In a showdown of perhaps the two best teams in Northern California not named the Rams, #4 Foothill got 18 points including a key 3-pointer from Ctr Stephen Grosey and outlasted #5 Ohlone, 75-72, in the championship game of the 2012 West Valley Holiday tournament Sunday afternoon in Saratoga.
The Coast Conference, Northern Division rivals entered the game ranked behind San Francisco, Fresno (and the Santa Rosa Bear Cubs) but put on a show worthy of conference play on Sunday afternoon in a battle of two excellent teams in a game that saw neither team ever lead by more than 10 points, and most of that 10-point lead vanished in just a few minutes.
Ohlone opened that 10-point lead in the first half, overcoming an early 16-11 deficit with a 17-2 run that featured four 3-pointers. Treys by PG Casey Norris and PF Ashley Stephens gave the Renegades a 22-16 lead. 3-pointers by Norris and PF Fredrik Boehn made it 28-18 with just under 8 minutes left in the first half.
But Foothill (11-2) rallied quickly, drawing with two points after Grosey hit a 3-pointer and then scored off a pass from PG Jack Biebel to make it 32-30 with 2:15 left in the half. Ohlone (10-4) got another 3-pointer from Boehn to push the lead back to seven at 37-30, and led by six at 40-34 at halftime.
Foothill tied the game 42-42 on a basket by Grosey, and took a 45-44 lead on a 3-pointer by SG Ryan Cali just 2:44 into the second half. The lead went back and forth the remainder of the second half.
A basket by PG Jarrad Jackson gave Ohlone a 61-60 lead with 2:18 to go in regulation. Ohlone got a basket from Read as the ball rolled around the rim at least twice to push its lead to 63-60 with 1:30 left. Wong made two free throws for Foothill with 1:15 left to make it 63-62, but Ohlone used up the next minute with two offensive rebounds - one by Boehn and one out of bounds to the Renegades - and finally Foothill was forced to foul. Boehn made two free throws with 28.3 seconds left to make it 65-62.
After a timeout, Foothill got the ball to Grosey for a 3-pointer, but his shot missed. Fortunately for the Owls the ball went out of bounds and back to Foothill with 16.5 seconds left. On the restart, the ball went back to Grosey in the left corner, and he made the most of his second chance, draining the game-tying 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left. Ohlone had a chance to get the win but Read's dead-on jumper was just a bit short as the buzzer sounded, sending the game to overtime.
In Overtime, Ohlone took an early 67-65 lead on a lay-up by Read, and the game was tied, 69-69, until Carroll scored off another Biebel assist to give Foothill a 71-69 lead. After a free throw by Ohlone's Jackson with 49.2 seconds left, Carroll scored on a putback with 19 seconds left to make it 73-70.
Ohlone got a concession lay-up from Jackson with 8.8 seconds left to make it a one-point game again. PF Daan Mutsaers made two free throws with 7.5 seconds left to make it 75-72. Ohlone had one last chance to tie and got the ball to Boehn, and he had a good look, but his 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key bounced off the rim as the final buzzer sounded.
For Foothill, Grosey led all scorers with his 18 pts, including 3 three-pointers, and he added 7 rebs, 2 asts and a steal. Carroll had 14 pts and Wong had 10. And Biebel had a remarkable game, scoring just 4 pts (mainly because he took just 4 shots, making 2) but dishing out 12 asts and committing just one turnover. For the game, Foothill had just 9 turnovers, and none of them came in overtime.
For Ohlone, Read had 16 pts and 11 rebs for the double-double, and also grabbed 5 steals. Boehn had 15 pts and 6 rebs, and Norris had 11 pts and a team-high 8 asts. Jackson came off the bench for 11 pts.
box score
2012 West Valley Holiday Tournament
Sunday, December 16th @ West Valley College, Saratoga
Championship Game - 4 pm
Ohlone Renegades 72:
1-Casey Norris, PG - 4/9 fg, 3 reb, 8 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 11 pts
20-Chris Read, SF - 5/11 fg, 6/11 ft, 11 reb, 5 stl, 1 pf, 16 pts
30-Fredrik Boehn, PF - 5/12 fg, 2/3 ft, 6 reb, 1 stl, 1 pf, 15 pts
33-Henry McCarthy, C - 3/6 fg, 1/3 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 4 pf, 7 pts
44-Warren Wright, SG - 2/2 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 4 pf, 4 pts
3-Jarrad Jackson, G - 3/9 fg, 6/8 ft, 1 reb, 1 ast, 12 pts
21-Ashley Stephens, F - 2/3 fg, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 5 pts
23-Karl Ohmer, C - 4 pf, 0 pts
2-Anton Miller, G - 0/2 fg, 3 reb, 1 ast, 1 pf, 0 pts
4-Andy Mitchell, G - 1/1 reb, 4 reb, 1 ast, 2 pts
15-Vinnie Toor, F - 1 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 3
Totals: 25/55 fg (.455), 15/25 ft (.600), 43 reb, 14 ast, 1 blk, 7 stl, 21 pf, 72 pts
3-pt fg (7): Norris 3, Boehn 3, Stephens
Turnovers (21): Norris 5, Read 4, Boehn 4, McCarthy 2, Stephens 2, Ohmer 2, Miller 2
West Valley Vikings 75:
3-Suhail Mohammadi, SG - 3/9 fg, 1/1 ft, 2 reb, 3 ast, 5 pf, 8 pts
10-Daryl Wong, SF - 3/12 fg, 2/3 ft, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 10 pts
11-Jack Biebel, PG - 2/4 fg, 4 reb, 12 ast, 1 blk, 3 stl, 3 pf, 4 pts
22-Stephen Grosey, C - 6/15 fg, 3/4 ft, 7 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 18 pts
23-Brendan Carroll, PF - 5/7 fg, 4/4 ft, 2 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pf, 14 pts
32-Daan Mutsaers, F - 2/4 fg, 5/6 ft, 2 reb, 2 blk, 4 pf, 9 pts
5-Ryan Cali, G - 3/9 fg, 1 reb, 1 pf, 9 pts
33-Gavin Reilly, F - 1/1 fg, 0/1 ft, 3 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 25/61 fg (.410), 15/19 ft (.789), 28 reb, 19 ast, 3 blk, 6 stl, 23 pf, 75 pts
3-pt fg (10): Grosey 3, Cali 3, Wong 2, Mohammadi, Reilly
Fouled Out: Mohammadi 2:36 left in OT
Turnovers (9): Grosey 2, Mohammadi, Wong, Biebel, Carroll, Mutsaers, Reilly, team
Halftime Score: Ohlone 40, Foothill 34
End of Regulation: Tied at 65
Updated Records: Foothill (#4-North, #7-Calif) 11-2, Ohlone #5-North, #9-Calif) 10-4
Ohlone went on a 17-2 run to lead 28-18. Foothill took a 45-44 lead early in the 2nd half.
Grosey hit a 3-pointer for Foothill with 5.2 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 65.
Carroll scored off a pass from Biebel to give Foothill a 71-69 lead and scored on a putback with 19.0 seconds left to make it 73-70.
Boehn's 3-point try from the top of the key missed as the final buzzer sounded.
Grosey (MVP) & Carroll from Foothill, and Read & McCarthy from Ohlone were named to the All-Tournament team.
