05 Feb Spartans Boys, Girls Basketball End Regular Season With Unplanned Home Doubleheader

Pinole Valley High senior Nnamdi Osajinda, right center, celebrates senior night pregame festivities with his girlfriend, Kendall Campbell — a senior on the girls’ basketball team — his mother and his head coach, Jason Maples.

Story and photos by Joe Porrello

The Pinole Valley High girls’ and boys’ varsity basketball teams played back-to-back games at home to conclude their regular season Friday evening, though that’s not how the schedule was drawn up. 

Both teams came in 11-14 overall and took on St. Mary’s High, but only the girls could notch a victory.

The girls had already celebrated their senior night and were scheduled to play their last matchup before the playoffs on the road. But the game location had to be switched due to an issue with the Panthers’ home court.

Ninth-year Pinole Valley High girls’ head coach Brian Gaither appreciated the atmosphere caused by the doubleheader, with more fans than usual in the stands for both games.

“It made the game a little more electric,” he said.

 

The Pinole girls got things started in the first game, clinging to a 9-8 lead at the end of a first stanza that proved to be a defensive bout, as each team matched their lowest scoring total of any quarter.

Only managing another nine points in the second frame, the Lady Spartans went into halftime with a three-point deficit. 

At the break, Gaither told his players they were beating themselves.

“We were leaving money on the table,” he said.

Coming out of the locker room, Pinole Valley High found its offensive groove and went on an 11-2 run using lockdown defense along with effective perimeter shooting.

The Panthers slowed the Lady Spartans momentum by attempting 11 foul shots — going on their own run (15-4) and taking a lead of four into the final quarter.

 

Causing havoc for St. Mary’s ball handlers and holding them to eight points in the final quarter, Pinole Valley squeaked out a 49-46 victory. Things got chippy on the final play of the game, as a Panthers defender went in aggressively for a steal and got tangled up with a Lady Spartans player, arms started flailing and yelling ensued between the sides. Referees quickly separated the teams and the players lined up to shake hands shortly after the fracas.

“It was a battle-tested, playoff atmosphere that was very physical… a bit irritating how they were allowed to beat us up, but we came out of it with a win,” said Gaither.

The teams were evenly matched in the game, being nearly even in foul shots attempted (15-13), three pointers made (4-3), players with points (6-5), and players in double figure scoring (2 each). Both pairs of double-digit scorers combined for 27.

Where the teams contrast is their age: Pinole Valley High has 13 seniors and one sophomore, while the Panthers have eight sophomores and no seniors.

Pinole senior guards Judah Butler and Kendall Campbell topped the Lady Spartans in shooting, with the latter amassing a game-high 16 points.

Gaither said his team’s mental toughness was instrumental to their win.

“A lot of things didn’t go our way, and they didn’t stop playing,” he said. “The basketball gods reward you when you try digging yourself out of a situation instead of crying about it.”

The Pinole Valley High girls have now won three of their last four games after a midseason stretch of five consecutive losses and secured their seventh straight season without a losing record in TCR league play.

With St. Mary’s holding a winning road record coming in, the Lady Spartans protected their home court — where they have six wins and fare much better than when they are away (2-5). 

The Pinole Valley High girls are on a seven-game win streak versus the Panthers after losing 13 games in a row against them over a nine-year period.

It looks likely the Lady Spartans will take on De Anza in the first round of the TCRL playoff this week. Friday’s win also earned the Lady Spartans a spot in the North Coast Sectionals.

Gaither has faith in his squad for the postseason.

“If we can tweak the small things, I like our chances,” he said. “I don’t think anybody wants to see us at full strength.”

 

 

The Spartans boys started their game with an 11-4 run using precise shooting from deep. Senior guards for Pinole Valley High Chriseanie Nealy and Navdeep Johal each hit a pair of three-pointers in the first stanza, but their team would only make one more long-range shot for the final three quarters. 

The Spartan boys took a seven-point lead into the second frame, when St. Mary’s began a fast break onslaught and tied the game at 32 going into halftime.

After briefly falling behind seven points, Pinole Valley High made their own comeback to knot the contest yet again at the conclusion of the third quarter.

 

Still even on the scoreboard halfway through the final stanza, the Panthers used a three-pointer with one minute remaining to help give them a five-point edge. The Spartans quickly responded with a layup and pilfered the ball, but St. Mary’s swiftly stole the ball back and crushed any hopes of a game-tying triple as they iced the matchup at the free-throw line. 

Nealy took seven attempts at the charity stripe during the last frame, but 15 free throws for the Panthers in the quarter proved insurmountable.

Having their best scoring quarter of the game in the fourth, the Panthers spoiled Pinole Valley High’s boys senior night and won 65-58.

Spartan boys’ head coach Jason Maples pointed to missed layups and leaving good opposing shooters too much space as reasons for his team’s defeat.

“We didn’t execute well,” he said.

In likely his final game at his high school home court, Spartans forward Nnamdi Osajinda expressed his disappointment and the respect he holds for his teammates.

“I’m not feeling good, but I’m still proud of my team,” he said. “We gave heart, and I can’t ask for more; I love my team.”

 

Both top scorers and the only ones in double figures for the Pinole Valley High boys were both underclassmen. Nealy and fellow sophomore Romyn Waugh each tallied 18 points.

With more underclassmen than upperclassmen on their varsity squad, Maples said he’s trying to look at the bigger picture in that his team is still young and inexperienced. 

“You’d like to see growth, but we’ll see,” he said.

Like the Panthers’ girls’ team, the boys entered with a winning road record (6-3), and have additionally won games more away from home, where they are 4-6. 

Unlike their female counterparts, the Pinole Valley High boys have only won three games at home and hold a losing record there. 

Maples could not continue the Pinole Valley boys’ streak of four straight seasons without a losing record in TCR league play, as they now sit at 3-7 after having a pair of league losses in the previous two years combined. 

In five of their previous six games, Pinole Valley High’s only win came against De Anza — who sits just below them in last place of the TCR league.

The Spartans will begin the TCRL playoffs by playing the Panthers again on Tuesday in Albany. Maples said he hopes his team can: “steal a game or two,” to make a run.

After winning both head-to-head matchups with St. Mary’s last season, the Spartans have now lost back-to-back games against them — their prior defeat in double overtime.

The previous losses to St. Mary’s do not worry Osajinda regarding the prospect of his high school career coming to end next week.

“We know they’re not as good of a team as us,” he said. “Next week won’t be no loss.”

Taking down the Panthers will be no small task, as their roster consists of half a dozen players over 6 feet 4 inches tall.