SAN PABLO — They could see the signs over the summer, maybe even in late last season. The signs that led to what unfolded on Friday night, the suffocating defense that swallowed De La Salle in the biggest of games to date.
Salesian captured its first North Coast Section Open Division championship, prevailing 52-43 before an overflow crowd at Contra Costa College.
The Richmond private school became the fourth different champion in the four seasons the NCS has had an Open playoff for basketball, joining Bishop O’Dowd, Campolindo and Dougherty Valley.
De La Salle fell in the Open final for the third consecutive year, all against the bracket’s top seed.
“It’s special,” Salesian coach Bill Mellis said. “This group deserves for it to happen to them. They’ve just worked so hard. I just couldn’t be more proud for them and happy for them.”
This one played out as expected, a physical grind in which the ball seemed like a magnet for defenders. Points were difficult to come by from the outset as Salesian led 8-6 after the first quarter and 20-17 at halftime.
Salesian’s Aaron Hunkin-Claytor (30) knocks the ball out of the hands of De La Salle’s Arshawn Salkhi (23) causing a turnover in the third quarter of their NCS Open Division Championship game at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
The Pride (29-1) widened its lead to 34-28 after three quarters, still too close for comfort.
But any signs of a De La Salle comeback ended when De’Undrae Perteete buried back-to-back corner 3-pointers in front of Salesian’s cheering section that stretched the margin to 40-31. The 6-foot-5 senior led Salesian with 12 points.
“He was calling for the ball, too,” Mellis said. “We called his number and he knocked them in. He’s a special player.”
Alec Blair tried to keep De La Salle in it, scoring 11 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. But the star junior had to work incredibly hard for everything he got.
In the end, it proved to be too tall of a task.
“They just compete really, really hard,” Blair said. “They play good defense and we turned the ball over a little too much.”
De La Salle’s Alec Blair (33) sits somberly on the bench after the Spartans were defeated by Salesian in the NCS Open Division championship game at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Salesian defeated De La Salle 52-43. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
De La Salle closed to within 42-37 on two baskets by Blair, but Perteete answered with a bucket down low and Isaiah Davis scored on drive that extended the advantage back to nine with 2:11 left.
At that point, De La Salle needed a miracle, which went unanswered.
Salesian’s Amani Johnson (12) dives to recover a loose ball against De La Salle in the fourth quarter of their NCS Open Division Championship game at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Salesian won its 11th NCS championship overall — the previous 10 in the Divisions II to IV — while extending its winning streak to 17 games.
The Pride’s only loss was in overtime to Southern California heavyweight St. John Bosco 68-66 at a prestigious holiday tournament. Since then, Salesian sailed through the Tri-County Athletic League’s Rock Division and beat newly crowned Central Coast Section Open Division champion Archbishop Riordan 61-48 in an MLK showcase at De La Salle last month, a result that should elevate Salesian to the No. 1 seed in the Northern California Open Division regionals when the brackets are announced Sunday.
Mellis saw signs that his team could be special last season, even through some growing pains. Senior Aaron Hunkin-Claytor said he knew for sure a few months later.
“I think it was in the summer when we saw that every player on the team was unselfish,” Hunkin-Claytor said. “We didn’t care who scored more points or got the accolades. We just wanted to win.”
Salesian head coach Bill Mellis smiles at his players after defeating De La Salle during their NCS Open Division Championship game at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Salesian defeated De La Salle 52-43. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
De La Salle (25-5) brought a heavy dose of defense, too. Neither team scored through the first four minutes as shot after shot was physically contested, leading to 10 combined misses and numerous turnovers before the scoreboard finally changed.
Salesian led 6-0 when De La Salle made its first basket, on a 3-pointer by Leo Ricketts with 1:56 left in the opening period.
Arshawn Salkhi followed with another 3-pointer to even the score before Amani Johnson closed the period with a drive to the hoop that gave Salesian an 8-6 lead.
Braddock Kjellesvig came alive for De La Salle in the second quarter, his seven points keeping De La Salle in the game. He finished with 11.
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Trailing 20-17 at the break, De La Salle evened the score three times in the third quarter but never held the lead.
“They’re really good,” De La Salle coach Marcus Schroeder said about Salesian. “They’re No. 1 in Northern California for a reason. I thought we did some good stuff. But you can’t turn the ball over like that. We did a good job in the first half. But they got to us eventually.”
Both teams will now move on to NorCals, Salesian seemingly a lock for the No. 1 seed in the Open Division, De La Salle probably somewhere in that bracket, too.
Salesian hoisted the trophy to celebrate the section championship. But the Pride wants more.
Is it capable of winning NorCal and state?
“Absolutely,” Perteete said. “But we’ve got to worry about these next two games first before we get there.”
Salesian players wear their first place medals after defeating De La Salle during their NCS Open Division Championship game at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Salesian defeated De La Salle 52-43. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Salesian celebrates after defeating De La Salle during their NCS Open Division Championship game at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Salesian defeated De La Salle 52-43. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Salesian’s Carlton Perrilliat (21) goes up for a basket past De La Salle’s Bryce Patton (3) in the second quarter of their NCS Open Division Championship game at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)