DANVILLE – Monte Vista center Gavin McMillan is a throwback player.
At 6-foot-9, McMillan towers over his opponents. But unlike current day big men, he doesn’t shoot 3-pointers nor does he venture out to the perimeter. McMillan is the classic bruiser in the middle who isn’t afraid to do the dirty work on the defensive end.
On Tuesday, Monte Vista (17-10, 4-5) got it all that and more from its sophomore big man. In a defensive slugfest, Monte Vista pulled out a 49-45 win over Amador Valley (19-9, 3-6) at home to advance to the third round of the East Bay Athletic League playoffs where the Mustangs will go on the road to California High on Wednesday.
“Gavin is a stud man,” Monte Vista coach Nick Jones said. “He’s very mature for a young kid. He’s been developing the whole year, and he’s really turned into a vocal leader for us as a sophomore. He was a freaking monster tonight.”
McMillan totaled 10 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots as Monte Vista’s defensive anchor. Sophomore Ian Desai had a team-high 11 points and Chase Simpelo totaled eight.
“I just try to help my guys out on defense,” McMillan said. “Offensively, it just felt good tonight. When we got the ball inside, I kind of just pump faked through the defense and went up with it.”
After going up three at halftime, Amador Valley made a run in the third and looked to blow the game open.
A Dante Ventura 3 capped off a 8-4 run to open the third and made the score 35-28 in favor of the road team with 4:53 left in the period. But Monte Vista was resilient and ended the quarter strong to go down 40-37 heading into the final period.
With the game on the line, the Mustangs put on a defensive clinic in the fourth quarter. The Dons took a four-point lead on a made 3 from Kasen Krueger two minutes into the start of the period, but that’s the last bucket Amador Valley would see for the rest of the game.
Later in the period, McMillan grabbed an offensive rebound and tipped the ball to Simpelo, who scored on a layup with a foul to tie the game at 45. McMillan scored the biggest basket of the game when he grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back through the hoop to give the Mustangs a 47-45 lead with just over a minute left.
Amador Valley had its chances to tie, but Monte Vista’s stingy defense forced two deep 3s that went off the mark. Desai iced the game with two clutch free throws to advance Monte Vista to the next round of the league playoffs.
The Mustangs ended the final minutes of play on an 8-0 run.
Jones credits slowing the game down as the biggest key to Tuesday’s win.
“We were taking bad shots that were leading to transition opportunities, and we couldn’t get matched up with their shooters,” Jones said. “We just tried to kind of slow things down, work through Gavin, Desai and Colin (Ellis) and go from there. We were our own worst enemy at times, but in the fourth quarter, we just kind of settled down and played through the post and got the ball inside.”
The Mustangs will have a quick turnaround as they will travel a few exits south of Interstate 680 to play California on Wednesday. Earlier this season, Cal beat Monte Vista in Danville 47-45 in a close and physical game.
Before diving into Wednesday’s preparation, Jones said he will need some time to relax before he creates his gameplan.
“I’m going to go have a cocktail, take a deep breath and then I’ll start watching Cal film,” he said.
MORE BOYS BASKETBALL
No. 1 Archbishop Riordan 65, Archbishop Mitty 40
Riordan held a 36-9 lead at halftime and didn’t let up as the Crusaders cruised to their 12th straight win with a 25-point rout of Mitty at home.
No. 10 St. Ignatius 50, St. Francis 29
The Wildcats got scoring from everywhere on Tuesday as they blow out St. Francis for their fifth straight win. Vince Crisp, Ty Landers and Raymond Whitley each had nine points for St. Ignatius, which improved to 16-5, 9-2 WCAL.
No. 13 Valley Christian 71, Sacred Heart Cathedral 47
Valley Christian had no trouble with SHC up in the City. Bryant Clark led the way for VC (17-5, 8-4 WCAL) with 28 points, followed by Brayden Harris with nine points. Hudson Dennison and Justin Hampton added eight apiece for the Warriors.
Serra 73, No. 20 Bellarmine 70
Serra overcame a 13-point deficit and Ryan Rice hit the go-ahead 3 in overtime to down Bellarmine on the road. Serra senior Mikey Ballout had a game-high 24 points, which included four made 3s. Sebastian Margate added 16 points and six assists. Serra (13-9, 4-8 WCAL) will host St. Francis on Friday. Bellarmine dropped to 15-7, 6-6.
MacDonald 45, Santa Clara 38
MacDonald picked up its first league win of the season with a strong defensive effort last Friday. The Condors (8-12, 1-10 SCVAL) had lost 89-61 at home to the Bruins (2-19, 1-10) in January but carried the day on the road. MacDonald held Santa Clara to five points in the first quarter, seven in the second and 10 in the fourth. Dom Hunt led the way offensively for the Condors, scoring 19 points, while Moussa Fall posted a stellar all-around effort with six points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. Fall was a “monster down low,” according to MacDonald football coach Burt Codera.
Menlo 82, Crystal Springs Uplands 43
The Knights snapped their three-game losing streak by routing Crystal Springs on the road. Menlo junior Ethan Zhao finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Jay’Ar Davis had 17 points and Aidan Stull filled the stat sheet with 10 points, seven assists, eight rebounds and three steals. Menlo improved to 14-9, 4-5 West Bay Athletic League. Crystal Springs dropped to 8-13, 2-7.
Mt. Eden 64, Encinal 47
The dynamic duo of Johnson Tran and Lorenzo Jackson led Mt. Eden to its fourth straight victory. Tran had a game-high 22 points and Jackson added 19 for Mt. Eden (15-9, 8-1), which is in full control of first place in the West Alameda County Conference Shoreline Division. Adam Elmouhtaj had 11 points and Roma Funes scored 10 for Encinal, which dropped to 9-13, 3-6.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 71, No. 7 Archbishop Riordan 50
Mitty won its 101st consecutive WCAL matchup to remain unbeaten in league play thanks to a 21-0 third-quarter run. Riordan showed signs of threatening an upset in the first half, but those were long gone after Mitty’s explosive scoring burst. Christian Babcock was in San Jose and has the full story here.
No. 12 St. Ignatius 50, No. 9 St. Francis 45
SI pulled out a close league battle over St. Francis at home in the City on Tuesday. The Wildcats (13-9, 6-4 WCAL) led 28-25 at the half and just 35-34 after three quarters. The Cats won the fourth 15-11 to secure the victory. St. Francis dropped to 17-6 overall and 6-5 in the WCAL. SI sits in a tie for second in the league standings with Riordan, trailing only Mitty. The Wildcats beat Riordan 55-49 on the road in their first meeting and play the Crusaders again at SI next Tuesday. The Lancers are alone in fourth place in the WCAL.
Dougherty Valley 60, Monte Vista 47
Junior guard Keira Tom scored a game-high 24 points and dished out four assists to lead Dougherty Valley past Monte Vista in the second round of the EBAL playoffs. Sophomore Juliette Leonard totaled 18 points and Naliyah Sefidi had 15 for Monte Vista, which dropped to 12-15, 4-6. Dougherty Valley (17-9, 4-5) will travel to California on Wednesday.
BOYS SOCCER
Acalanes 3, Northgate 1
Acalanes picked up a key victory over Northgate thanks to a trio of goals. Josh Sheehy notched the lone tally for Northgate (9-6-3, 3-4-2 DAL). Acalanes improved to 12-4-3 overall and 5-4-1 in the DAL. Northgate finishes out the regular season against Campolindo on Thursday. Acalanes will end its regular-season slate against College Park on Saturday.
GIRLS SOCCER
Pioneer 4, Branham 1
Pioneer made easy work of Branham on Tuesday, improving to 12-2-3 overall and 4-1-3 in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division this season. The Mustangs have sole possession of third place in the league with the win. Three different players adorned the scoresheet for Pioneer. Ella Overhulse had two goals and an assist. Rylee Ronchetti and Destini Twiggs added a goal apiece. Patricia Acoba chipped in three assists. Branham dropped to 12-3-4 overall and fourth in the Mt. Hamilton with a league record of 5-3-1.