ALBANY – In probably the most anticipated games of the season, Salesian showed why it’s the highest team within the East Bay.
The Richmond school defeated East Bay Athletic League top team Dougherty Valley 75-58 behind sharp shooting and lockdown defense on Monday night at Albany High School.
The Pride never trailed at any point in Monday's game and have now won nine of their last 10 contests.
Carlton Perrilliat led the Salesians with 15 points. Leon Powe added 13 points and Elias Obenyah had 10.
Dougherty Valley guard Rylan Sevilla had 10 points within the loss.
Dougherty Valley was without star forward Jalen Stokes for the eleventh straight game. He was denied eligibility for the rest of the season just over per week ago, but the college is within the means of appealing the North Coast Section's decision in hopes of getting the previous Dublin High star back soon.
“This is an important win because it is an Open Division game at a playoff level,” Salesian coach Bill Mellis said. “I think we did pretty well in the first half and established ourselves.”
Salesian got off to a 17-4 start in the primary quarter and didn't quit any of the Wildcats' momentum.
The Pride gained its largest lead of the primary half on a 3-pointer from junior guard Isaiah Davis that made the rating 36-21 late within the second quarter.
While the Wildcats fought hard to open the second half strong, Salesian just didn't let up.
Obenyah found a cutting Perrilliat with a pointy pass and the 6-foot-2 junior finished with a layup plus a foul, giving the Pride a 25-point lead midway through the third quarter.
Later within the half, Perrilliat showed off his passing skills when he threaded a pass to Elijah Stanley for a fast break goal.
Salesian put an end to the Wildcats with a play late within the quarter.
With lower than five seconds left, junior Braylon Franklin stole a pass and quickly threw the ball forward to senior Landon Yeargin. Yeargin barely deflected the pass, but made an athletic play to get the ball to Perrilliat, who made a layup in the ultimate seconds of the period, giving Salesian a 62-37 lead heading into the ultimate eight minutes of play.
“It’s always great to have teammates you can trust,” Perrilliat said of the sport. “My teammates looked at me and I looked at them and the ball just moved.”
For Dougherty Valley, Monday's loss was the Wildcats' worst loss all season. Mike Hansen, Dougherty Valley's normally fiery head coach, watched silently from his spot on the bench for many of the second half as Salesian bullied the Wildcats into submission.
“They’re really good,” Hansen said. “They are long and athletic. We dribbled too much, didn't place the ball correctly and didn't move the ball enough. That's what's going to happen. It's Christmas again and Dougherty isn't really good. But I still think we’ll be fine in February or March.”
Dougherty Valley (7-4) can have tough games again starting this weekend when the Wildcats play within the Santa Barbara Holiday Classic. The San Ramon school has games scheduled against Hillcrest Christian, Santa Barbara, Sierra Canyon and Oxnard.
Salesian (9-1) won't get much rest because the Pride will head to Hawaii on Christmas Day to compete within the Grind Session Hawaii tournament in Hilo.
“Hopefully it will be a fun trip,” Mellis said. “Many of these kids have never been to Hawaii. It’ll be fun.”
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