After losing three of four games at The Classic at Damien in Southern California against some of the strongest teams on the West Coast in the Platinum Division, Dublin faced a stiff final nonleague test on Friday as it hosted an 11-1 Ygnacio Valley squad off to its fastest start in decades.
The Gaels jumped out to an early lead against the Warriors and held on for a 58-48 home win. Dublin led by double-digits throughout most of the game, but Ygnacio Valley cut it to 45-41 with 3:17 remaining before the Gaels went on a run to put the game away.
Courtney Anderson (18 points), Mehki Thomas (16 points) and Donovan Cooks (12 points) led the way for Dublin, which improved to 11-6 overall. Jalen Stokes added 8 rounds and Cooks totaled 4 assists to lead the Gaels.
Dublin begins play in the East Bay Athletic League (EBAL) next week in what appears to be an absolute gauntlet this season. Seven of the league’s ten teams are ranked in the Bay Area News Group’s Top 20, and all have posted impressive wins against strong opponents. The Gaels will travel to face Livermore on Tuesday, January 10th, and the Gaels’ home EBAL opener will be against Monte Vista on Friday, January 13th.
In other Boys Basketball action this weekend, both the Freshmen and Junior Varsity teams improved to 14-3 overall heading into EBAL after posting victories against Oakland Tech and Moreau Catholic.
