Sports Briefs: MCAL basketball playoff matchups set

The MCAL boys and girls basketball playoff schedules are set, with some tough first-round competition on Monday.

The Branson School has a doubleheader at College of Marin, with the No. 4 Branson girls hosting No. 5 Archie Williams High at 6 p.m., followed by a boys first-round matchup with NJ Gray and the third-seeded Bulls hosting Porthos Oliveira and No. 6 Tam at 7:30 p.m.

In the other first-round boys game on Monday, No. 4 Redwood hosts No. 5 San Rafael and high-scoring Bulldogs senior Luke Shapiro. Top-seeded Marin Catholic and No. 2 Archie Williams await the winners.

In the other girls opener, No. 3 Marin Catholic hosts No. 6 Novato, with No. Redwood and No. 2 San Marin earning first-round byes.

The semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday, with the boys championship set for Friday, Feb. 13, at Redwood, and the girls title game on Saturday, Feb. 14, at Terra Linda High.

Boys basketball

Brian Wright posted 24 points and a strong defensive effort to lead Archie Williams High to a 59-46 victory Thursday night over San Marin, that eliminated the Mustangs from the MCAL playoff field. Wright had nine rebounds and four blocks for the Peregrine Falcons (18-16, 7-1), who finished second in the regular season to Marin Catholic.

Meezy Butler had 19 points, four assists and four steals for the Falcons, who also got seven rebounds, six assists and four points from Grady Stewart.

The Mustangs (14-12, 3-5) finished tied with Tam for sixth, but an earlier loss to the Red-tailed Hawks dropped San Marin out of playoff contention, according to MCAL officials.

• Olen Johnson scored 16 points to lead Redwood High to a 83-49 victory over Novato on Thursday. Ramon Garcia added 14 points for the Giants (11-12, 6-2 MCAL), who have the third seed in the MCAL playoffs. Gabe Rimbaud led the Hornets with 20 points, while Padon Coleman had 10 points. Chris Toussaint finished with nine points and Robert DeLeon added six points for Novato (0-25, 0-8).
• NJ Gray had 29 points and eight rebounds as the Branson School fought to a 73-47 victory over San Rafael at Dominican University on Thursday. Tyler Wells added 17 points for the Bulls, who are scheduled to host Menlo in a non-league game on Saturday at College of Marin. Thursday’s win secures the third seed in the MCAL playoffs for Branson (13-12, 6-2), which had been deadlocked with Redwood, but a win over the Giants gives the Bulls the higher seed.
• Marin Catholic (21-3, 7-1) locked up the top seed and a first-round bye for the MCAL playoffs with Thursday’s 97-66 victory over Terra Linda (11-12, 1-7). Sophomore Chase Williams had 14 points for the Wildcats, while senior Joe Hammond led the way with 16 points and four assists. Henry Dibble celebrated Senior Night with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Micah Pierce had eight points, four rebounds and four assists. Dylan Dietch had four points and five rebounds and senior Quinn Meyers had two rebounds and two assists. Terra Linda junior Wes Harrison had 27 points and senior Shauwn Sharpe chipped in 15 points for the Trojans.

Girls basketball

Redwood High capped an undefeated run through the MCAL with Thursday’s 63-23 victory over Novato. Phoebe Saibel scored a team-high 12 points for the Giants, who got 10 points from Brooke Denler. The Giants (20-5, 8-0) have the top seed and a first-round bye for the MCAL playoffs. Biana Toussant, Kira Martinez and Savannah Sparks each had six points for the Hornets (8-15, 3-5).

• Marin Academy suffered a 38-34 loss to Urban in Friday’s regular-season finale, putting the Wildcats’ hopes for a berth in the BCL playoffs at risk. Marin Academy (15-11, 4-6) could finish tied four fourth place with San Domenico, which was playing later Friday. San Domenico and Marin Academy split their season series.

Men’s basketball

Oliver Borgol collected a team-high 22 points and 17 rebounds as six Mariners scored in double figures during College of Marin’s 106-88 victory over Los Medanos on Wednesday. Te’Shawn Gamble had 17 points for the Mariners (14-8, 5-5 BVC), who also got 16 points from John Kingston Carmona. K’Hamani Olivacce tallied 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, while Caijonte Andrews also had 12 points, and Jahmai Jones came off the Marin bench for 13 points.

Women’s tennis

Maria Gavrilov, Deepa Vanaraja, Lorenza Foster-Simbulan, Maya Cooper and Sofia Acuña posted singles wins as Dominican University opened the season with a 7-0 sweet of Jessup University in Rocklin on Friday.

Reporting scores

Coaches are encouraged to report scores, stats and game details via email to sports@marinij.com or to @marinij_sports on Twitter following games. Anything that comes in after the deadline for print – around 8 p.m. typically – will be included the following day.