In an epic battle between NBL titans on Monday night, visiting Montgomery survived 46-45 at Windsor to stay in the thick of the regular season playoff hunt.
With four seconds to play and the Vikings holding a one-point lead, Windsor big man Justin Smith received the ball on the block in traffic. Smith went up amidst a swarm of Vikings defenders but his shot was off the mark at the buzzer, giving Montgomery the win.
“It was a back and forth game and we got a stop at the very end,” Montgomery coach Zac Tiedemann said. “It was a really great game.”
Montgomery (19-5, 10-2) was led by Riley O’Neil with 13 points and Alex Soria with 11 points.
Windsor (19-5, 10-2) was led by Trevor Carlozzi with 14 points and Smith with 14 points.
“Montgomery is well-coached and very talented,” Windsor coach Travis Taylor said. “It was disappointing to lose tonight but we are still in the position to win a league title.”
Both the Vikings and Jaguars will need help, though, to win a title, as Cardinal Newman can win the NBL outright if it wins its final two league games. Montgomery and Windsor are tied for second place, both one game behind the Cardinals.
The Vikings play at Maria Carrillo on Wednesday while the Jaguars play at Cardinal Newman that night.
“Cardinal Newman will be a tough one, especially at their place,” Taylor said. “(Cardinals coach Tom) Bonfigli is a legend. It’s an honor to play against him with the league title at stake.”
Cardinal Newman 64, Maria Carrillo 34
The host Cardinals (21-3, 11-1) routed the Pumas (8-15, 3-8) in a game that was essentially over by halftime. Cardinal Newman led 28-10 at the break and went on a scoring binge in the third quarter (26-7 edge) for a 54-17 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“We played a really good second quarter when our bench kicked in,” Bonfigli said. “Defensively for the first three quarters we played exceptionally well.”
The Cardinals were paced by Damien Wallace with 18 points and Jalen Dural with 15 rebounds.
The Pumas were led by Damien Kayed with 8 points.
Santa Rosa 46, Rancho Cotate 44
The Panthers’ Isaiah Steele hit a 10-foot floating jumper with four seconds to play to seal the win. Steele scored 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and 11 of his team’s 16 points in the quarter.
“Steele made a great play. He just kept powering through our guys,” Rancho Cotate coach Adam Green said. “Santa Rosa came out with some fire in the second half. They came our rocking and stepped up their defensive intensity.”
The host Cougars led by 27-16 at halftime but couldn’t hold in the second half, getting outscored by seven points in the third quarter and by six points in the fourth quarter.
Rancho Cotate (5-19, 1-11) was led by Connor Barbato with 13 points. Santa Rosa improved to 14-10, 7-5.
Ukiah 72, Casa Grande 57
The visiting Wildcats (9-14, 4-7) were hot from the perimeter, too hot for the Gauchos (4-20, 1-11) as it turned out.
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