Boys basketball
No. 2 Salesian 59, Centennial-Corona 57
Since traveling to the Classic at Damien tournament, Zander Jimenez must have a body temperature far below the typical 97 degrees fahrenheit.
In each of Salesian’s two games at the prestigious tournament, the senior guard has had ice water running through his veins in crunch time.
On Thursday night, trailing Centennial by one point with under a minute left, Jimenez canned a corner three-pointer to give Salesian the lead.
Jimenez knocked down four straight free throws with under 10 seconds left to close out a win against Windward the day before.
Salesian (12-0) will play St. John Bosco on Friday night in the semifinal.
Aside from Jimenez’s heroics, Salesian got its usual stellar performances from its consistent standouts. Aaron Hunkin-Claytor scored 17 points, De’Undrae Perteete dropped in 12 and Alvin Loving IV scored 10 points.
Damien 52, No. 1 De La Salle 42
The Bay Area News Group’s top team lost its first game of the season, a 10-point loss to host Damien at the school’s tournament.
On day after dropping a triple-double, Alec Blair led the Spartans (11-1) in scoring with 14 points, and guard Leo Ricketts had eight points and eight rebounds.
Power forward Braddock Kjellsvig scored nine points and grabbed four steals, and wing Arshawn Salkhi threw in seven points.
No. 3 Archbishop Mitty 64, Montgomery-San Diego 61
Tyler Jones led the way for Mitty on the second day of the Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines, scoring a team-high 19 points, with 15 of those coming in the first half.
Gavin Ripp, who scored 24 the night before, put in 12 points while teammates Grayson Jalal and Nathan d’Abreu Noronha each scored nine apiece.
No. 5 Monte Vista 77, Scripps Ranch 72
Monte Vista needed overtime to do it, but the Mustangs survived and advanced to the next round of the Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines. Max Nishikawa led the Mustangs with 16 points. La Jolla Country Day is Monte Vista’s next opponenent.
No. 14 San Ramon Valley 70, Rancho Christian 60
San Ramon Valley turned five-point deficit to start the fourth quarter into a 10-point victory after the Wolves outscored Rancho 25-10 in the final period.
Luke Isaak continued his strong scoring output at the Classic at Damien, putting up 26 points as the Wolves advanced to the semifinals. Seamus Deely showed off his multifaceted skillset by scoring 18 points, grabbing 12 boards and dishing out seven assists.
Bishop O’Dowd 72, Our Lady of Good Counsel 50
Joshua Green poured in 18 points as the Dragons routed their Maryland opponent on the second day of the Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines. The victory improved O’Dowd to 6-3 on the season.
Berkeley 62, St. Francis 35
Berkeley’s Ollie Miller paced the Yellowjackets with 15 points at Torrey Pines, with the East Bay program handing St. Francis a devastating loss in more than one way.
The Lancers, which dropped to 3-6 this season and have now lost five in a row, all in non-league play, will need to go at least 7-7 in the WCAL to make the playoffs.
The WCAL boasts powerhouses such as Archbishop Mitty, Archbishop Riordan, Serra and defending CCS Open champion Sacred Heart Cathedral among its ranks.
Miramonte 52, Montgomery 49
Perhaps no team has been more of a pleasant surprise than Miramonte, which improved to 8-2 after slipping by Montgomery at the Bambauer Classic. The Matadors went 5-22 last season.
Chase Miller scored 15 points to lead the Matadors, and Marcus Robinson scored 14 points. Jack Quinnild, the top wide receiver on the Matadors’ NCS championship-winning football team, scored all seven of his points in the second half.
Girls basketball
No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 50, DeSoto 30
The MItty juggernaut continued to steamroll all comers at the Holiday Classic in Portland, its latest victory coming at the expense of Texas powerhouse DeSoto.
Mitty (8-0) led DeSoto 25-9 at halftime. Belle Bramer led the Monarchs in scoring with 18 points on 9-14 shooting. McKenna Woliczko scored 17 points with seven rebounds, two steals and one block.
Morgan Cheli did a little bit of everything and played all 32 minutes, scoring 10 while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out six assists. Mitty, which forced 14 turnovers, will face Camas-Washington on Friday.
No. 4 Acalanes 72, Centennial-Corona 56
Four different players scored in double-figures as Acalanes improved to 11-1 on the season and 2-0 at the Holiday Classic.
Ariana Hallstrom scored a team-high 18 points and made two 3-pointers, and KK Lacanlale was right behind her with 17 points. Natalie Frechman bombed in five 3-pointers to give her 15 on the night.
Sophie Chinn put in 11 points, and just missing out on double-figures was Dulci Vail with nine points.