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Panthers lead wire-to-wire as center Knight shines 

Most of the time, it’s the St. Mary’s High backcourt that gets the most attention. After all, both DaShawn Freeman and John Sharper will play Division I college ball next season. Any accolades left over usually are heaped upon forward Chase Moore, a multi-talented three-sport athlete. But on Friday night against Bishop O’Dowd, it was center Simon Knight who paved the way for the Panthers to play for the North Coast Section title tonight. 

Knight scored 22 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and pilfered 5 steals against the third-seeded Dragons, showing a nice midrange touch to complement his inside game. The 6-foot-8 junior made his first eight shots of the game and missed just one shot before garbage time of the 74-63 St. Mary’s victory. 

“Everyone on this team can play,” said Knight, who put up 100 jumpers from each end of the free throw line during Thursday’s practice. “I can shoot, and the coaches told me to take my time.” 

St. Mary’s head coach Jose Caraballo was effusive in his praise of his biggest player. 

“Simon had the game of his life tonight,” Caraballo said. “He was just outstanding. He played his ass off.” 

The Panthers got off to a quick start, jumping out to a 6-0 lead, and never looked back. O’Dowd never even managed to tie the game, getting within a point at 23-22 early in the second quarter. But every time the Dragons made a run, St. Mary’s would hit a couple of baskets to get some breathing room. 

“We were patient, and we got back in the ballgame a couple of times,” O’Dowd head coach Pat Phelps said. “But we were just outmanned.” 

Knight’s outburst was such a surprise, even the Dragons didn’t seem to know who he was. Dave Brutucao-Kemp, who scored 12 points on four 3-pointers for O’Dowd, couldn’t come up with Knight’s name after the game. 

“Their big guy had a great game,” he said. “We just had no answer for him.” 

After a Andrew Lemke basket got O’Dowd within a point at 23-22, Knight took over, scoring 8 points during an 11-1 St. Mary’s run.  

In the second half, Knight hit his eighth straight shot to give the Panthers their biggest lead of the game, 49-33. The Dragons would get no closer than seven points for the remainder of the game, as Freeman and Sharper avoided turnovers and hit key free throws down the stretch. 

For Caraballo, who played for Phelps, the win was special. 

“I played for Phelps, and he’s got record wins and a great program,” Caraballo said. “He took us off his schedule this year, and my kids were fired up. But the most important thing is that we get to play again.” 

The Panthers face top-seeded De La Salle tonight at 8 p.m. at Haas Pavilion for the championship. De La Salle is the defending Northern California Division I champion, but St. Mary’s will be fired up to play on the Bay Area’s biggest stage. 

“We’ve been wanting De La Salle all season,” Freeman said. “They’ve been ranked ahead of us, and we have a chance to prove everyone wrong.” 

Lady ’Jackets take it easy, still get by San Leandro 

The Berkeley High girls’ basketball team gave an uninspired effort on Friday night against San Leandro, but it was still enough for an easy 59-46 victory in the North Coast Section Division I semifinals. 

The top-seeded Lady ’Jackets face No. 2 Pittsburg tonight at Haas Pavilion for the NCS title. The game will start at 6 p.m. 

Berkeley got 15 points and 10 rebounds from senior forward Sabrina Keys and 11 points from senior guard Angelita Hutton.  

The ’Jackets were bigger and faster than the Lady Pirates, but they didn’t force as many turnovers as usual, tallying just two steals in the game. But Berkeley’s defense was still solid as they held Pittsburg to 15-for-63 (24 percent) shooting from the floor. Guard Jen King led the Pirates with 14 points, but shot just 5-for-22 as her team’s primary offensive weapon. Jackie Levesque scored 12 points for Pittsburg. 

The ’Jackets jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first quarter, and Natasha Bailey hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 19-4 edge at the first break. Pittsburg managed to cut the deficit to eight points at 25-17 just before halftime, but would get no closer. They started the third quarter with a 1-for-16 shooting slump, letting the ’Jackets take a 22-point lead. The Pirates refused to let up, however, fouling and scrapping for points until the bitter end. 

Berkeley head coach Gene Nakamura waited until there was a little more than a minute left in the game to bring in his five promoted junior varsity players. The squad, which outscored first-round opponent McKinleyville to end the game, ran even with Pittsburg, 7-7.