have. I’m just glad we got to pull this win out as a team.”
Stokes’ 32-point game comes just a week after he scored 47 in a loss to San Ramon Valley. Dougherty Valley, De La Salle and SRV are in a tie for second in the EBAL with California in first place after beating Monte Vista on Friday night.
“This win just means we’re back in the thick of things,” Dougherty Valley coach Mike Hansen said. “Losing to San Ramon, we knew we couldn’t fall two games back, so we knew we had to get this one if we wanted to stick around for a league title. We just had to play our way and play our pace and we got it done.”
Blair finished with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists for De La Salle. Junior guard Ibrahim Monawar had a team-high 15 points, grabbed three rebounds.
“We were just way off,” Blair said. “It happens. We don’t really practice a lot against the zone. We just got to play better against it. I just don’t think we were ready and it showed tonight.”
Dougherty Valley went up four after the first quarter and put the hammer down in the second. The Wildcats’ defense suffocated the Spartans as the Concord school mustered just four points.
Meanwhile, Dougherty Valley hit timely shots and schemed Stokes into favorable one-on-one matchups. At halftime, the Wildcats led 28-16.
The third quarter was all Stokes.
The 6-foot-5 forward scored all but five of Dougherty Valley’s 14 third-quarter points and ended the quarter with an-and-1 lay in that gave the San Ramon school a 42-28 advantage going into the final period.
“We just kind of let him go when he’s hot,” freshman forward Alonzo Walker said. “If he’s hot, he’s hot. We just find a way to be productive on the defensive end and try to get him the ball when he’s going.”
After a Monawar 3-pointer and a layup from senior center Braddock Kjellesvig, De La Salle cut the Dougherty Valley lead to just five with just over a minute left, but the Wildcats came in clutch at the free throw line.
Dougherty Valley made all eight of its free throw attempts with Stokes, senior point guard Cole Roque and Xayne Mojaddidi each knocking down at least two shots from the charity stripe to close the door on any De La Salle comeback.
While Stokes had a huge performance, Dougherty Valley credits its role players with tonight’s win.
Walker had just three points, but led the team in rebounds with 10. Despite being just 5-6, Roque scored seven points, grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists and had a steal.
“Guys have accepted their role and have been thriving in it,” Hansen said. “Those ancillary guys have each been different in every game. Someone new just steps in that extra spot that we need and they’ve done well.”
Stokes added, “It gives me a little break when other guys can step up. I don’t have to do as much when I know that I trust my guys to go get their job done. It’s really important, especially when I’m playing as many minutes as I do.”
Ultimately, Dougherty Valley won two stat categories that propelled it to a win: rebounds and turnovers.
Despite being the smaller team on Friday night, Dougherty Valley outrebounded De La Salle 33-27 and won the turnover battle as it totaled just five on the night to De La Salle’s eight.
“It’s huge,” Hansen said when asked what it means to beat De La Salle on the glass and in turnovers. “We’re still getting better. Early in the year, we weren’t good. We had to add Jalen late.
“I told them to enjoy this tonight because we play tomorrow against Santa Rosa. We have to make sure we beat Santa Rosa and get back into league. It’s going to be a mad race to the finish and I like where we’re at.”
