High school boys basketball: Cardinal Newman edges Montgomery in hard-fought contest

Cardinal Newman guard Damian Wallace scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to put the dagger in Montgomery after a hard-fought, back-and-forth basketball game Friday night at Newman.

The Cardinals put together a 10-0 run over a two-minute period in the middle of the fourth quarter, roaring back from a 38-35 deficit to take either team’s first commanding lead of the game, 45-38, with 3:11 left. Cardinal Newman won 51-41.

The teams battled through nine ties and 10 lead changes.

Until the late run, Newman’s largest lead was eight points, 20-12 in the second quarter, after Wallace took a pass from Christian Hextrum and downed a three-point shot. Montgomery’s biggest lead of the night was three points, twice.

Both coaches predicted a fast-paced, intense game.

Both were unbeaten in North Bay League action coming into the contest, the second time the rivals have met this year.

In their first meeting, on Dec. 16, the Vikings played tough defense and shot well from the outside to down the Cardinals 55-45 in the semifinals of the Brett Callan Memorial Tournament in Petaluma.

But unlike the tournament game, on Friday the Cardinals had full use of three players who had just joined the team in mid-December after Newman’s playoff-run football season.

The most important of those Friday was Wallace, a speedy, sure-handed receiver and defensive back who shows those same skills on the hardwood.

Wallace, along with teammates Chauncey LeBerthon and Jalen Dural, had just one basketball practice before the tournament game.

“That first game was tough for him,” Cardinal Newman coach Tom Bonfigli said. “But he’s a playmaker. He had a great game.”

“I was a little rusty, only being one practice deep,” Wallace admitted. “But 20-some practices later, I feel a lot better.”

Even Friday, it seemed to take a while before he got revved up. He didn’t score in the first quarter and was 1-for-4 from the foul line in the second period.

But he turned it on the fourth quarter, scoring more than the entire Montgomery team did.

He also picked a good time to start making his free throws, hitting two of three after being fouled while shooting from the right sideline with 3:55 left in the game.

The scored tied at 38, Wallace hit the first two foul shots to put the Cardinals up 40-38, the 10th and final lead change of the night. Hextrum put back his miss to go up 42-38.

On the Vikings’ next possession, Wallace stepped in front of an Alex Soria pass under the Vikings’ basket, streaked end-to-end and made a driving layup in traffic.

Wallace made the free throw after being fouled by Soria to put Newman ahead 45-38 and cap the Cardinals’ 10-0 run.

“Yeah, that steal was a turning point,” Wallace said.

Bonfigli credited the play of Steven Zichichi as well: “He had some good put-backs, a couple key rebounds and is an outstanding defensive player.”

Wallace scored a game-high 17 and Nathan Capurro added 9. Soria had a team-high 16 for Montgomery and Evan Poulsen added 9.

Vikings coach Zac Tiedeman, who played varsity basketball at Montgomery as a 14-year-old freshman in 2002-2003, knows any game against Newman will be tough. His father, Steve, and brother Tyler were also basketball stars at Montgomery.

“That’s what you get in a rivalry game,” he said. ”I’ve been around enough Montgomery-Newman games to know. You get a lot of mini-momentum changes, but no one really runs away with it. Both teams were pretty evenly matched.”

The teams meet again in NBL play on Feb. 2, this time at Montgomery.

You can reach Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.