It’s getting harder to find adjectives to describe the Campolindo boys basketball team. Just when you think the Cougars can’t possibly play better, they wow you yet again.
In Monday’s MLK Classic at De La Salle, facing a Valley Christian team that has two signature West Catholic Athletic League victories this month under new coach Raymond Townsend, Campolindo buried one 3-pointer after another and played terrific defense on its way to a 74-32 trouncing.
The Cougars led 28-15 after the first quarter and 48-19 at halftime.
The game ended with a running clock.
“Probably as well as we’ve shot from 3 this season, for sure,” said Campo coach Steven Dyer, whose team made 14 shots from beyond the arc. “And I thought defensively we played really well in the second, third and fourth quarters.”
Valley scored four points in the second quarter, five in the third, eight in the fourth.
Aidan Mahaney led Campo with 18 points, all on 3-pointers. Cade Bennett had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Logan Robeson added 12 points.
The victory was Campo’s sixth in a row and 31st in its last 32 games dating to February 2020.
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The Cougars had a 10-day pause after coming home from the Torrey Pines holiday tournament, where they went 3-1.
They returned to the court last week with a 50-45 victory over Clayton Valley Charter in Diablo Athletic League Foothill Division play.
Saturday, they beat St. Mary’s-Stockton 64-46.
Monday, they crushed an opponent that on Saturday edged sixth-ranked Serra 50-49 and earlier this month won at No. 11 Bellarmine.
“Today was kind of the first day I felt we were back in our groove a little bit,” Dyer said. “We were playing pretty well in Gridley and Torrey Pines. I didn’t think we played great in our last two games. I think just getting game reps. We know our league is a huge challenge. I think those games will get us ready for the playoffs.”
Campo, which beat De La Salle and Archbishop Riordan to win the Gridley Invitational in December, has league games this week against Acalanes and Las Lomas.
Next week, the Cougars play league games against No. 9 Northgate (13-2) and No. 4 Miramonte (15-1).
The playoffs start in a month.
Host DLS snaps skid
De La Salle’s three-game losing streak came to an end Monday as the fifth-ranked Spartans defeated Capital Christian-Sacramento 65-54.
John Flannigan scored 16 points and Jordan Webster added 14 to lead the Spartans, who led 14-11 after the first quarter, 30-22 at halftime and 51-44 after the third quarter.
De La Salle improved to 11-4. Capital Christian fell to 9-8.
DLS plays host to Dublin on Wednesday. The Gaels (9-3) have won seven in a row.
Other games
Salesian, playing for the first time since Dec. 21, put up a strong effort but lost to powerhouse Modesto Christian 67-58 in the last of five games at DLS’s MLK Classic. Tyler Harris scored 20 points and Amani Johnson had 10 to lead Salesian, which dropped to 4-5. Modesto Christian is 15-1. … Bishop O’Dowd led University by 14 points at halftime but faded in the fourth quarter on its way to a 61-52 loss at the MLK Classic. O’Dowd is 4-5. University improved to 11-7. … Moreau Catholic, coming off a loss to O’Dowd on Saturday at Miramonte’s MLK-John Lewis Memorial, held off Vanden to win the opener at DLS’s MLK Classic, 57-54. Trey Knight scored 17 points and freshman Kellen Hampton finished with 15 to lead Moreau (12-4). Vanden is 7-10.
WCAL thriller
In a makeup game at Mitty, Aidan Burke nailed a 3-pointer to force overtime and finished with 29 points as the third-ranked Monarchs edged No. 10 St. Francis 73-70 in double OT.
Derek Sangster had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Mitty, which improved to 10-3 overall and 3-0 in the WCAL.
St. Francis, which got 15 points from Isaiah Kerr and 13 from Vince Barringer, lost its third consecutive game to fall to 9-5, 1-3.
