Day 1 Recap:
Liberty (Brentwood) Lions vs. Lodi Flames
Game got off to a quick start for Liberty in the scoring column with #11 Miles Lawrence (Sr.) & #24 Julian Costa (Sr.) getting easy baskets getting to the rim and in transition. Lodi showed a ton of poise throughout the game breaking traps and coming up with some timely shots by #0 Matthew Schiess (Sr.) & #3 Brayden Stout (Sr.) that kept the game close. Lodi #1 Asher Schroeder (So.) was also very impressive and came up with some key rebounds that kept possessions alive for the Flames down the stretch, but in the end Liberty #2 Quinton Bundage (Jr.) sank multiple big FTs to close the game out for the Lions.
Granite Bay Grizzlies vs. Branson (Ross) Bulls
Granite Bay and the Branson had a fast paced back and forth game throughout the whole first half until Branson put together a couple of a stop and scores in a row to get up 9 at the half. The Bulls came out in a stampede to start the second half and picked up right where they left off by turning their defense into offense. Branson #2 Semetri Carr (So.) & #4 Jase Butler (Jr.) both really do it all offensively and get after it on defense leading the way for the Bulls. Also for the Bulls #25 Finley Keeffe (Jr.) #33 George Gale (Sr.) both rebound the ball and control the game inside. Granite Bay #3 Yaqub Mir (Sr.) who lead the tournament in scoring last year and is a prolific scorer/shooter finished as the high scorer as for the Grizzlies.
Clayton Valley Charter (Concord) Eagles vs. Skyline (Oakland) Titans
Both teams started out slow until the 2nd Quarter where CVC began scoring more against Skyline's zone. Clayton Valley Charter's 2nd Quarter run was spurred by CVC #1 Elijah Perryman (So.) making some big shots for the Eagles and #5 Julian Plaza (Fr.)/#12 Robert Ramirez (So.) turning up the defense as well. Perryman finished the half with 15pts. CVC and Skyline tied the 3rd Quarter with Skyline #4 Michael O'Donal (Sr.) shooting it well from behind the arc and #21 Elijah Alexander (Jr.) scoring inside and getting to the FT line. In the 4th Quarter CVC #2 James Moore (Jr.) had a nice put-back slam in transition that extended the lead for the Eagles and throughout the 4th Quarter CVC #0 Victor Valencia (Sr.) took some big time charges that sealed the deal for the Eagles in the First Round.
San Leandro Pirates vs. Freedom (Oakley) Falcons
This was a very athletic/above the rim game, but started out very slow on the scoreboard. After the slow start the scoring went back and forth with both teams executing offensively and getting great looks. The three biggest plays of the first half all came from San Leandro #1 Kenyon Demuynck (Jr.) rolling to the rim and almost taking the basket down with his dunks. In the 2nd Half San Leandro #2 Myles Gilder (Sr.) began heating up by knocking down some 3s and controlling the offense for the Pirates. Freedom stuck around though and made it a game until the finish behind #2 Donny McSwain getting to the rim in transition and hitting a deep 3 & #34 Jacob Harvey with physical play around the basket, getting to the line and taking advantage of his opportunities. San Leandro finished the game with 5 players in double digits scoring (4 Seniors and 1 Junior).
