It was a tale of two halves for Moreau Catholic on Thursday night. For Washington-Fremont, the story was the third quarter.
The host Huskies shot lights out in the first half and went to the locker room leading the No. 6 team in the Bay Area News Group top 20 by seven points (45-38) at intermission.
But Moreau made some adjustments, outscored Washington 27-9 in the third period, and won going away 83-68.
“They played really well,” Moreau coach Frank Knight said of Washington’s first-half performance. “They had 10 3-pointers in the first half. Every time they shot a 3, it was going in.”
Senior guard Gianni Clark knocked down six of those 3-pointers. He ended the game with 20 points. Forward Esean Johnson led the Huskies with 24.
Kellen Hampton scored 20 points for Moreau and Kareem Jackson Jr. had 19, but the difference might have been the presence of 6-foot-9 freshman Brendan Williams. He had nine points and “five or six blocked shots,” Knight said.
Moreau Catholic is now 12-2 on the season and 4-0 in the Mission Valley Athletic League. Washington is 10-4, 2-2.
“They’re a very talented team,” Washington coach Ed Mangonon said of Moreau. “We let their pressure get to us. We made some turnovers. But our guys played hard. We showed we can play with them. We played with grit.” The team will meet again on Feb. 5 at Washington.
Bishop O’Dowd 68, Castro Valley 63, 2 OT
The visiting Trojans gave Bishop O’Dowd all it could handle before being outscored 15-10 in the second overtime. The game was knotted at 50-50 at the end of regulation, and each team managed only three points in the first extra session. Josh Green had 19 points and seven boards for the Dragons, who improved to 7-5 overall and 1-0 in WACC Foothill play. Brandon Roundtree had a double-double for the Dragons with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Kaiden Gibbs had 13 points. Castro Valley, which slipped to 5-10, 0-1, put four players in double figures. Desmond Sicat scored 18 points, Zander Harris had 17, and Javon Johnson and Ryan Kwan each had 10.
Girls basketball
No. 7 Piedmont 72, San Leandro 25
The Highlanders were impressive in their WACC-Foothill opener, building a 27-0 lead in the first quarter while cruising to their 12th win in 13 tries. Cleo Afsar led Piedmont with 21 points and Briana Webb chipped in 15. Jenelle Solis scored 10 points. She also had six assists and four steals. Savannah Dennig led the winners with eight rebounds. The visiting Pirates, which came in at 8-3, got eight points from Alana Daly. San Leandro will try to get back on the winning side when it visits Lowell on Saturday. Piedmont is also back in action on Saturday when it hosts Liberty.
Alhambra 46, Albany 31
The Bulldogs led this non-league contest 43-18 after three quarters en route to their eighth win in a row. Abril Gutierrez was the leading scorer for Alhambra with 14 points. Julissa Islas had nine points for the Bulldogs, all on 3-pointers. Alhambra improved to 13-2 on the season. Albany (9-4) had a five-game win streak snapped. Cleo Linzer poured in 17 for the Cougars, who return to TCAL Stone play Friday night against El Cerrito. Alhambra’s next game is home on Monday against Campolindo.
Moreau Catholic 54, Washington 38
The Mariners improved to 4-0 in MVAL play with their victory over Washington. It was close before Moreau pulled away in the fourth quarter. The Mariners relied on underclassmen to move past .500 at 8-7. Junior Mahlaysia Atkins had 20 points, sophomore Ava Bowens contributed 18, and junior Kaliya Kirkwood pulled down 18 rebounds. Washington (10-4, 2-2) was led in scoring by Jordyn Yamaguchi with 14 points. Mikaela Dumagan had 18 for the Huskies.
American 68, Mission San Jose 55
Sophomore guard Shirina Shi poured in 35 points to lead the Eagles (12-2, 3-1 MVAL). Siya Kulkarni added 14 points for American. Mission San Jose (6-7, 1-3), which led 40-37 at the half, had a pair of players reach double figures. Adhuna Devineni scored 14 points and Shaina Arora added 12.
Westmont 47, Prospect 43, OT
Westmont’s Emma Hensley came up clutch in overtime, hitting the go-ahead basket, then sinking a key free throw to lift the Warriors. Westmont led this non-league matchup by seven points going to the fourth quarter. Prospect held the Warriors to three points in the final period and the score was tied 38-38 when the clock ran out. In addition to Hensley’s heroics, Lara Macian sank two free throws for Westmont in the extra period. Ireland Elerath led Westmont with 11 points and Naviya Popli had 10. Prospect’s Sadie Slaughter led all scorers with 19. Kate Barstow had 13 points. Westmont improved to 10-4, Prospect fell to 8-3.