Boys Basketball: Trojans Advance to the NCS Final Four

No. 1 Castro Valley 77, No. 8 Antioch 53

The Star: Senior guard Roderick Bobbitt scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half to lead the Trojans to victory over the BVAL champion Antioch Panthers. 

The Turning Point: Juan Anderson brought the crowd to its’ feet with a resounding block of a Michael Crawley shot, as the Trojans broke open a tight game and went on to score the last 12 points of the second quarter to take a 33-20 halftime lead.

The Quote: “The key to the game was our defense," Bobbitt said. “Coach had scouted them and we all knew what we needed to do to stop them.”

What’s Next: The Trojans (26-1) will host the winner of Saturday’s game between Berkeley and Newark Memorial on Wednesday in a North Coast Section semifinal matchup. The winner will advance to the NCS finals and receive a bid to the NorCal playoffs.

Bottom Line: The Trojans live on to fight another battle, while Antioch’s season comes to an abrupt ending. The Trojans were just too quick and athletic for the Panthers to stay with, and they dominated once they got their bearings defensively. 

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The top-seeded Castro Valley High boys basketball team had a battle on its hands early with No. 8 Antioch Friday.

The Trojans led just 14-12 after the first quarter and trailed 18-17 after Antioch's Josh Jayubo hit his second three-pointer two minutes into the second quarter, but the Trojans defense proceeded to shut down the Panthers en route to a 25-4 run to surge ahead 42-22 midway through the third quarter and Castro Valley went on to win 77-53.

“We knew they were going to be a tough team,” Castro Valley coach Nick Jones said. “We started a little sluggish on defense. But once we got our legs under us, we turned up the defense and rebounding and really turned it around. The kids played well tonight."

Namuji Madoshi had eight points early to go with Jayubo’s six to carry the Panthers to an 18-17 lead, but the Trojans defense turned up the heat and shut out those two scorers the rest of the night.

“The key to the game was our defense," Bobbitt said. “Coach had scouted them and we all knew what we needed to do to stop them.”

The Trojans held the top five Panthers all under their season scoring averages and also dominated the boards in the victory.

Castro Valley (26-1) was protecting a slim 21-20 lead with about three minutes remaining until halftime. Juan Anderson then brought the crowd to its’ feet with a resounding block of a Michael Crawley shot, as the Trojans broke open a tight game and went on to score the last 12 points of the second quarter to take a 33-20 halftime lead into the locker room.

They stretched that streak to 15-straight points as Chris Read was fouled going to the hoop to start the third quarter for a three-point play to make it 36-20. Then after two Panther free throws broke the streak, the Trojans reeled off another six-straight on baskets by Read and Alex Foster and a thunderous dunk by Anderson to push the lead to 42-22. 

Antioch (16-12) then scored the next eight points to get back within 12, the Trojans went on yet another streak and scored 17 unanswered points to take a commanding 59-30 lead and all but end the Panthers’ season.  

Roderick Bobbitt scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half to lead the Trojans to victory over the BVAL champion Panthers. Chris Read added 20 points running the floor well and had a couple of nice dunks. Juan Anderson controlled the boards while scoring 12 points and livened up the home crowd with a trio of dunks.

The Trojans live on to fight another battle, while Antioch’s season comes to an end. The Trojans were just too quick and athletic for the Panthers to stay with, and they dominated once they got their bearings defensively.

The Trojans (26-1) will host the winner of Saturday’s game between Berkeley and Newark Memorial on Wednesday in a NCS semifinal matchup. The winner will advance to the NCS finals and receive a bid to the NorCal playoffs.

Castro Valley 77, Antioch 53

1

2

3

4

F

Antioch

12

8

10

23

53

Castro Valley

14

19

16

28

77

Individuals — (fg ftm-fta tp)

Antioch

Crawley 4  1-3  9, Jayubo 2  0-0  6, Madoshi 3  0-0  8, Morton 1  0-0  2, Davis 0  4-4  4, Depalm 0  2-2  2, Walker 4  0-1  9, Cones 3  2-3  10, Timbal 1  0-0  3. Totals 18  9-13  53. 

Castro Valley

Bobbitt 7  5-7  22, Read 8  4-5  20, Foster 2 2-2  6, Wright 2  0-0  4, Anderson 4  3-4  12, Johnson 2  2-2  6, Jorge 1  0-0  3, Pointer 1  1-2  3, Knox 0  1-2  1. Totals 27 18-24  77. 

3-point goals: Antioch 8 (Jayubo 2, Madoshi 2, Walker 1, Cones 2, Timbal 1). Castro Valley 5 (Bobbitt 3, Anderson 1, Jorge 1).

Fouled out: None. Technical Fouls: Antioch 2 - bench, Simmons (ejected).

Records: Castro Valley 26-1. Antioch 16-12.