Boys Basketball: Northgate Goes Crazy Offensively in Win

Northgate 102, Livermore 76

The Star: Northgate's Matt Butler, who scored a game-high 20 points.

The Turning Point: A monster first half in which Northgate scored 54 points and held Livermore to 36.

The Quote: "We just all said, 'let's get to 100'," Butler said of him and his teammates as Northgate neared the triple digit mark.

What's next? Northgate will face Castro Valley in the championship game of the Rob Vares Jr. Memorial Classic at Washington at 7:30 p.m.

Bottom Line: Northgate had far too much offensive firepower for Livermore to keep up with.

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It's very rare to see a high school boys basketball team score 100 points.

coach Steve Mitchell has never had a team do it. And it's never happened in the Rob Vares Jr. Memorial Classic at Washington.

Until Friday.

In the semifinals, Northgate sprinted from start to finish in a 102-76 win over Livermore.

"This was fun for all my guys," Mitchell said. "We came into this game knowing if we can handle the press we could score a lot of points. It snowballed. It was an avalanche of points. It was never-ending. Everybody came in and put the ball in the basket."

Having scored 82 points through the first three quarters, and the game seemingly in hand, the only question was if the reserves could muster enough offense to get to the century mark.

It happened when Niraj Vora made a layup with exactly one minute left in the game.

"We just said, 'let's get to 100'," said Matt Butler, who scored a game-high 20 points. "We click as a team. We're all good friends. We know each other."

Eleven players got into the scoring column. Mike Peterson scored 18 points and hit four 3-pointers. Teammate Zach Corby added 16 and Jamis Spalding poured in 12.

Mitchell's only complaint was his team's defense.

"But I can let that slide tonight," he joked.

Up next for Northgate is a championship matchup against one of the top Division I teams in Northern California – Castro Valley. The game is slated for 7:30 p.m.

"We feel we can score against them," Mitchell said. "We got to box out and do all the sound things. They're a superior team and one of the best in Northern California. It's a privilege to play them."

Castro Valley, which beat Servite-Anaheim 72-45 in the other semifinal game, has plenty of offense also. The Trojans are averaging 72.5 points a game in the tournament.

"The big thing is defense against Castro Valley," Butler said. "They got some size and they run and gun, but we're going to see if they're in shape."

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Northgate 102, Livermore 76

Northgate (2-0) 32 22 28 20 – 102

Livermore (3-2) 21 15 16 24 – 76

INDIVIDUALS

Northgate (fg ftm-fta tp) – Dimery 1 0-0 2, Crosthwaite 5 0-0 10, Butler 7 6-8 20, Corby 6 2-2 16, Spalding 5 0-1 12, LaCour 1 0-0 2, Jandegian 4 1-2 9, Peterson 6 2-3 18, Vora 2 0-1 4, Dixon 1 1-1 3, McCoy 2 0-0 6. Totals 40 12-18 102.

Livermore – Ruiz 1 2-2 4, Trask 2 2-3 8, Sposeto 3 0-0 9, Wilkinson 4 2-3 11, Grewal 3 0-0 7, Harnell 5 0-1 13, Clark 6 3-3 19, Andrade 1 0-0 2, Drew 0 0-2 0, Williams 1 1-2 3. Totals 25 10-16 76.

3-point goals: Northgate 10 (Peterson 4, Corby 2, Spalding 2, McCoy 2). Livermore 14 (Clark 4, Sposeto 3, Harnell 3, Trask 2, Wilkinson, Grewal). Fouled out : None.