Dougherty Valley leaves no doubt, storms court, cuts down net in 77-70 EBAL tourney title win over Granada

SAN RAMON, Calif. — The Alameda County Fairgrounds this was not. 

This was high school basketball Americana at its best with bleachers packed, end zones crammed, student bodies squeezed, roaring every possession of the intense, back-and-forth, wire-to-wire action between public-school rivals, battling for a local league title.

When the final horn sounded, the home Dougherty Valley students stormed the court, the players cut down the nets, celebrating a hearty 77-70 East Bay Athletic League tournament title victory over Granada-Livermore. 

Allowing the student body storm the court was a promise coach Mike Hansen made them once this mission was finally accomplished. 

Though the Wildcats (25-3) had already clinched the overall crown by points — and the league's automatic bid into the North Coast Section playoffs — on Thursday with an even wilder 86-83 win over San Ramon Valley, this was the coronation of the program that Hansen started in 2008-09. 

He was the new school's first basketball coach when Dougherty Valley went 2-23. 

This team — led by a pair of unstoppable senior fourth-year guards Ryan Beasley and Connor Sevilla, who combined for 49 points, and athletic 6-3 senior transfer Blake Hudson (20 points, 15 rebounds) — got to cut down the nets for the first time in school history as outright EBAL champions. 

It was something Hansen's old man Tom did at nearby Foothill-Pleasanton more than once.   

Like Hansen, his father opened the school back in the 1970s and took some serious lumps before building a quality, championship program. He coached 21 in the heyday of the EBAL and retired in 1997. Tom Hansen is now 77 and gets to games occasionally, though he's constantly in is son's ear, heart and soul. 

Mike Hansen, 51, was born to be a coach. At the ripe age of 8, he would accompany his dad to scout other high school teams and even took notes. 

That's why after Saturday's win Hansen's voice cracked more than once, retelling his dad's advice while the Wildcats survived those lean early years.  

"My dad was always my mentor," Hansen said. "(He'd tell me) how awful it was at the start (at Foothill). They didn't have a gym and played at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. (He'd say) 'It's your first year. Establish a culture. Believe in what you're doing. Eventually it will turn.' 

"And it did. 

"And it has." 

Has it ever. 

The Wildcats have gone a combined 77-21 since 2019 and the two seasons before that they were a combined 38-17. 

But the 2022-23 team has the school's best by far — they're No. 1 in the Bay Area and ranked No. 11 in the state by SBLive Sports. 

The outright title was so significant because many consider this the strongest the EBAL has ever been, with seven of the 10 squads ranked among the San Francisco Chronicle's Top 20 Bay Area teams.

That's what made winning the EBAL tournament also so significant, beating a red-hot Granada team that just beat Monte Vista-Danville (65-63), Dublin (79-69) and De La Salle-Concord (71-67) on three consecutive nights. 

Because it placed first during the round-robin, Dougherty Valley had to win just one game to reach the finals, though it was a doozy Thursday, coming back from a 27-point third-quarter deficit in one of the more remarkable comebacks in recent state history. 

So, when Granada, led by 7-foot St. Mary's College post Andrew McKeever (25 points, 17 rebounds) and 6-7 Tyler Harris (22 points), seemed to take control in the third quarter with a six-point lead, neither Hansen or the Wildcats panicked in the least. 

A battle-tested team like Granada, with all that size, would have scared most. Not these guys. A pair of 3-pointers late in the third by Sevilla tied the score at 52-52 entering the fourth. 

The winning script sure looked like it was written for the Wildcats. 

"I just know who (the Wildcats) are," Hansen said. "McKeever's a load and he's really good. But I know my dudes will make plays." 

Beasley, a 5-foot-11 point guard headed to USF, was very quiet in the first half with six points and started to heat up in the third with five more. 

But with tied, heading into the fourth, Beasley, like he's done throughout his career, just took over, at one point scoring 13 straight points for his team to finish with 24. A huge 3-pointer and ensuing steal by Aadi Malali started the quarter. 

"We're really deep and early my teammates went on 'go,' " Beasley said. "They were making shots early. I watched them while they cooked. But in the fourth quarter I knew it was my time." 

He made two runners over the very long outstretched arms of McKeever that were daggers and seemed to seal Granada's fate. 

"I think he's the best guard in the country, but I know I'm biased," Hansen said. "He's definitely the best guard in California, I know that. It's what he's done his whole career here." 

Said Beasley: "We stick together. We knew when it's crunch time, we like to go and take the win. We know how to make that push." 

Sevilla, a 6-1 shooting guard, was a constant dagger, drilling six 3-pointers many off of athletic step back moves. He combined for 20 points in the middle two quarters keeping the Wildcats close. 

"We always just stay calm," Sevilla said. "We know we're going to make a run. They have really talented players like Tyler Harris and Andrew McKeever — we know they're going to make big shots — but we just kept playing our game, started moving the ball a little more and got it going." 

The key was the play of the high-flying Hudson, who almost matched the numbers of McKeever while challenging both bigs down low. He made several tough interior shots, a couple of putbacks and added a pair of emphatic dunks. 

"Blake had a huge night," Hansen said. "He was unbelievable." 

Said Hudson: "We definitely wanted this win and prove we're the champs of the EBAL. ... I knew it was a big game. I knew I had to step up. I haven't been playing the best (lately). But I stepped up and we won."

Though the game was basically only for North Coast Section seeding purposes — Dougherty Valley will assuredly be No. 1 — Beasley said "We wanted to win so we could cut down these nets. If we lost we wouldn't have been cutting down nothing." 

Granada played a fantastic game for three quarters and could get a rematch when the NCS Open Division seedings are announced Sunday. All Open teams advance to the Northern California regional, so the Wildcats and Matadors could face more than once. 

"Hopefully we see them again," McKeever said. "Hopefully it's a better outcome next time." 

Asked what the difference was on Saturday, McKeever said: "Sevilla was hitting a lot of crazy step back shots. That's something we don't see too often. Credit to him. They had some offensive boards we should have come up with. ... We didn't finish up like we wanted to but I still think we're an Open Division team." 

So does Granada coach Quaran Johnson: "We beat some of the best teams in NorCal back-to-back-to-back without any rest. We came in here and battled our tails off. I would hope (we're picked for the Open Division)." 

Asked if fatigue contributed to his team's defeat and Johnson said: "You would think it might have something to do with it. Our kids are really resilient. But the gauntlet was pretty heavy this week."

Look for updated video/interviews/game highlights later