Dougherty Valley breezes past Ygnacio Valley, advances to NCS Division I semifinals

SAN RAMON — Following Tuesday’s NCS Division I first-round win over Monte Vista, Ygnacio Valley coach Michael Woolridge was asked how he felt going up against Dougherty Valley star Jalen Stokes in the Wolves’ quarterfinals matchup.

Woolridge said, “We’ve been playing against Stokes for a while, so we know him. We’re not scared of him.”

Judging from Dougherty Valley’s blowout win against YV on Friday night, the Wolves probably didn’t know him well enough.

They should have been terrified.

Stokes stuffed the stat sheet as he scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out seven assists to lead No. 1 Dougherty Valley to a 79-61 win at home over visiting No. 8 Ygnacio Valley. Dougherty Valley will play Clayton Valley at home in the semifinals on Tuesday.

“They said they weren’t scared of me, but they sent double teams,” Stokes said. “It’s kind of counterintuitive don’t you think?

“It’s a team sport. There’s five guys on every play and I think tonight, they were scared of all five of us.”

Dougherty Valley's Jalen Stokes (2) scores against Ygnacio Valley's Jaelyn Cox (10) during an NCS basketball playoff game at Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, Calif. on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) — Dougherty Valley’s Jalen Stokes (2) scores against Ygnacio Valley’s Jaelyn Cox (10) during an NCS basketball playoff game at Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, Calif. on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Senior Kenny Cloud led Dougherty Valley in scoring with 22 points. Junior Rashod Cotton Jr. had 13 points and senior Tyler Robbins had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Dougherty Valley built an 11-point lead going into halftime and didn’t let up in the second half.

The Wildcats outscored YV 22-10 in the third quarter fueled by a 15-4 run to open the second half. Dougherty Valley played through Stokes as a passer to get open looks for others on the floor.

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“If you’re willing to run three guys at Jalen, he’s willing to find the open guy,” Dougherty Valley coach Mike Hansen said.

On the other end of the floor, Dougherty Valley defense didn’t allow YV’s athletes to run in transition and get easy scores. The Wolves, who are built on turning defense into offense, forced just three turnovers and had only one steal.

Dougherty Valley's Tyler Robbins (12) dunks the ball during an NCS basketball playoff game against Ygnacio Valley, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group) — Dougherty Valley’s Tyler Robbins (12) dunks the ball during an NCS basketball playoff game against Ygnacio Valley, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, at Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)

Antonio Kellogg Jr., one of the top scorers in the East Bay, was held to just two points during Dougherty Valley’s third quarter run. He finished Friday’s game with 25 points.

“We knew YV was going to be solid, but not good enough for one guy to beat us,” Cotton said. “They really didn’t share the ball tonight to be honest and that worked in our favor.”

Following a tough weekend that included losing to De La Salle in the East Bay Athletic League championship by 30 and controversially being left out of the NCS Open Division, Dougherty Valley has come into the Division I playoffs motivated.

The Wildcats beat its first round opponent Pittsburg and YV by a combined margin of 37 points. Hansen believes his team is playing its best basketball.

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“We had a rough 24 hours, Hansen said. “We got embarrassed here by De La Salle. And then when we find out we’re not in the open.

“But what are you gonna do? You can’t complain about it and then not go win. So it was like, Okay, we’re not victims. This is where they put us. Let’s go prove people wrong.”