Mission, Burton to meet in S.F. final
Levertis Stallings had to watch much of Mission’s 2015 deep postseason run in street clothes.
On Wednesday, the senior guard played with an extra burst as the Bears defeated Lowell 76-55 in the San Francisco Section/AAA semifinals at Kezar Pavilion.
Stallings, who missed last year’s AAA title game — a 92-88 win over Washington — and two NorCal wins because of academic issues, scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the first half when the Bears (25-6) took a 48-27 lead.
Mission, winner of three titles in four years, now plays Burton, a 76-67 winner over Lincoln, in Friday’s title game at Kezar.
Mission, the regular-season champion, has played with more urgency since its 15-game win streak was snapped by Washington 84-82 on Feb. 23.
In semifinal play — winners and losers all advance to NorCal play next week — USF-bound Jordan Ratinho scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half as top seed and host De La Salle-Concord (27-2) rolled to a 67-58 Division 1 win over 13th-seed Castro Valley (18-11), which got 20 points from Bryce Thompson.
De La Salle plays EBAL rival Monte Vista-Danville, a 65-61 winner over Berkeley, in Friday’s final at St. Mary’s College.
In Division 4, James Akinjo had 14 points and five steals and Jamario Bib added 10 points, 10 rebounds and seven steals as top seed and host Salesian-Richmond (27-4) rolled past Arcata 51-30.
In Division 5, top seed St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda (21-9) defeated fourth seed Stuart Hall 63-45 and will play University (23-8), a 63-54 winner over Urban.