Boys Basketball: Gauchos Push Past Analy—Advance to Finals

El Cerrito 63, Analy 54

The Star: Shooting guard Jabri Jenkins had a solid  all-around game. The standout scored a team-high 18 points and also tallied four rebounds and three steals.

The Turning Point: Down by four points after the first quarter, El Cerrito went on a 19-2 run to begin the second quarter to take control of the contest.

What’s Next?: The Gauchos will tangle with San Marin for the North Coast Section Division III crown 7 p.m. Saturday night at Saint Mary's College in Moraga.

Bottom Line: After El Cerrito found a way to slow down Analy's Max Fuji, the Gauchos were able to gather momentum and control tempo.

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For the second consecutive season, the  boys basketball team is headed to the North Coast Section Division III finals.

This time around, however, the Gauchos will be favorites.

Point guard Bobby Syvanthong tallied 11 points and five assists and senior wing Jabri Jenkins scored a team-high 18 points, as host El Cerrito methodically worked its was to an impressive 63-54 victory in the semi-finals of the NCS Division III playoffs Wednesday night.

"This is a big, big win," Jenkins said. "This game shows everyone that we can still play."

With the victory, the No. 2-seeded Gauchos move to tangle with No. 5-seeded San Marin, which pulled off a shocking 51-46 upset over top-seeded Bishop O'Dowd.

Even if the much-hyped Dragons did move on, however, you could make the case that El Cerrito would have stood an excellent chance of knocking off O'Dowd.

"We wanted O'Dowd," said coach Michael Booker. "We wanted O'Dowd. They beat us twice (last season)."

The Gauchos, as they showed Wednesday night, feature a team full of small and scrappy guards who are both talented and underrated. Led by the senior Syvanthong, who also recorded three steals for good measure despite playing with a sprained left knee, El Cerrito slowed down Analy's tremendous guard duo of Max Fuji and Eli Alcantar.

After the sharpshooting Fuji scored 13 highlight points in the first quarter, Booker made a slight defensive adjustment, and the rest was history.

"That kid is a heck of a player," Booker said. "We just tried to confuse him as much as we can."

Analy, for as much grit and determination as it showed, simply didn't have enough outside of Fuji (19 points) and Alcantar (22 points) to handle the depth and talent that El Cerrito brought to the table.

After a 19-2 run to start the second quarter, the Gauchos (21-8) developed a nice cushion and never let their foot off the pedal.

El Ceritto held Analy to just 19-of-41 shooting (46 percent) on the night. Fuji and Alcantar scored 41 of Analy's 54 points.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Gauchos mobbed the floor and celebrated their victory. The triumph not only puts El Cerrito back in the NCS title game, but it also guarantees a bid into the Northern California Division III playoffs next week.

"When the principal hired me, one of the things he wanted from me was to bring our program back to becoming one of the most respected in the Bay Area," said Booker. "I think we've done a pretty good job of getting (the El Cerrito aura) back to where it used to be."

The Gauchos beat San Marin earlier in the season, 56-52.

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El Cerrito 63, Analy 54

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