Sports
Wolves Howl Past Serra Padres in Nor-Cal Playoffs
San Ramon Valley boys basketball tops Serra 66-53 in the second round of the Division I playoffs
The moon was a waning crescent, only eleven percent of full at game time Thursday night. That didn't seem to "phase" Danville's San Ramon Valley Wolves, as they howled past San Mateo's Serra Padres in the second round of the CIF Division I playoffs, 66-53.
Saturday night they'll go up against powerhouse rival De La Salle in the regional semifinals at St. Mary's College.
The Wolves (now 28-3) brought not only their "A" game to Foothill College, but also their Sixth Man – a large contingent of San Ramon Valley students, all wearing custom team jerseys. They came hoping for a Wolves win over Serra (24-7), cheered for it loudly, and did not leave disappointed.
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"What's in Dan-ville?" was the four-syllable chant echoing from the Padres' own student cheering section. Evidently, a lot of talented young basketball players.
The Wolves opened Thursday's game with a 13-0 run. They had an answer for everything Serra put up, preventing the Padres from stringing together consecutive baskets in the first half.
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Wolves senior Tad Fisher was a big part of that effort. After Serra hit a three to make it 15-5, he answered back with a three-ball of his own. In the second quarter he sank a pair of free throws to put the Wolves up by 14. After another Padres bucket, Fisher ran San Ramon right back down the court and hit a jumper. Fisher and fellow senior Chris McNealy each put up 13 points in the first half, and the Wolves led 37-15 at the break.
And yet it seemed that the Padres weren't quite ready to be read their last rites.
Seniors Jordan Reudy and Ryan Tana scored a couple of baskets apiece to put the Padres on a 10-3 mini-run to begin the third quarter and take a bite out of the Wolves' lead. This only served to make the Wolves hungrier than Duran Duran and prompt an offensive explosion from McNealy. He scored seven of the next nine Wolves points, showing he's not only a big-play type of guy, but also likely a fan of Jeri Ryan's Star Trek character.
"He's the anchor," San Ramon coach John Raynor told the Contra Costa Times. "He scores, he guards the other team's number one option, he rebounds, he blocks shots. He does it all."
The Padres showed a little more life in the fourth. Four different players hit three-pointers for the Padres early in the quarter – first Reudy, then senior Jake Moore, followed by junior Connor McGrath and Tana. But after being down by as much as 25 points in the quarter, it simply wasn't enough.
McNealy, who had 18 points in the second half to finish with 31, was quick to credit his performance to his fellow students and biggest fans. "We have the best Sixth Man ever," he said.
And now the Wolves' Sixth Man had his chance to really howl. The rafters reverberated with chants of "Who's your Pad-re?"
San Ramon Valley controlled the tempo throughout by forcing bad shots and turnovers on defense and then rifling the ball to the other end of the court for the easy lay-in. They also played good fundamental ball by out-rebounding the Padres and moving the ball around to find the open man underneath. This resulted in the Wolves going 24 of 37 from the floor, a tidy field goal percentage of 65 percent.
Serra shot 40 percent (19 for 37) and was completely dominated in the paint as the Wolves pulled down 24 defensive rebounds. When Serra missed, San Ramon came up with the ball 86 percent of the time.
The Padres also found themselves in foul trouble. Showing a bit of frustration, they had 20 fouls in the game, and 12 in the second half, more than the Wolves had for the entire game. The Wolves capitalized on the opportunity by making key free throws down the stretch to keep the Padres at bay.
San Ramon Valley has earned the right to face De La Salle, the top team in the North Coast Section and the team that handed them a heartbreaking 55-53 loss in their last meeting. If they can pull out a win, they'll be in the regional finals later this month against either Newark Memorial or Sheldon – but the Wolves aren't looking that far ahead yet.
Wolves senior Chris McNealy, son of the former NBA player by the same name, will be ready. "I love to play in the big games," he said. "We're going to win."
