Above the Rim: Semifinals Recap

Only two teams remain. Will San Mateo take home the trophy for the third year running or will Contra Costa North dethrone the reigning Champs? While you’re waiting to see, check out how these teams got this far.

San Mateo vs. San Francisco
Both San Mateo and San Francisco played extremely hard this week San Mateo was having a hard time finding the basket throughout the game but they were able to contain San Francisco due to their tough team defense. San Mateo was struggling to make shots, but their intensity and communication made up for it in the end. The game was extremely close until the last 5 minutes, when San Mateo started to pull away. Aaron Ragsdale left the game at half time due to illness, he came back late in the second half and went up for a thunderous dunk with two minutes left in the game; putting San Mateo up by five. San Francisco seemed to lose heart after that and San Mateo continued to increase their lead.
Final Score: San Mateo-53 San Francisco-43

Contra Costa North vs. Santa Clara
After Contra Costa’s miraculous comeback from a 25 point deficit in their week 3 matchup against SC, we’ve all wondered what would happen if these teams faced each other again. For the first three quarters, this game was everything we hoped it would be. Everyone on the court was playing with ferocious intensity, diving for loose balls, making acrobatic plays and blocking shots hard. Though the game was extremely close for a while, Santa Clara’s shot’s just weren’t falling and it started to turn the tide as the game wore on. As Contra Costa increased their lead, Santa Clara started fouling in order to stop the clock, but CC demonstrated great poise as they sank nearly every free throw, eventually widening the gap to a solid ten points.
Final Score:  Contra Costa-61 Santa Clara-51

Leading Scorers:

Anton Lyons (CC North)- 26

Anthony Smith (SF)- 21

DeAngelo Jackson (SC)-16

Emanuel Igbinosa (SM)-15

Middle School:

Santa Clara vs Contra Costa
Santa Clara continued their dominant season with a great performance against Contra Costa. They got under Contra Costa’s skin with their well executed zone defense, forcing CC to take wild shots out of frustration.
Final Score: Santa Clara-55 Contra Costa-37

Alameda vs. San Francisco
Alameda took the lead early in the game and refused to let it go. Nevertheless, San Francisco kept on fighting tenaciously for the entirety of the game.  It was amazing to see how many people came out to support the San Francisco team; there were pots and pans, chants, and signs. Like their team, the San Francisco fans kept on cheering and banging pans until the very end.
Final Score: Alameda-29 San Francisco-15

Join us next Sunday afternoon at Cal State East Bay for the finals!