Salesian wins first CIF Northern California Open Division boys basketball title with comeback over Riordan

Pride fight back twice to pull out 49-44 victory at Contra Costa College for team's 19th straight win.

SAN PABLO, CALIFORNIA — The Salesian Pride found themselves in unfamiliar territory in Tuesday’s CIF Northern California Open Division Championship Game.

They weren’t used to facing double-digit deficits, and they certainly weren’t used to seeing a team recover from their suffocating defense like Riordan did late in the third quarter.

But the top-ranked team in Northern California never wavered and won 49-44, taking the lead for good on Alvin Loving IV’s 3-pointer with 1:24 left.

“It’s a resilient group,” said head coach Bill Mellis. “We don’t get rattled.”

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With just one loss all year and only eight games decided by single digits, Salesian (31-1) was in an unusual spot when the Crusaders took a 28-17 lead on Nes Emeneke’s putback with a minute left in the second quarter and in even stranger territory when Riordan (25-5) snapped out of a lengthy scoring drought to take a 38-34 lead heading to the fourth quarter.

Salesian's Isaiah Davis (5) goes in toward the hoop under heavy duress.  / Photo: Greg Jungferman

But the Pride dug their heels in deep, allowed just six points in the fourth quarter and went ahead for good on Loving’s shot from the corner.

“Aaron Hunkin-Claytor attacked and my man over-helped, so I was wide open,” said Loving, who had previously hit a 30-footer at the buzzer to win the Gridley Invitational in December.T

Loudest I’ve heard a Salesian crowd in a while. Back-to-back Crusader blocks, but @alvin_loving4 sinks a three. 7-0 run, @salesianprep down 30-27.

— Ethan Kassel (@KasselMedia) March 6, 2024

wo minutes earlier, Loving had gone to the line with a 43-40 lead after drawing Jasir Rencher’s fifth foul on a 3-point attempt. But he missed his first two free throws, and the second-seeded Crusaders cut the lead to two on the last of Zion Sensley’s game-high 13 points, then tied it on Andrew Hilman’s drive with 1:40 left.

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“That’s the kind of kid he is,” head coach Joey Curtin said of Hilman. “He was a little bit limited offensively in his range of motion, but he’s just tough.”

The Cameroonian sophomore finished with four points, four assists, six rebounds and drew a pair of charges in a game that his coaches were unsure he'd be able to play in after bruising his sternum and ribs during Saturday’s win over Clovis North.

After Loving put the hosts back on top, Riordan never scored again. 

Ryder Bush’s off-balance baseline jumper with a minute left missed, and Salesian had fouls to give after turning it over with 35.7 left. 

Salesian's Carlton Perrilliat (21) goes in for another highly-contested deuce.  / Photo: Greg Jungferman

The Pride gave just their second foul of the quarter with 14.5 on the clock, and Curtin used his final timeout to instruct his team to shoot quickly, rather than let Salesian keep fouling and prevent the Crusaders from ever getting off a shot to tie the game.

Sensley’s 3-pointer missed, as did Bush’s attempt after a long rebound. 

Carlton Perrilliat Jr. officially put the game out of reach with two free throws after a hard block by Hilman with 0.7 left, one that nearly sparked a fracas between the two teams before cooler heads prevailed.

“They’re athletic and talented, but we have heart,” sophomore Elias Obenyah said.

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Obenyah finished with just five points, but was instrumental in the second half turnaround. He spent much of the first half on the bench after picking up his second foul with 3:39 left in the first quarter, and his reintroduction gave Salesian a much-needed edge in the paint.

It was near impossible for Salesian to get to the lane in the first half thanks to 6-foot-10 Nes Emeneke, who finished with eight points and a game-high five blocks. 

The junior had struggled when Riordan lost to the Pride 61-48 on Jan. 15, in what was just his second game after sitting out following his transfer from Priory.

Emeneke’s progress had been one of the driving forces behind the Crusaders’ 16-game win streak since that prior loss to Salesian, along with strong guard play off the bench. Dorde Curcic brought that element on Tuesday night at Contra Costa College, scoring 11.

Nes Emeneke (23) was everywhere Tuesday and keyed Riordan's big lead.  / Photo: Greg Jungferman

“He’s used to playing in these environments,” Curtin said of Curcic, who excelled in his lone season at Riordan after arriving from Serbia. “He kept us scoring.”

Riordan had gone scoreless from the floor for the first six minutes of the second half as Salesian had gone on a 13-3 run to take a 33-31 lead.

But Curcic knocked down a deep three to put the Crusaders back in front, threw an alley-oop to Kaia Berridge and scored again on a drive to put his team up four heading into the final quarter.

But Salesian had its own battalion able to fire back off the bench, outscoring Riordan’s reserves 19-16 for the game. 

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Perrilliat scored a team-high 11, making nine of his 10 free throws, and another sophomore, Isaiah Davis, hit a 3-pointer to start the fourth and cut the lead to 38-37.

“If Isaiah hits one shot, he’ll get hot,” Obenyah said. “The last time we played them, he saved us.”

DeUndrae Perteete’s basket on the next trip down the floor put the hosts in front for just a brief moment. Hilman found Emeneke inside on the ensuing possession to give Riordan a 40-39 lead, one that stayed until Perrilliat’s lone field goal of the night with 4:58 remaining. 

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Hunkin-Claytor’s off-balance bank shot with 4:09 to go gave the hosts a three-point lead.

“We exploited the mismatches,” said Hunkin-Claytor. “We knew if we brought the big man out and we ball pressured, we would be okay.”

The Hawaii commit finished with nine points, including the 3-pointer that sent his team into halftime down 28-20. 

Final: Salesian 49, Riordan 44@salesianprep wins a game that was absolutely worthy of the Open Division. They held @ARHSBasketball to just 16 points in the second half.@alvin_loving4 hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:24 left. pic.twitter.com/KvzBEBZW0a

— Ethan Kassel (@KasselMedia) March 6, 2024

He’ll play his final game in a Salesian uniform at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Golden 1 Center against reigning state Open Division champion Harvard-Westlake (32-3).

“I couldn’t think of a better group for this to happen to,” Mellis said.

(Photos below by Greg Jungferman)

Photo: Greg Jungferman

Photo by Greg Jungerman