GJ Hill-Thomas, Naas Griffin lead Bishop O’Dowd to NCS DI Title

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>February 28, PH NorCal was in the gym for 3 Section Championship Games.<strong> CCS Division V, Priory defeated Palma 66-58, NCS Division I, Bishop O'Dowd wins a close one against Granada 79-76. NCS Open Salesian College Prep gets a late steal to defeat Clayton Valley Charter 51-49. </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game Standouts:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2863026' first='Kasten' last='Eggers']: He was voted MVP of the game, he finished with 32pts in different ways. Eggers got into a rhythm early dropping long 3's from the top. The 6'2 guard likes to rebound and go fast up court. He had quite a few drive from different areas going left across the lane finishing with one handed drives. 4-3's.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2872391' first='Mate' last='Palotai']: He has good fundamental skills for 6'9 big man. He contributes in multiple ways. He brought the ball up court no pressure on occasion, relieved ball pressure making himself visible, making the extra pass up court, and set the offense in half-court. at times. He comes across the lane for points in the paint, hit the short corner jumper. He has some paint presence on defense, got a couple of blocks, had 5rebs, 2stls.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2686621' first='Tai' last='Suich']: He did everything a 5'9 guard can do to keep his team wit striking distance. His 25pts came in a variety moves to the basket. He drove from different angles, finished with the inside hand, floaters, and paint jumpers, all while handling contact and getting his shot up over blockers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2269031' first='JT' last='Harreld']: He continues to add pieces to his overall game. He's standing at 6'8 with a stronger body, and movement. He was aggressive looking for his shot, not only in the paint hitting multipe jump hooks and paint jumpers but using his drive to get closer, he seems comfortable putting up 3-pointers. He passes from the high post, uses a dribble or two, gets to the front of the rim.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2215139' first='GJ' last='Hill-Thomas']: He's had a breakout season earning All-Tourney in multiple early season tournaments. He finished this game as the teams top scorer with 22pts, scoring 13pts in the 3rd qtr. He has good guard skills, continues to build strength, has sneaky hops going up high and strong to finish around the rim. He's playing at a good pace, taking, and making the best of his shot opportunities. Hit a big 3ptr, got a key steals late to help get the victory. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2509663' first='Kaiden' last='Gibbs']: He's been a key piece all season for this team. He's working a bit under the radar. At 6'4 he's strong with a solid body. He worked hard defending the post, working side to side, front posting, moved his feet. He attacked the offensive boards got key put backs, and points in the paint. He runs the court finishes strong in transition. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2887430' first='Erick' last='Thome']: He played a key role in the victory taking advantage of being left open knocking down 4-3's in the game. He knocked down 2-3's in the first quarter of a fast paced game, then dropped two clutch 3's in the 4th quarter of a tight game. He did a solid job of running the offense up top, showing patience, spreading the court getting the offense into a flow, had good passing and movement. 15pts</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2509666' first='Naasir' last='Griffin']: He's a 6'5 scoring guard, scored most of his points in the first half 16pts. He had multiple drives with strong finishes around the rim in traffic. He used muscle to score in side, on the putback, had good lift on mid-range jumpers. He knocked down a couple of 3's from the top. He plays on balance, hard to guard when he decide to go get a bucket. He's a rebounding guard, gives good effort defending his position. He scored 20pts</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2909979' first='Quaran' last='Johnson Jr.'] : The seasoning shows as the Freshman handled himself on the big stage. He handled point guard duties early on, found ways to involve mates with solid passing, putting points on then board early, 12pts in the first half. He maneuvered his way to the basket for needed points at crucial times. Standing 5'9 with quality handles he drove the paint, split the defense, put it high off the glass, he had a couple of nice jumpers off the glass with a hand in face. 18pts.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2418844' first='Damien' last='Miles']: He has some explosiveness to his game with ball in hand. He's a 6'4, strong body footballer who plays hard on both ends. When the opportunity was there he went hard and strong to the basket, using one or two dribbles from the perimeter or from transition, all in traffic around the rim. He worked for rebounds, had a couple key offensive rebounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2452417' first='Jahlil' last='Lindsey']: He's a big strong body, played a key role off the bench in the second half. Played with energy, used his bulk in the paint, had key blocks, scored around the bucket, including a dunk. He hauled in rebounds at key points of the game. Made a nice move to get big basket late in the 4th qtr. 8pts. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->