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DUBLIN — Dublin High looked every bit like a North Coast Section Open Division playoff team as it rolled past Dougherty Valley 82-52 on Thursday night.
As good as the Gaels were, they weren’t the top story.
Sadly, that belonged to Dougherty Valley star Robby Beasley. In his first trip back to Dublin after playing there for his first three years in high school, Beasley injured his right knee in the first quarter, tried to return to the game, then was taken to the hospital by his parents.
There was no word late Thursday night on Beasley’s condition.
Beasley had returned on Jan. 31 after missing four games with a medial collateral ligament (MCL) sprain suffered earlier in the month during a win over De La Salle. Against Dublin, he limped off the court with just over two minutes in the opening period. He was in obvious pain.
“It’s the same knee, but I don’t know if it’s the same injury,” Dougherty Valley coach Mike Hansen said.
Dougherty Valley trailed 18-11 when Beasley departed, and although the game didn’t become a blowout until a 15-4 Dublin run that started late in the third quarter and lasted into the fourth, you could see how much the Wildcats missed their best player.
“It was huge emotionally,” Hansen said. “Now you come in at halftime and you’ve got to rally the troops. When you come in at halftime and Robby’s not there, it kind of sinks in a little bit.”
Take nothing away from Dublin, however. The Gaels were on top of their game.
“We came in more hungry,” said senior Anthony Roy, who scored 15 points. “There was a lot going on in this game, and we were kinda the underdogs. We wanted to make a statement.”
And did they?
“Definitely,” Roy said emphatically.
Initially, Beasley’s return to Dublin was supposed to be at the top of everything that was going on. But because both teams are so good, there would have been a lot of hype for this game even without Beasley’s off-season transfer to Dougherty Valley.
On this night, Dublin’s gym was packed. There was a playoff atmosphere. Dougherty Valley (22-4, 11-2 East Bay Athletic League) is ranked No. 7 in the Bay Area Preps HQ Top 25. Right behind the Wildcats is eighth-ranked Dublin (21-5, 10-3). They meet Saturday at Dougherty Valley for the league title. Tipoff is at 4 p.m.
The winner is certain to get a spot in the six-team NCS Open Division. The loser might, too. Bishop O’Dowd, Salesian, Campolindo and the EBAL champion should be slam-dunks. The EBAL runnerup, De La Salle, San Leandro and Branson are other candidates. The seeding committee can only choose two.
“Interesting,” Dublin coach Tom Costello said when asked his thoughts on the newly created Open Division. “Ask me on Sunday.”
Is six teams the right number?
“This year there’s enough that you could fill it with eight teams,” Costello said.
There was very little reaction from the Dublin crowd to Beasley’s return. He and Costello shook hands before the game when the starting lineups were introduced, but there was little energy from the student body. Beasley did get razzed when he went to the free-throw line in the first quarter, but it wasn’t much more excessive than for any other Dougherty Valley player. Beasley made one of two shots.
“He was well-liked on this campus,” Costello said. “There is no animosity.”
Said the Gaels’ Malik Jackson, who also scored 15 points, “It was good to see him. He is a friend of mine.”
The game got interesting for a moment in the third quarter. Dougherty Valley went on a 7-0 run to trim a 20-point deficit to 55-42. Donovan Sevilla, who led all scorers with 16 points, hit the shot that brought Dougherty Valley closer than it had been since early in the second quarter.
But Roy, Nick Costello and Elijah Alonso quickly answered, ending any hope Dougherty Valley had of a comeback. Alonso finished the game with 14 points and Costello had 10. Aside from Donovan Sevilla, younger brother Aidan Sevilla was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 11.
Now it’s on to Saturday in a game that shapes up as one of the best of the year.
Monte Vista 52, San Ramon Valley 40
Monte Vista led 37-25 after three quarters as San Ramon Valley was playing without senior guard Sebastian Scott.
Evan Dunphy scored 13 points for Monte Vista and Nate Rutchena added 12.
SRV finishes the regular season 18-8 overall and 8-5 in the EBAL Mountain Division. Monte Vista was 7-6 in league play and 15-11 overall.