first round norcal division 1, boys March 9, 2000

Northern California D-I State Regionals First round games March 8, @ Home Schools* 7:30 p.m			Second Round March 10 @ Home Schools*	Regional Finals March 11 Arco Arena 7:45 p.m.	State Finals March 18
Independence (San Jose) 26	@	*De La Salle (@ St. Mary's College) 51	Lincoln @ De La Salle		@Arco Arena 8:00 p.m. Saturday 3/18
Kennedy (Sacramento) 41	@	*Lincoln (@Kezar Pavilion, SF) 45
Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 69	@	*Oakland (@ Laney College) 40	Bishop O'Dowd @ Jesuit
Serra (San Mateo) 54	@	*Jesuit (@ Jesuit HS, Carmichael) 69

San Francisco Lincoln 45, Sacramento Kennedy 41-- The Mustangs (24-10) proved they belonged among Northern California's elite by downing Kennedy of Sacramento, 45-41, in the quarterfinal round of the Northern California playoffs Wednesday at Kezar Pavilion. The Cougars are the state's 11th-ranked team, according to Cal-Hi Sports. Geormel Benson led the Mustangs with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Lincoln's 6-6 forward Alex Galloway, had three rebounds and two steals to go with eight points. He came up with a short layup for a 42-38 lead with 2:29 left in the game. Santino Edwards sealed the game late with two free throws. Kennedy was led by Stephen Smith's 18 points and Randy Hooper's 10. Lincoln next plays at St. Mary's College against top-seeded De La Salle of Concord, the state's No.3-ranked team.

De La Salle 54, Independence 26--The Spartans (28-1) got 10 points apiece from Charles Brown, Chris Schlatter and Chris Hodoh to down the 76ers at St. Mary's College. After losing a heartbreaker to Serra in the Central Coast Section Division I championship last Friday, Independence was overwhelmed by top seed De La Salle 54-26 at St. Mary's College. Independence came out tight against De La Salle (28-1), turning the ball over nine times and scoring just one field goal in the first quarter. The Spartans' stifling defense limited Independence to just two field goals in the second quarter and the 76ers trailed 25-9 at the half. Although they played a better second half, the 76ers could not find any rhythm on offense. Independence had trouble getting the ball to their three post players, which had been the 76ers' strength all season. De La Salle held senior forward Farris Broussard scoreless, limited forward David Espinoza to three points and John Woody to eight. Independence junior point guard Virgil Snyder led the 76ers with nine points. Although De La Salle did not have the size of Independence, the Spartans relied on a patient, pass-often offense. The Spartans passed the ball fluidly until one of their shooters had an open look. De La Salle sank 10 three-pointers, including two by Charles Brown and Chris Hodoh and one by Chris Schlatter, a 6-foot-7 center. Hodoh and Brown led the Spartans with 10 points each. De La Salle advances to Friday's semifinal game and will host Lincoln of San Francisco, a 45-41 winner over Kennedy.

Bishop O'Dowd 69, Oakland 40--At Laney College, the Dragons (27-4) got their first NorCal win since the 1991 semifinals by routing the Wildcats (19-5). Center Will Bonner led the Dragons with 13 points. O'Dowd blew open a close game with a 21-6 run in the third quarter and rolled to a 69-40 victory against the Oakland Athletic League champion Wildcats that was nowhere near as close as the final score. O'Dowd now takes on Jesuit of Carmichael (30-3) on Friday night in Carmichael at 7:30. Jesuit was a 69-54 winner over Serra of San Mateo. In another Division I game, No. 1 De La Salle stuffed Independence 54-26 to advance to the semifinals. Oakland shot just 16-for-57 from the floor and just 5-for-21 from the 3-point line. The Wildcats finished the year 19-5. It was the third quarter that turned a relatively low-scoring and somewhat sloppy first half into an O'Dowd runaway. The Dragons, led just 25-19 at the intermission, despite having hit 11 of 22 first-half shots. They got hotter in the third quarter. An exchange of free throws made it 26-20 when guard Dave Brutocao-Kemp entered the game for O'Dowd. He immediately threw up a 3-pointer over Daunte Campbell and, seconds later, Hill-Thomas picked off an Oakland pass and fed Brady Thomas (12 points) for another 3-pointer. Two bombs in 23 seconds and O'Dowd was up 32-19. Oakland coach Doug Vierra quickly called time out, but it didn't help. A little more than a half-minute later, Brutocao rammed in a 3-pointer from the right side and O'Dowd was in the midst of an 18-1 run. Two misses by Oakland and Ryan Madry came back for O'Dowd with a running bank off a feed from Hill-Thomas for a 37-20 lead with 4:27 to go. Oakland called timeout. Again, it didn't work. Kenney Edwards, a key scorer all year for Oakland, had the ball under the basket and went up for a shot and missed and it was all O'Dowd after that. Hill-Thomas brought the crowd to its feet with a jam over Edwards, then went coast-to-coast on a layup. Will Bonner, who had 13 points, finished the run with a jam with 2:17 to go in the quarter to put O'Dowd up 43-20. Oakland was led by Jermaine Washington's 11 points and 10 by Campbell and Mohsn Said. BISHOP O'DOWD (fg ft-a tp)--Bryant 2 0-1 4, Brutocao-Kemp 3 0-0 8, Hester 2 0-0 4, Taylor 3 1-2 8, Hill-Thomas 4 1-2 9, Thomas 4 2-2 12, Madry 2 1-2 5, Smith 2 2-4 6, Bonner 6 1-2 13. Totals 28 8-15 69. OAKLAND--Ubaka 1 0-0 2, Price 0 1-2 1, Washington 5 1-4 11, Campbell 4 0-0 10, Edwards 2 1-2 6, Said 4 0-0 10. Totals 16 3-8 40. 3-point goals--Brutocao-Kemp 2, Taylor, Thomas 2, Campbell 2, Edwards, Said 2. Fouled out--None.

Jesuit 69, Serra 54--The Marauders' guard tandem of Cedrick Barrow (27 points) and Roy Stigall (23) ended the visiting Padres' season. The San Mateo team (17-14) was led by Jason Hardee's 20 points. Serra 24 4 11 15--54 Jesuit 15 15 21 18--69 Serra (17-14) -- Nowakowski 1-0-3, Shamieh 1-1-3, Rand 4-0-10, Buckley 2-0-5, Powers 1-0-2, Conway 5-0-11, Hardee 8-4-20. Totals 22-5-54. Jesuit-Carmichael (30-3) -- Rasmussen 1-1-3, Stigall 9-2-21, Barrow 8-9-26, Elftman 1-0-2, Parilo 1-2-4, Johnson 2-2-7, Tyree 3-0-6. Totals 25-16-69. Three-point goals -- Nowakowski, Rand 2, Buckley, Conway; Stigall, Barrow, Johnson.