Casa Grande boys open NCS play at home on Tuesday

Ah, the emotions of high school basketball. The anxiety, the joy, the sorrow, the frustration, the relief. They emerge during every game, and even on a lazy Sunday afternoon when no balls are echoing on wood floors.

The North Coast Section basketball seeding meeting was Sunday, and 44 local teams of various size and gender were among those receiving good news. Larger schools (divisions 1 through 3) begin play Tuesday, smaller schools (divisions 4 through 6) take the court Wednesday.

The fortunate teams include perennial powers and squads like the Kelseyville girls, who are postseason-bound for the first time in five years. They range from the Cardinal Newman boys, who drew the No. 1 seed in Division 4, to others that squeaked into the field, like the Sonoma Valley and Round Valley boys and the St. Vincent and Point Arena girls, all of whom claimed the final spots in their respective brackets.

The only south County team to receive a first-round home game was the Casa Grande boys, who will host Northgate at 7 o’clock Tuesday night. Casa is the No. 7 seed in Division 2, while Northgate is the No. 7 seed.

St. Vincent is the No. 11 seed in Division 5 and opens Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Head Royce, the No. 11 seed.

The Casa Grande girls are the No. 11 seed in Division 2, and play Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Alameda, the No. 6 seed.

The Petaluma girls are seeded No. 9 in Division 3. TheT-Girls play Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Campolindo, the No. 8 seed.

The St. Vincent girls are seeded No. 16 in Division 5. They begin play Wednesday night at 8 p.m. at Valley Christian, the No. 1 seed.

Section seeding day has always carried weight, but lately it has become more of a media event, with the NCS offering a live feed of the bracket presentation, a la the NCAA’s Selection Sunday.

You want to know. A lot of my kids, this is their first time going to NCS. They’re excited.”

The NCS slotted Roseland Prep at No. 16, putting them squarely in the path of Cardinal Newman, the top boys team in the Redwood Empire this year.

Roseland Prep is learning that minute differences in seeding can make a big difference. Had the Knights drawn the No. 15 spot, they would have hosted a first-round game against St. Patrick/St. Vincent of Vallejo by virtue of their league title.

Cardinal Newman is a heavy favorite against Roseland Prep, of course, but Bonfigli is leaving nothing to chance. He was already breaking down film Sunday afternoon, and he has seen enough of the Knights to know they have a capable, shot-blocking center in Francisco Valdez and a quick, slashing point guard in Pablo Avendano. Bonfigli went to Santa Clara University, and he’ll never forget the 15th-seeded Broncos upsetting No. 2 Arizona in the 1993 NCAA tournament.

“They’re seeded 16 but there’s not a lot of bad teams in there,” Bonfigli said of Roseland Prep. “Cloverdale is an outstanding team, they won their league and they’re the 9. I just think (the Knights) are local, they’ll bring lot of fans. It’s a game we need to obviously prepare for. We’ll start getting matched up Monday.”

The Newman-Roseland tilt is one of four all-local matchups in the first round. The other three are all in Division 6: Tomales at Anderson Valley boys, Rincon Valley Christian at Mendocino girls and Anderson Valley at Rio Lindo Adventist girls in Healdsburg.

Other teams awarded high seeds Sunday include the Montgomery boys (No. 2 in Division 2), who were NBL regular-season co-champions with Cardinal Newman; the Newman girls (No. 3 in Division 3), who went undefeated in the NBL but got squeezed in an ultra-competitive bracket; the Windsor girls (No. 3 in Division 2), who went 16-11; the Archbishop Hanna boys (No. 3 in Division 6), champions of the Small School Bridge League; and the Round Valley girls (No. 3 in Division 6), champions of the NCL III.

The Hanna boys and Round Valley girls both have first-round byes, as do the Rio Lindo Adventist boys and Summerfield Waldorf girls. All of them will tip off Saturday.

Schedule

BOYS

Tuesday games?Division 2?(2) Montgomery vs. (15) Arroyo, 8 p.m.?(7) Casa Grande vs. (10) Northgate, 7 p.m.?(12) Windsor at (5) San Marin, 7 p.m.?Division 3?(10) Elsie Allen vs. (7) Miramonte, 7 p.m.?(11) Piner at (6) Encinal, 7 p.m.?(14) Sonoma Valley at (3) Sir Francis Drake, 7 p.m.

Wednesday games?Division 4?(1) Cardinal Newman vs. (16) Roseland U. Prep, 8 p.m.?(9) Cloverdale vs. (8) Fortuna, 7 p.m.?(13) Willits at (4) St. Mary’s, 7 p.m,.?(14) Kelseyville at (3) Salesian, 7 p.m.?Division 5?(10) Clear Lake at Marin Academy, 7 p.m.?(11) St. Vincent at Head-Royce, 7 p.m.?(14) Sonoma Academy at St. Joseph Notre Dame, 8 p.m.?Division 6?(3) Archbishop Hanna, bye?(4) Rio Lindo Adventist, bye?(6) Rincon Valley Christian vs. Realm Charter, 7 p.m.?(7) Anderson Valley vs. (10) Tomales, 7 p.m.?(8) Mendocino vs. (9) Ferndale, 8 p.m.?(12) Round Valley at Calif School for Deaf, 7 p.m.

GIRLS

Tuesday games?Division 1?(6) Santa Rosa vs. (11) Liberty, 7 p.m.’?Division 2?(3) Windsor vs. (14) Mt. Eden, 7 p.m.?(7) Montgomery vs. (10) Washington, 6:30 p.m.?(8) Ukiah vs. (9) Newark Memorial 7 p.m.?(11) Casa Grande at (6) Alameda, 7 p.m.?(15) Analy at (2) Dublin, 8 p.m.?Division 3?(6) Sonoma Valley vs. (11) Encinal, 7 p.m.?(9) Petaluma at (8) Campolindo, 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday games?Division 4?(3) Cardinal Newman vs. (14) John Swett, 6:30 p.m.?(9) Middletown vs. (8) Marin Catholic, 7 p.m.?(11) Kelseyvilleat at (6) Justin-Siena, 7 p.m.?(12) Willits at (5) Arcata, 6:30 p.m.?(13) Healdsburg at (4) Piedmont, 7 p.m.?Division 5?(10) Sonoma Academy vs. (7) Convent of Sacred Heart, 7 p.m.?(11) Upper Lake at (6) SF University, 6:30 p.m .?(16) St. Vinent at (1) Valley Christian, 8 p.m.?Division 6?(3) Round Valley, bye?(4) Summerfield Waldorf, bye?(6) Rio Lindo Adventist vs. (11) Anderson Valley, 7 p.m.?(8) Mendocino vs. (9) Rincon Valley Christian, 6:30 p.m.?(12) Point Arena at (5) Cornerstone Christian, 7 p.m.