SAN RAMON — This game didn’t need history to feel personal.
Not with the chirping during warmups. Not with the gym packed with students sections from both schools chanting in both directions. Not with two elite players going tit-for-tat deep into the night.
In a building where Dougherty Valley usually closes, Granada stayed composed, weathered a late collapse and walked out of the San Ramon gym on Tuesday night with a 74-69 East Bay Athletic League win that felt heavier than the standings.
“I know how the city of Livermore feels about Dougherty Valley and so the boys were fired up,” Granada coach Quaran Johnson said. “I wanted them to be disciplined. I wanted them to show their growth after a big win over California last week. I wanted them to show their poise and how much they’ve grown. So I thought that was all really good.”
The two schools have a rivalry that has emerged over the last few seasons. Granada and Dougherty Valley had epic duels during the 2022-2023 season with the Wildcats boasting current San Francisco University guard Ryan Beasley and the Matadors throwing out a lineup that included St. Mary’s big man Andrew McKeever and Vanderbilt forward Tyler Harris.
But on Tuesday night, the young Granada team showed why it could be in the mix for a league title.
Big man Brandon Hahn delivered a monster 20-point, 20-rebound game to anchor the Matadors, outdueling Dougherty Valley star Rashod Cotton Jr., who poured in a game-high 29 points off the bench. Cordell Taylor had a team-high 22 points for Granada while Dougherty Valley junior Rylan Sevilla added 14 points.
After Granada saw a comfortable 12-point lead evaporate into a tie, the Matadors responded with key buckets and defensive stops down the stretch to secure the road victory.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” Hahn said. “They’re going to make a run. We’re going to make a run. So knowing that, we knew we just had to make our run when we had to and that’s what we did tonight.”
Holding a 10-point lead going into the fourth quarter, Granada ballooned its advantage late and had all the momentum.
Hahn put in a post hook and was fouled for a three-point play, extending Granada’s lead to 12 at the four-minute mark of the period. The game seemed all but over as the Granada student section chanted “this is our house” with the game seemingly out of reach for the Wildcats.
But if there’s one thing about Dougherty Valley, it’s that the Wildcats do not quit.
The San Ramon school went on a 12-0 run that ended with Cotton completing a three-point play after he was fouled on his floater attempt to tie the game at 67 with two minutes remaining. Cotton, the explosive scoring senior, scored 10 of Dougherty Valley’s 12 points during that stretch.
As the home crowd came alive and the pressure started to heighten on the Matadors, the Livermore school didn’t panic. Comeback wins over St. Francis and Fremont-Oakland gave the Matadors confidence that they weren’t going to let this game slip away.
Granada finished the final two minutes of the game outscoring Dougherty Valley 7-2 to escape with the win. Hahn was huge in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of his 20 points in the final period.
Johnson believes this was Hahn’s best game yet.
“I think he’s the best player in our league,” Johnson said. “He brought us home like the closer he is. … That just shows how much he’s grown and how good of a player he is at this point in time.”
Despite the valiant effort at the end of the game, Hansen was blunt when talking about his team’s effort.
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After Monte Vista’s loss to Dublin on Tuesday night, the only unbeaten team in the EBAL standings is De La Salle. The EBAL championship tournament will roll out a new format this season with just the top four teams being eligible to make the league playoffs.
Granada improved to 15-5, 2-2 and will host San Ramon Valley on Friday. Dougherty Valley dropped to 14-7, 2-2 and will host Monte Vista in three days.
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