Berkeley girls are up six spots while SHC boys move up three positions in this week's rankings. For highlights and more, watch Cal-Hi Sports Bay Area on Sunday night at 7 p.m. on YourTV 20, San Francisco. Replays are throughout the week on Northern California Comcast SportsNet.

By Harold Abend, Special to CalHiSports.com

The caravan had three stops last week, with two in the North Bay and one at historic Kezar Pavilion in San Francisco, which incidentally is undergoing a facelift, on the outside only.

We saw three boys games and one girls game in person and had eyes and ears in the East Bay for the second meeting of the Berkeley and Pinole Valley girls, which turned into a coming out party for one player, while it definitely stamped the Yellowjackets as legitimate D1 contenders.

Tuesday night it was Marin Catholic (Kentfield) at Drake in San Anselmo, where the Wildcat girls won easy, but the boys game went an extra period and then came right down to the buzzer in a 62-61 Drake victory in overtime between the two arch-rivals.

Thursday the camels loaded up with water in the Rose City, where Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) had to work hard to stay as one of only two unbeaten boys teams in the state.

One week after setting the school record with 41 points, Newman star Tony Baldocchi felt the mojo with CalHiSports.com's Mr. Kibosh in the house.

At the half he had zero points and Newman had a razor thin 19-18 lead.

The 6-1 senior guard fought through it, though, and finished with 14 points and five steals in a 54-51 home victory over cross-town Piner. His first of back-to-back-three pointers gave Newman the lead for good at 38-36 with 5:37 left to play.

Danny Binz had team-high's of 15 points, eight rebounds and six steals.

Piner got a monster game from 6-8 UC Santa Barbara-bound Lucas Devenny. He had game-high's of 23 points, 21 rebounds (which ties the record for most boards on Newman's court) and six blocks but couldn't get the help he needed to snatch a victory.

The mojo continued in full force on Friday at Kezar, where Mission (San Francisco) star Demaree Hampton, an outstanding wide receiver on the Bears football team turned point guard in basketball, and leading scorer in the San Francisco Section (22.9 PPG), had almost as many toilet-seat layups roll out in the first half as they have seats in the restrooms.

Like Baldocchi before him, he fought it off, and after only scoring two first half points, which came at the second quarter buzzer, the 5-9 Hampton scored 10 of his 14 points total in the final period, as Mission took a 62-52 decision from the city's Wallenberg.

Over in the East Bay, Berkeley sophomore Brittany Boyd, in only her second game of action after being cleared to play by the CIF, took control in a 62-50 victory over Pinole Valley.

According to accounts by the San Francisco Chronicle's Will McCulloch, Boyd came off the bench. She entered the game with 4:35 left in the first quarter and the 5-foot-8 guard immediately led an 8-0 run with an assist, a three-pointer off the glass and a driving layup.

She finished with a team-high 18 points to offset a 36-point 14-rebound performance by the Spartans' Cal-bound DeNesha Stallworth.   

Boys Top 20 Teams
(Through games of Feb. 7)
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
(Not including forfeits)

1. De La Salle (Concord) 20-1 (1)
In case you were snoozing over the weekend, we'll let you in on some news. The Spartans are a legitimate state D1 title contender and proved it in a trouncing of SoCal Division I champ Dominguez, 64-38, a team that earlier in the season beat Renardo Sidney and Fairfax (Los Angeles) and was riding a 14-game winning streak. Not only did Frank Allocco's charges win handily, they put on a defensive clinic that should finally prove to a national ESPNU audience that the New Jersey-born defensive wizard is one of the nation's finest high school basketball coaches. Scoring for De La Salle was balanced. John McArthur had 12 points, Jeff Powers 11 and Brandon Smith and Beau Levesque 10 each. The stat that is impressive is Brandon Smith's 11 assists. The Cal-bound guard who didn't play that well in the MLK Classic took advantage of the primetime stage to shine in the spotlight. Earlier in the week the Spartans took out EBAL's Granada (Livermore) and Foothill (Pleasanton) by respective scores of 65-26 and 59-22. This week they warm up with Amador Valley (Pleasanton) at home before going to Danville to face Monte Vista.

2. McClymonds (Oakland) 21-1 (2)
If there was a moral victory for Mack in its loss to De La Salle, it was that while the Warriors might have only scored 38 points against the Spartans, they only had 43 put up against them. Compare that to Dominguez giving up 64. It's looking more and more like another potential D1 NorCal showdown between these two foes. The Warriors kept pace last week with two OAL victories over Castlemont (55-44) and Oakland High (54-31). In the victory over Castlemont, Justin Standley led the way with 15 points, including 12 in the pivotal third quarter of a game that was tied at halftime. Next up are two away games against Oakland Tech and Fremont.

3. San Leandro 19-3 (3)
The Pirates got to clear the bench last week, with the starters making quick work of two Hayward Area Athletic League visitors in 80-42 and 90-52 victories over Hayward's Mt. Eden and Tennyson, respectively. In the win against Tennyson, best buddies Jared Cunningham and 6-6 power forward Travis Sims each had 12 points to highlight six Pirates in double-figure scoring. The only real tough game left in league is a Feb. 18 rematch on the road in Oakland at Bishop O'Dowd.

4. Monte Vista (Danville) 20-2 (5)
The Mustangs jump a notch with St. Francis falling and after two lopsided wins in East Bay Athletic League action. First it was a 61-29 shellacking of Foothill of Pleasanton at home. California (San Ramon) had them bucking a little in a 72-54 victory. In that game, leading scorer Brian Barbour had 19 points and Stanford-bound tight end turned 6-6 power forward Zack Ertz had 12 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks. Livermore on the road is first up this week and that won't be much of a problem but on Friday night De La Salle comes to town.

5. Berkeley 21-3 (6)
The Yellowjackets break into the Bay Area top five after earlier this week moving up to No. 18 in the CalHiSports.com overall state rankings. They didn't need to waste hardly any stingers in 87-52 and 71-48 victories over Alameda on the road and Pinole Valley at home, respectively. In the Pinole Valley game Coach Brian Guinn's squad led only by 31-26 at the half. In the Alameda win, senior guard and leading scorer Mark Samuels led the way with 22 points. Next up is a road game against Richmond and a home date with Hercules as the team tries to add to a 12-game winning streak.

6. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 18-3 (9)
The Irish get a nice bump in these rankings after taking over sole possession of first place in the West Catholic Athletic League at 11-1 with three solid victories last week. It started with a 48-41 win in a defensive battle at arch-rival cross-town St. Ignatius. Then, against Valley Christian and with the score tied-50-50, Jerry Brown (20 points) and USC-bound football super sacker turned power forward Kevin Greene (10 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks) took over in the final four minutes to turn back the Warriors, 66-57 on the road in San Jose. Finally, back at home on Saturday against St. Francis on Senior Night, the Irish avenged one of their losses with a 74-64 victory. Brown led the way with a double-double 19 points and 11 rebounds but the Irish led by only four points with 2:30 left. At that point Greene (12 points, 11 rebounds), who missed the 88-77 loss to St. Francis last month, and Kenny Caveness (a wide receiver on the football team) scored two baskets apiece over the next 90 seconds to seal the win.

7. St. Francis (Mountain View) 20-2 (4)
It's a tough call as to where to drop the Lancers, who besides losing to SHC last week also lost a close game (68-66) to a strong Mitty team and beat St. Ignatius of San Francisco. Since they own a win over the Irish, who lost to St. Mary's but beat Salesian, the Lancers will stay ahead of those two for now.

8. St. Mary's (Berkeley) 21-3 (8)
9. Salesian (Richmond) 19-4 (9)
10. Castro Valley 19-3 (10)
11. Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 17-5 11)
12. Newark Memorial (Newark) 21-4 (12)
13. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 23-0 (13)
14. Miramonte (Orinda) 19-4 (14)
15. Bellarmine (San Jose) 16-6 (15)
16. Castlemont (Oakland) 14-5 (16)
17. Piedmont Hills (San Jose) 22-1 (17)
18. San Ramon Valley (Danville) 15-7 (18)
19. Burlingame 19-4 (19)
20. Branson (Ross) 21-3 (20)

Boys On the Bubble
Analy (Sebastopol) 19-8, Aptos 23-3, Carlmont (Belmont) 16-3, Drake (San Anselmo) 18-6, Dublin 17-5, Gunn (Palo Alto) 19-5, Hayward 15-6, Head-Royce (Oakland) 21-2, Heritage (Brentwood) 15-7, Leigh 16-7, Menlo (Atherton) 15-3, Mitty (San Jose) 14-8, Monterey 19-4, Northgate (Walnut Creek) 18-4, Oakland Tech (Oakland) 10-8, Piner (Santa Rosa) 17-6, Pittsburg 16-6, St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) 18-6, Skyline (Oakland) 11-8, Terra Linda (San Rafael) 16-9.

Girls Top 20 Teams
(Through games of Feb. 7)
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
(Not including forfeits but)

1. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 20-1 (1)
The Irish girls picked up three solid WCAL victories with only cross-town rival St. Ignatius really giving them a run in a 54-43 victory to start the week. Tierra Rogers led the way against the Wildcats with 18 points. Valley Christian was next and the Warriors were unable to execute their offense like the last time the teams met, this time the Irish won easily 50-25 with the Warriors scoring 10 points in the last two minutes when Coach Brian Harrigan emptied the bench. This time previous ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com State Girls Athlete of the Week Ki-Ki Moore was team-high with 14 points. It was the Washington State-bound Moore again on Saturday, with 14 points in limited action to lead a 65-26 blowout of visiting St. Francis of Mountain View. Next week they have a bye before finishing league play on Feb. 13 on the road in San Jose at Mitty.

2. Monte Vista (Danville) 20-1 (2)
The Mustang girls continue to run roughshod over the EBAL after two ho-hum victories last week, 59-40 on the road at Foothill of Pleasanton and 67-24 at home against California of San Ramon. Coach Ron Hirschman rested some starters including phenomenal Princeton-bound Niveen Rasheed. Even so, the 6-foot senior had 17 points and eight steals against Foothill, and 15 points, eight assists, seven steals and five rebounds in less than three-quarters against California. Monte Vista has now won 11-straight since its lone loss to Mitty and five in-a-row since the home win against Carondelet. This week they get a warm-up with Livermore before all the marbles are on the line Feb. 15 in Concord for the re-match with Carondelet.

3. Carondelet (Concord) 19-3 (3)
Other than Monte Vista no team has given the Cougars much of a challenge in league. Last week Coach Margaret Gartner's girls rolled past Granada (Livermore) and Foothill (Pleasanton) by scores of 81-51 and 79-42, respectively. In the Foothill game, sophomore star Erica Payne led three girls in double-figure scoring with 15 points. Freshman Hannah Huffman added 14 points and Morgan Fitterer chipped in with 11. On tap is their tightener with Amador Valley (Pleasanton) before the big showdown at home with Monte Vista.

4. Mitty (San Jose) 17-5 (4)
Coach Sue Phillips girls will get one last shot in league against the Sacred Heart Cathedral Irish when they face the City girls on their home court this coming Saturday, Feb. 13. Before that, the Monarchs must contend with Valley Christian (San Jose) on the road, a team coming off a loss to the Irish and a split with St. Ignatius, and a team that will be hungry and anxious to avenge a 56-44 road loss to Mitty last month. Last week they had no problem in 55-23 and 53-26 victories over St. Francis (Mountain View) and Notre Dame of Belmont, respectively.

5. Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 20-2 (5)
The Dragons didn't even need to blow any fire this week in their first victory, a 65-37 win over Arroyo, however, on the road in San Lorenzo they were only able to escape with a 52-46 victory. This week it's Castro Valley on the road and Mt. Eden of Hayward at home.

6. Berkeley 18-5 (14)
You can throw out everything that happened in Berkeley prior to Jan. 29. That was the day the CIF chose to not pursue in court the decision of NCS Commissioner Gil Lemmon and the State CIF Board of Appeals in the case of Hercules transfer Brittany Boyd. That meant the incoming sophomore guard became immediately eligible and was in uniform the next night against El Cerrito. Boyd, a 5-8 guard who is one of the top 10 incoming sophomores in the state, had eight points, five steals and four assists in limited action, but showed little signs of rustiness. Fresh off one game, she came off the bench to key an important 62-50 road victory over Pinole Valley (Pinole), after the Yellowjackets had already won without her 44-39 on Jan. 13. Boyd finished with a team-high 18 points with Fresno-State-bound Dominique Williams-McNac adding 11. With Boyd in the lineup, and Coach Gene Nakamura back from a one-year hiatus to serve as interim coach while Cheryl Draper takes leave, Berkeley is back as the top contender from the north in Division I.  

7. Deer Valley (Antioch) 14-6 (6)
There are those out in Antioch that wont be happy with the Wolverines dropping below Berkeley, especially after they won their 11th and 12th games in-a-row with 66-16 and 40-23 routs of Brentwood's Liberty and Heritage respectively. Against Liberty, Northwestern-bound softball pitcher and Wolverines leading scorer on the hardwood, Emily Allard, had 19 points and eight rebounds before she even took off her warm-up jersey

8. Valley Christian (San Jose) 17-5 (7)
9. St. Mary's (Berkeley) 20-4 (8)
10. St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 18-5 (9)
11. Pinole Valley (Pinole) 16-5 (10)
12. Northgate (Walnut Creek) 18-3 (11)
13. Branson (Ross) 20-3 (12)
14. Gunn (Palo Alto) 23-0 (13)
15. Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 20-4 (15)
16. Pinewood (Los Altos Hills) 20-4 (18)
17. Dublin 17-5 (16)
18. Wilcox (Santa Clara) 12-5 (19)
19. McClymonds (Oakland) 18-4 (20)
20. Campolindo (Moraga) 18-4 (nr)
 
Girls On the Bubble
Aragon (San Mateo) 16-4, Encinal (Alameda) 16-7, Granada (Livermore) 15-7, Miramonte (Orinda) 15-8, Moreau Catholic (Hayward) 17-5, North Salinas (Salinas) 19-3, Notre Dame (Belmont) 10-14, Petaluma 19-5, Piedmont 15-8, Presentation (San Jose) 13-9, St. Joseph-Notre Dame (Alameda) 17-5, San Benito (Hollister) 17-4, Santa Cruz 21-2, Urban (San Francisco) 16-8.

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