California’s Krishiv Banerjee (4) shoots against Archbishop Riordan in the first quarter of their game at Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Just over a week ago, California’s postseason hopes looked dim.
Needing to finish with a .500 record overall or in league play, the San Ramon school entered this week’s games against Amador Valley and De La Salle – two of the East Bay Athletic League’s top teams – needing to find a win to keep its North Coast Section playoff chances alive.
Now, after beating Amador Valley on Tuesday and completing a stunning comeback over De La Salle on Friday, the Grizzlies look to be peaking at the right time.
In what was a comeback for the ages, California overcame a 16-point second-half deficit to defeat De La Salle on the road.
Santa Clara commit Brayde Kuykendall finished with a game-high 20 points, senior Jaiden Jones had 13 and Emeka Ifediora scored 10 for California, which has now won its last three games and four of its last five.
The Spartans took a 35-19 early in the third quarter, looking poised to run away with a blowout victory. But behind 12 third-quarter points from Kuykendall, the Grizzlies clawed their way back to come within one point of De La Salle’s lead going into the fourth quarter.
In a back-and-forth fourth quarter, Jones hit two free throws to give California a one-point lead. After De La Salle forward Davit Pachulia, who finished with a team-high 16 points, was called for an offensive foul on a go-ahead basket, two more free throws from Kuykendall extended California’s lead to three with under 20 seconds left.
With a chance to tie at the free throw line, De La Salle missed two of three free throws and California escaped with a signature win on the road.
Even with the loss, De La Salle has won the regular season EBAL title and will have the No. 1 seed going into the EBAL tournament next week.
California has finished in a five-way tie for third place and will know whether it makes the league tournament on Saturday when the brackets are determined.
No. 3 St. Ignatius 63, No. 6 Archbishop Mitty 47
The Wildcats used a 17-2 run late to down the visiting Monarchs in this West Catholic Athletic League matchup. St. Ignatius (18-2, 9-1) got 28 points from Steele Labagh and 12 from Ty Landers. Mitty (13-7, 7-3) was led by Amani LaMere-Swift, who had nine points.
No. 5 Clayton Valley, 72 Northgate 30
The Ugly Eagles held their Diablo Athletic League opponents to under 40 points for the 10th time this season as they cruised to a blowout victory on the road. Cannon Simpson led Clayton Valley (21-3, 11-0) with 19 points while Vince Ellis had 16 and Charlie Sullivan had 11. Northgate got nine points from freshman Marko Djurdjic and dropped to 11-14, 5-6.
No. 7 King’s Academy 78, Menlo School 68
Xavier Barnett’s 21 points lifted TKA past Menlo in this West Bay Athletic League contest. Clayton Ladine added 19 points, Adrian Barnett had 14, Scotty Beamish Jr. scored 12 and Hezekiah Sires totaled 10 for TKA, which improved to 17-3, 6-0.
No. 8 Bellarmine 71, Sacred Heart Cathedral 55
Chico State commit Will Corbett turned in another high-scoring performance, dropping 26 points in a WCAL win. Sophomore Luca Chan had 12 points and Brennan Williams added 11 for Bellarmine (15-5, 7-3). Freshman Jaden Hector scored 14 points for SHC, which dropped to 8-12, 1-9.
No. 9 Moreau Catholic 89, Washington-Fremont 63
Sophomore big man Brendan Williams posted a 19-point, 10-rebound performance to lead Moreau (21-3, 12-0) past Washington (15-9, 8-4) in a Mission Valley Athletic League game. Isaiah Clendinen scored 16 points and dished out 11 assists, Sebastian Atako had 12 points and Isaiah Dotson and Clifford Brandon each had 10 points. Washington’s Sahbaj Singh had a game-high 30 points.
No. 14 Dublin 68, No. 10 Dougherty Valley 66 (2 OT)
This rivalry game needed two overtimes to decide a victory, but the Gaels prevailed in an impressive EBAL win. Izaiyah Romero scored 22 points, Aiden Li had 13, Nick Lee chipped in 12 and Odin Chadiha added 11 for Dublin, which improved to 18-8, 5-4. Rashod Cotton Jr. led Dougherty Valley (18-8, 6-3) with 23 points.
No. 11 Amador Valley 62, Foothill 46
Cade Krueger scored 20 points and Elijah Stanley had 14 as Amador Valley (16-10, 5-4) defeated crosstown rival Foothill on the road. Tyler Sum and Tyler Bodensteiner each had 14 points for Foothill, which dropped to 12-14, 0-9. Star point guard Jaylen Smith returned to action after missing Tuesday’s action against California with an illness and scored eight points.
No. 12 Granada 64, Livermore 56
Granada took a 20-point lead in the third quarter and hung on after Livermore got the deficit down to seven in this crosstown rivalry game. Brandon Hahn led the Matadors with 18 points and 19 rebounds. Nathan Canilao was in Livermore and has the story here.
No. 13 Oakland 74, McClymonds 36
Three players scored in double figures for Oakland as it cruised to a blowout OAL victory over McClymonds. Junior Te’mond Gamble scored a game-high 15 points, Romyn Waugh chipped in 13 and Quin Windom added 12 for Oakland, which improved to 19-6, 6-0. McClymonds (4-18, 1-5) got 12 points from Antuan Mason.
No. 16 Bishop O’Dowd 83, Alameda 58
Kaiden Gibbs had a monster game, scoring 35 points and hauling in eight rebounds to lead O’Dowd to a blowout win in this West Alameda County Conference Foothill Division matchup. GJ Hill-Thomas added 18 points and Naas Griffin had 12 for O’Dowd, which improved to 17-7, 6-2. Alameda (14-9, 6-2) got 17 points from Dylan Mann and 15 from Jack Omarra.
No. 18 Milpitas 70, Wilcox 24
Dylan Ngyuen and Pranavram Krishnan each scored 16 points to lead Milpitas to a blowout victory in this Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division matchup. Milpitas improved to 20-1, 9-0. Wilcox dropped to 4-18, 0-10.
Acalanes 67, Concord 36
Cameron Hood scored a game-high 16 points, A.J Hastings had 12 and Gavin Dodge had 10 as the Dons cruised to a DAL victory over Concord (2-23,0-9). Acalanes improved to (15-10, 7-2).
Brave Christian 68, Quarry Lane 33
The Lions continued their dominant play in the Bay Counties East Division, defeating nearby Quarry Lane by 35 points. Adama Kone scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds while Bradley Sarip added 13 points. Brave Christian improved to 21-5, 14-0.
Lynbrook 55, Fremont-Sunnyvale 31
Senior Mrinal Dwivedi had a game-high 17 points to lead Lynbrook past Fremont in a SCVAL El Camino Division matchup. Fremont dropped to 11-10, 6-5.
Piedmont 61, Berkeley 52
The Highlanders picked up another big WACC Foothill Division win, beating Berkeley on the road. Dillon Casey scored 26 points and Beach Lorin added 19 points for Piedmont, which improved to 16-8, 4-4. Berkeley (13-10, 4-4) got 14 points from Donte Joseph and 13 from Kavi Jivan.
Priory 53, Sacred Heart Prep 49
Priory escaped with a close WBAL win over SHP as Jai Gerrodette scored 18 points. Mate Palotai added 12 points for Priory, which improved to 15-5, 6-1. SHP (10-11, 3-4) got 16 points from Alex Osterloh and 14 from Zack Beals.
Valley Christian 63, Serra 55
Hudson Dennison scored 19 points, Bryant Clark had 15 and Evan Lee chipped in 13 as Valley Christian downed Serra at home in a WCAL showdown. Senior Tyler Bailey had 17 points and Wyatt Vonblanco scored 11 for Serra, which dropped to 11-9, 3-7. Valley Christian improved to 12-9, 4-7.
No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 66, No. 6 St. Ignatius 22
Mitty rolled to another WCAL victory as the Monarchs defeated St. Ignatius by 44 points at home. McKenna Woliczko led the way for the San Jose school with 26 points while Maliya Hunter added 10. Sophia Sanchez was the leading scorer for St. Ignatius (17-5, 5-3) with nine points. Mitty improved to 19-2, 7-0.
No, 2 San Ramon Valley 95, Monte Vista 23
SRV cruised to its fourth consecutive EBAL regular season title, defeating crosstown rival Monte Vista by 73 points at home. Alyssa Rudd had 21 points and Kaitlyn Mills had 14 points and six assists. Hanna Bowes, Ella Gunderson and Rachel Setiawan each had 12 points for SRV, which improved to 21-3, 9-0. Monte Vista dropped to 12-12, 4-5.
Capuchino 44, El Camino 36
Capuchino earned a gritty Peninsula Athletic League Ocean Division victory behind 11 points from senior Kaitlyn Staff. Sophomore Isabella Fernandez had a game-high 19 points for El Camino, which dropped to 7-14, 4-5. Capuchino is now 16-2, 9-0.
Santa Teresa 65, Leland 49
Junior Trinity Lacy scored a game-high 24 points, Jaydah Brown added 17 and Alexa Huether had 10 as the Saints defeated Leland Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division contest. Leland (11-10, 1-7) was led by Saanvi Gunukula, who scored 12 points. Santa Teresa improved to 15-6, 7-1.
Originally published at Nathan Canilao