Boys Basketball: Las Lomas Falls To Archbishop Mitty in NorCal Semifinal

Archbishop Mitty 70, Las Lomas 61

The Star:  Senior Treaven Duffy nearly single-handedly willed his team to victory, scoring 36 points on an array of drives and three-point shots.

The Turning Point:  With 2:15 to play and the Knights trailing by four, Duffy was called for an offensive foul, his fifth of the game.  With Duffy done for the night, the Knights didn't score again.

The Quote:  "That was a phenomenal way to go out for Treaven.  We knew he would be a tough matchup for them, and he really put his best foot forward tonight," Las Lomas coach Jeff Loving said.

Who's Next:  For the Knights, their season is over.  

The Bottom Line:  Duffy put on an incredible offensive show against the Monarchs, but it wasn't enough to get Las Lomas over the hump, as Mitty withstood the Knights' second half rally, winning wire-to-wire.

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senior Teaven Duffy put up a performance the likes of which won't be forgotten anytime soon by those who saw it.

Behind Duffy's 36 points, the Knights nearly upset top-seeded Archbishop Mitty in Saturday's California Interscholastic Federation Northern California Regional semifinals, losing 70-61.

"That was a great game," Las Lomas coach Jeff Loving said.  "That was a phenomenal way to go out for Treaven.  We knew he would be a tough matchup for them, and he really put his best foot forward tonight."

Initially, the Monarchs seemed to have Duffy contained and the Knights immediately fell behind, 13-2.  That's when Duffy put the Knights on his back, scoring the game's next seven points to close the gap to four.

Mitty responded by taking an 18-point lead in the second quarter and it looked like Las Lomas might not recover.  But once again, Duffy scored seven straight points on a series of seemingly impossible left-handed drives, and the Knights trailed by ten at halftime.  Then things got interesting.

Las Lomas clamped down on defense, abandoning man-to-man in favor of various zones, and the Knights began to click on the offensive end.  Kevin Stafford got going with a three-pointer and a jumper, and Kenny Grimble made a pair of baskets, while Duffy dropped in another 10 points as the third quarter ended with the Knights trailing by 6.  

In the final stanza, back-to-back threes by Duffy and Stafford brought the Knights to within two.  The packed house, including a large contingent of Las Lomas fans, was on its feet and the roar was deafening as the game became a back-and-forth affair that could go either way.

With 2:15 to play and the Knights down four, Duffy curled around the top of the key and collided with his defender. The referees called an offensive foul, Duffy's fifth of the game.  He might have put his elbow into the defender, but it was one of those calls that could just as well have not been called at all.

"That was a game-changer," Loving said.  "Whether it was a foul or not, I don't know, but if he had made that bucket it would have been a one- or two-point game."

The Knights did not score the rest of the game.

"This has been my best ride in 20 years of coaching," Loving said after the game. "The thing you can't coach is camaraderie.  All of my best teams were also best friends off the court, and that was the case with this team.  They fought like brothers in practice, but when it came time to play, they had each other's backs."

Archbishop Mitty 70, Las Lomas 61

LL

CIF Northern California Regional Semifinals

Boys

Division I

Castro Valley 63, Oakland 60 — Castro Valley Patch

De La Salle 47, Sheldon 45 — Concord Patch

Division II

Mitty-San Jose 70, Las Lomas 61 — Walnut Creek Patch

Woodcreek-Rosebille 58, Antelope 39

Division III

El Cerrito 63, Sacramento 51 — El Cerrito Patch

Bishop O'Dowd 52, San Marin 49

Division IV

Salesian 85, Santa Cruz 66

St. Mary's 65, St. Patrick-St. Vincent 44

Division V

St. Joseph 75, Vacaville Christian 71 (OT)

University-San Francisco 81, Pinewood-Los Altos Hills 75

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Girls

Division I

Berkeley 52, Lincoln-Stockton 42

Carondelet 77, St. Francis 66 — Concord Patch

Division II

St. Mary's-Stockton 56, Dougherty Valley 44 — San Ramon Patch

Del Oro-Loomis 63, Presentation-San Jose 59 (OT)

Division III

Bishop O'Dowd 48, St. Ignatius-San Francisco 39

Sacramento 58, Campolindo 54 — Lamorinda Patch

Division IV

St. Mary's 60, Notre Dame-Belmont 39

Modesto Christian 71, Piedmont 61 —  Piedmont Patch

Division V

Pinewood-Los Altos Hills 66, Bradshaw Christian-Sacramento 37

St. Joseph Notre Dame 46, Eastside College Prep 38