‘We needed our get back’: Dublin spoils Jalen Stokes’ return, earns gritty win over Dougherty Valley in rivalry game

DUBLIN – For the last year, Dublin has been listening to all the noise. 

The Gaels lost the 2024 North Coast Section Division I championship game to rival Dougherty Valley and watched Jalen Stokes – its star player – transfer to the San Ramon school just before the school year.

Since then, Dublin has carried a chip on its shoulder. 

Every slight on social media, every article that didn’t mention the Gaels as one of the Bay Area’s top teams and every low preseason ranking was filed away to be used at a later date. 

That later date was Friday night. 

Dublin played its best game of the season as the Gaels defeated rival Dougherty Valley 64-61 in front of a packed house at home. Even though Stokes had a game-high 23 points, it wasn’t enough to beat his old team. 

“We’ve been waiting for this matchup all year,” Dublin junior guard Jaiden Jones said. “We had this on our calendars. We were ready to play them. We needed our get back from the NCS championship and we got it. 

“We were very motivated by Jalen’s return. We came here ready to perform, but we weren’t too worried about him. We just had to worry about how we were going to play.”

Jones finished with a team-high 16 points – 11 of which came in the third quarter – and grabbed 12 rebounds. Senior Miles Pollard totaled 16 points and junior Cam Anderson finished with 10. 

While the intense rivalry along with Stokes’ return made Friday’s East Bay Athletic League game an emotional matchup, Dublin coach Tom Costello said there were no hard feelings from Stokes’ former school. 

“These guys are friends and friends compete with no ill will,” Costello said. “Jalen is in a good spot for him and we’re in a good spot for us, so let’s just play.”

Both teams went into halftime tied at 31, but Dublin — ranked seventh by the Bay Area News Group — made its run in the third. 

A Jordan Morganstein 3-pointer capped off a 12-3 run from Dublin to open the quarter. Jones was electric during that stretch as he bullied his way into the paint for easy scores. 

Another Morganstein long ball near the end of the quarter gave Dublin (22-4, 6-3) its largest lead of the night at 15. The Gaels finished the third quarter outscoring Dougherty Valley 24-13.

But just when it looked like Dublin was going to put away Dougherty Valley for good, the fourth-ranked Wildcats (19-7, 7-2) unloaded one last run to make things interesting. 

Dougherty Valley scored five unanswered to start the final period. The Wildcats leaned on junior guard Rashod Cotton Jr., who scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half. 

With under 30 seconds left in the game, Dougherty Valley senior guard Cole Roque scored a layup to make the score 62-61 as the Wildcats put themselves in a position to take the lead late. 

After Morganstein knocked in two free throws to extend Dublin’s lead to three, Dougherty Valley had just over 20 seconds left to try and tie the game. But the Wildcats’ final efforts were denied by Dublin’s defense in the closing moments as the Gaels earned their best win of the season.

“I think our energy out of halftime changed everything,” Pollard said. “I feel like as a team we were resilient. It was the biggest half of our season, so we came out and did what we had to do.”

Dublin’s defense bounced back after giving up 76 points to San Ramon Valley on Tuesday. The Gaels held Stokes to just seven points in the second half and were the more physical team down the stretch. 

“It was just a thrilling game,” Anderson said. “I think we just did a good job rebounding, playing defense. It was just a good game all around.”

With all that has transpired over the last year, Friday’s game took an emotional toll on both teams. Although disappointed with the outcome, Dougherty Valley coach Mike Hansen said he felt a sense of relief following the defeat. 

“I have not looked forward to this day since school started,” Hansen said. “I’m glad it’s behind us. I’m still excited. We’re still legit and we’re still going to make a deep run.”