LAMORINDA WEEKLY | Campo, Mats Qualify for NCS Playoffs


Will Hicks Photos Gint Federas

Lamorinda is sending two basketball programs to the NCS Division III playoffs. Campolindo (23-3) is the No. 4 seed and Miramonte (13-13) the No. 7 seed. The Cougars hosted De Anza Feb. 24, while the Mats traveled to Santa Rosa and squared off against Sonoma County League champion Elsie Allen.

MaxPreps recently ranked Campo the No. 20 team in Northern California. Other than a tough 55-50 loss to El Cerrito on Feb. 14, the Cougars have been stellar - the loss snapped a 16-game winning streak. They put an exclamation point on the regular season with a convincing 76-65 win over Dublin on Feb. 20.

In January, head coach Matt Watson predicted his team would reach their peak performance in mid-to-late February.

They share a bracket with the Bay Area's top team, Bishop O' Dowd, so in all likelihood they will have to face the Dragons to reach the NCS finals.

Miramonte ended their season with a tough 57-50 loss to Campo. Before that, however, they managed close wins over Dublin and Alhambra. Those were crucial wins for a team that was 1-6 in its previous seven games. Head coach Drew McDonald believes his team has exited its midseason slump and is playing its best basketball of the season. "Last year's team came together around this time and got in a rhythm," he explained. "The same thing is happening this year. We're playing better defense especially."

Defense will play a crucial role in how far the Mats go in the postseason. "Playing defense and taking care of the ball, especially the latter, becomes more and more important down the stretch," McDonald said.

The Mats reached the NorCal semifinals for the first time in school history last season, despite being eliminated from the NCS by Campo. The team will count on senior leadership from Jackson Wegener, Jake Linares and Moneer Mujaddidi for its success this season.

Acalanes' season ended with a tough loss to Las Lomas.

The good news is that the Dons return 11 players to next year's squad, including standout point guard Andrew McKendle and forward Alex Kinnear. Coach Dave Goldman believes that those two players along with Matt Bostik could be the backbone of a strong team. There's a chance they will become a Division II team based on their enrollment. They would remain in the DFAL even if they change divisions.