Boys Basketball: Castro Valley Finishes Perfect in HAAL After Win Against O'Dowd

Castro Valley 67, Bishop O'Dowd 51

The Star: Roderick Bobbitt scored 22 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as Castro Valley ran away with the Hayward Area Athletic League title

The Turning Point: Juan Anderson and Roderick Bobbitt led Castro Valley on a 12-0 run to close out the third quarter and put the Trojans up 38-30.

The Quote:  “My (goal for the season) was the league title," Castro Valley coach Nick Jones said. "O'Dowd is one of the two or three best teams in Northern California."

Who's Next? Castro Valley will await its seed for the North Coast Section Division I playoffs, which begin next week. The Trojans will likely receive the No. 1 seed when the field is announced on Sunday.

The Bottom Line: Before a sold out crowd of an estimated 3,200 fans at Cal State East Bay, Castro Valley won the outright HAAL title with a 16-0 record — its fourth boys basketball league title in school history. 

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boys basketball coach Nick Jones knew before the year started this season's team had a chance to be the best in school history. There were undoubtedly going to be high expecations from all parts, but for Jones, the most important  goal was the Hayward Area Athletic League title.

"My thing was always the league title," Jones said. "O'Dowd is one of the two or three best teams in Northern California."

O'Dowd may or may not be the second or third best team in NorCal, but what was made clear Thursday was that Castro Valley is the best team in the HAAL. After trailing by a point at halftime, the Trojans took over in the second half en route to a convinving 67-51 win to clinch the outright league title.

Unlike the when the Trojans were hot from the start at Chabot College, it took some time to get going before a sold-out crowd of an estimated 3,200 at Cal State University - East Bay on Thursday.

Castro Valley seemingly had no answer for 6-foot-8 Brandon Ashley who scored nine points in the first quarter. But the Trojans lucked out when Ashley picked up three first-half fouls and quickly earned No. 4 early in the second half, which sent the highly-recruited big man to the bench.

"It was huge,"  Jones said. "He changes the game. He's a shot blocker so it was good for us to get him out of there."

With Ashley on the bench, Castro Valley took over. The Dragons led 30-26 with about four minutes left in the third quarter, but Juan Anderson and Roderick Bobbitt led the Trojans on 12-0 run to close out the quarter. 

Bobbitt's impact was minimal until the run began, but after scoring just four first-half points, he caught fire and finished with a game-high 26. 

The Dragons cut the deficit to 46-41 with about four minutes left, but Castro Valley answered with a 12-2 to put the game away. 

Anderson finished with 17 points, but it was far from a two-man show. Alex Foster carried the Trojans in the early goings and Dawson Johnson and Chris Read played importants roles on both ends of the court.

"I couldn't be prouder of the team," Jones said. "It was a complete team effort.

The 16-0 finish in the league is believed to be the first undefeated league season in school history and is the fourth league title. The Trojans are all but assured to receive the No. 1 seed and homecourt advantage throughout in the North Coast Section Division I playoffs when the seeds are announced on Sunday.

CV