Hayward tops Northgate in NCS basketball final

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 8, 2009 | by Chace Bryson

MORAGA -- The Hayward High boys basketball team had been holding on to the feeling for more than a year.

It wasn't just the feeling of losing the North Coast Section championship game, but losing it on a buzzer-beater.

With four players in double figures Saturday, the No. 1 seed Farmers made sure history wasn't going to repeat itself. Hayward never trailed after the first quarter as it claimed the NCS Division II championship by beating No. 3 Northgate 70-59 at McKeon Pavilion.

"We just didn't want that same feeling as last year," said Farmers senior forward Keith Martin, who was a starter on the team that lost to Las Lomas 51-50 in last year's final. "Last year we came out and played hard, but we made a couple mistakes in the fourth quarter and lost. We didn't want that feeling again."

There were a few moments Saturday when it looked as though the fourth quarter might haunt Hayward once again. After opening the final quarter with a 48-36 advantage, the Farmers saw Northgate cut the lead to six on two different occasions, the last of which came with 3:59 left in the game.

"We talked about composure (at that point)," Hayward coach Iman Mattox said. "We had to relax. The guys seemed to be really, really tight during that stretch. I just told them to relax, run it through, we've been here before."

Northgate (23-6) continued to score inside the final four minutes. Jack Cartwright scored 13 of his game-high 29 in the fourth quarter, but the Broncos were eventually forced to foul. The Farmers connected on 9 of 11 free throws to help seal the game.

For Hayward (20-8), it's the program's ninth championship and its third since 2001. The victory will all but assure the Farmers an opportunity to host a first-round game in the California Interscholastic Federation Division II Northern regional tournament on Tuesday.

Hayward's win Saturday also avenged a 54-48 early-season loss to Northgate. And both coaches agreed that the difference this time around was rebounding.

"Their size and athleticism was the difference," Northgate coach Steve Mitchell said. "We couldn't keep them off the offensive boards, and they shot the ball a lot better than they did the first time we played them."

The Farmers outrebounded Northgate 38-24, including a 13-2 difference in the second quarter. Martin, who finished with a team- high 16 points, also had a game-best nine rebounds. San Leandro transfer Demico Jackson had one of his best efforts of the year for the Farmers as he finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.

In addition to Cartwright, the Broncos had two other players finish in double digits. Ashkon Aliyar and Blake Bergesen both finished with nine points.

"I really thought my guys put up a gutsy fight," Mitchell said. "We kept coming back. Cartwright is amazing, but all my guys fought to the end. That's all you can ask of a team."

Contact Chace Bryson at cbryson@bayareanewsgroup.com.