SAN RAMON — Dougherty Valley coach Mike Hansen is a passionate guy.
Whether he’s shouting instructions from the bench, cheering on his team during a timeout or yelling at a referee on a bad call, the longtime basketball coach has no problem wearing his emotions on his sleeve.
After Tuesday’s 64-55 win over Clayton Valley in the NCS Division I semifinals, he was as passionate as could be.
For the fourth consecutive year, Dougherty Valley will be in a North Coast Section title game.
Hansen, who has been the basketball coach since the team first had a varsity team in 2008, has seen it all.
Dougherty Valley has had bad seasons, good seasons, rebuilds and championship contending years. But one thing has stayed consistent throughout the years: Mike Hansen.
“Getting to four finals is huge,” Hansen said with tears in his eyes. “It says a lot about our coaching staff, our school and our community. It’s just emotional.”
The San Ramon school won the Open Division title in 2023 and the Division I crown last year. They fell to Clayton Valley in 2022 at home, making this win sweeter that much sweeter.
“We avenged that loss,” Hansen said. “They beat us four years ago, so it was huge. I don’t forget about those. As a coach, those are the ones you remember.”
Dougherty Valley senior and UC Davis commit Jalen Stokes added, “Coach just really wanted this one badly. We competed for him and competed for each other and that was the result.”
Dougherty Valley never trailed during Tuesday’s game.
Stokes had a monster game, totaling 31 points and 17 rebounds and senior Kenny Cloud had 22 points.
Stokes had 16 of his points in the first half as Dougherty Valley held a comfortable lead early. The Ugly Eagles opened the second quarter with a 8-0 run to open the second quarter and cut the Dougherty Valley deficit to just one, but that’s as close as the Concord school got.
Cloud came out of the halftime break hitting all three consecutive shots from behind the arc, the last of which gave the Wildcats a 11-point advantage.
“I had six points in the first quarter, but I didn’t have any in the second,” Cloud said. “I just had to stay focused and let the shots come to me.”
Dougherty Valley led 46-33 after three quarters and didn’t let up in the fourth period.
“We were getting good looks, but nothing was falling for us tonight,” said Clayton Valley sophomore forward Zion Grissom, who finished with a team-high four steals. “It was tough to run the offense today, but just nothing was going our way.”
An and-1 lay in from junior guard Vince Ellis cut the Dougherty Valley lead to eight, but Stokes was just too much for the Ugly Eagles down the stretch.
On the ensuing possession, Stokes hit a step back jumper from the left wing to push the lead back to 10 with just over two minutes left and shut the door on any Clayton Valley comeback.
For Dougherty Valley, the job is not finished but getting to the title game for the fourth straight year has meant a lot for a team that had its ups and downs early in the season.
Sophomore point guard Rylan Sevilla has had three older brothers play for Hansen in the last six years and become stars for Dougherty Valley. After winning last year’s NCS title as a freshman, Sevilla has a fresh perspective on what has made the program elite for the better half of a decade.
“I definitely just want to accomplish a lot with our team,” Sevilla said. “I know it means a lot to all of us and the program. We all want it and we have that chip on our shoulder.”
Dougherty Valley has secured its spot in the NorCal playoffs and will face another tough test when the Wildcats play Redwood on Saturday at Livermore High. The Giants are led by Cal-Berkeley commit Semetri Carr, a transfer from North Bay powerhouse Branson.
Though Clayton Valley will not have the opportunity to win an NCS title, the Ugly Eagles will have a shot to make the NorCal playoffs when they host Amador Valley in the third place game on Friday. The winner of that game will receive an at-large bid to the NorCal regionals.