Montgomery boys win Brett Callan Memorial basketball tournament

After three tough losses to Tamalpais dating back to last season, Montgomery's boys basketball team finally got revenge, defeating the Red Tailed Hawks 48-46 Saturday to win the 12th annual Brett Callan Memorial Tournament hosted by Casa Grande, one of the top holiday tournaments in the North Bay.

To make the win extra sweet for the Vikings, they came from behind to do it. Montgomery trailed 35-31 at the end of the third quarter but rallied in the fourth quarter to outscore Tamalpais of Mill Valley 17-11.

Montgomery (6-3) has won six games in a row and two consecutive tournaments, having come out on top in the recent Arcata Invitational earlier this month.

“Tamalpais has had our number. Both teams know each other well,” Montgomery coach Zac Tiedeman said. “We got it back to five points near the end of the third quarter and then we hit some shots midway in the fourth quarter and got the momentum back. In the last four or five minutes of the game we locked down on the defensive end and grinded it out.”

On Nov. 25 Montgomery lost 63-56 at Tamalpais (6-2) in a non-league game. Last year Tamalpais defeated host Montgomery 50-46 in the NCS Division 2 championship game. In the 2016 Callan tournament final, the Vikings lost 54-48 to Tamalpais..

The difference on Saturday night, according to Tiedeman, was the Vikings' ability to not turn the ball over. Montgomery had single-digit turnovers this time instead of more than 15 in the first meeting this season.

“We took better care of the ball tonight. We showed maturity tonight and we stayed the course,” Tiedeman said. “We didn't shoot very well and our offense sputtered but on the defensive end, we made it a little more difficult for them because we didn't turn the ball over.”

Montgomery center Riley O'Neil (15 points, 8 rebounds) was named tournament MVP. Teammates Harvey Rouleau (13 points) and Evan Paulsen (6 points, 7 rebounds) were also named to the all-tournament team.

Tamalpais was led by Jack Duboff (13 points), who made the all-tournament team.

Tournament director Rick Duarte said this year's tournament went well.

“There were a lot of competitive games and the fan turnout was good,” he said.

Windsor 57, Casa Grande 39

In the third-place game, the Jaguars (6-3) dominated the glass and were too big inside for the Gauchos (2-7), who finished in fourth place.

“We are big and definitely had a size advantage,” Windsor coach Travis Taylor said. “Casa has good guards and shooters.”

In fact, the Gauchos came out fast and had a 10-5 lead with 4:00 to play in the first quarter.

“Defensively we could have had a little more urgency out of the gate,” Taylor said.

Windsor, however, took care of business the remainder of the game, going on a 6-0 run to end the first quarter and then outscoring the Gauchos 19-5 in the second quarter and 20-10 in the third quarter.

Windsor's 6-foot-7 brothers, Riley Smith (17 points) and Justin Smith (18 points, 11 rebounds) were both named to the all-tournament team. Teammate Jordan Merical added 10 points.

Casa Grande was led by its only all-tournament selection, Garret Siebles who had 10 points.

The tournament is hosted by Casa Grande annually in honor of Brett Callan, a former Gauchos player who died as a passenger in a reckless driving car crash in 2004. Each year, Callan's parents, LJ and Julie, along with Brett's sister, Heather, visit each team's locker room to tell Brett's story in hopes it will help prevent a similar tragedy to other students.

Taylor said he was impressed with how well the Callan tournament is run and with Montgomery's showing.

“It's a tournament with a message and it's really well done. You can hear a pin drop when they (the Callans) are talking to the kids,” Taylor said. “Montgomery is good. They have a lot of talent. They are going to be tough to beat in league.”

Washington 59, Analy 52

The Tigers (2-8) continue to struggle and finished the tournament 0-3 and in eighth and last place. The Eagles (4-6) of San Francisco finished in seventh place.

The difference was the first quarter, when Washington outscored Analy 15-9. The Eagles only outscored the Tigers 43-42 in the final three quarters.

Analy was led by Quinn Vermeulen with 15 points. No Tigers were named to the all-tournament team.

Washington was led by Jackie Luong with 18 points.

Del Campo 68, Napa 43

In the fifth-place game, the Cougars (6-2) of Fair Oaks easily defeated the Indians (5-6), who finished in sixth place.

Rory McGinnis led Del Campo with 22 points.

Joe Carnazola led Napa with 11 points.