What’s Next for DFAL Basketball?
Feb. 6th was a big day for the Diablo Foothill Athletic League. Las Lomas dethroned Clayton Valley, beating them 83-75 and taking over first place in league after being tied for first with Clayton Valley for over two weeks. College Park defeated Campolindo 64-61, making them both tied for third place, and Acalanes beat Miramonte 63-58. There are still three crucial league games left for all of the teams and anything can happen in those games.
If league ended today, (Feb. 7) Las Lomas would be crowned league champions, but the next three games will be crucial for them and the rest of the league. Las Lomas will square off with Miramonte on Friday Feb. 9th, then take on Campolindo on Feb. 13th, and then end their season with a home game against Acalanes on Feb. 15th. Two out of those three final games for the Knights will be on the road, against a big student section of both Miramonte and Campolindo. If Las Lomas wins all three of these games, they will be league champions.
Clayton Valley is not far behind the Knights, only one game back of first place. The Ugly Eagles will face Campolindo on Friday, which is a huge game for them after losing to Campo 100-98 in double overtime on Jan. 23rd. If Clayton Valley loses this upcoming game vs Campolindo, both Campo and Clayton Valley will be tied for second place in league. The Ugly Eagles hope to win out and also hope for Las Lomas to lose two more league games, so they can win league.
The pesky Campolindo Cougars have not given up on their season yet, and continue to grind out games and find ways to win. The most impressive win of the season for them was against Clayton Valley, giving them their first lost of the season. Currently, the Cougars are tied with College Park for third place in league with a league record of 4-3. Campo has allowed the most points scored in league, giving up a total of 1,390 points this season. In order for Campolindo to win league or be co league champions, Las Lomas has to lose the rest of their games, and Clayton Valley has to lose at least two more games.
This season, the College Park Falcons welcomed back long time head coach Craig Battle, who has done a phenomenal job for them this season. After a disappointing (13-14, 2-8 in league) for the Falcons last season, they currently have a record of (17-5, 4-3 in league) and tied for third place with Campolindo. College Park has lost to Las Lomas twice, 66-52 and 68-45. They have played Clayton Valley once, and lost 82-60, and they have played Campolindo twice and have won both times. College Park has one non league game left against Northgate Feb. 8th, which looks to be a great game. The Falcons are another team that has a spectacular defense in DFAL, which has certainly helped them throughout the season.
Acalanes and Miramonte both hold the last two spots in league, but both of them have played impressive games lately. Acalanes went into overtime with Clayton Valley and ended up losing by 1, 63-62. Coach Sol Henik, for Acalanes is in his second season after taking over for the Dons in the 2016-17 season. Henik was the former Las Lomas basketball coach from 2012-2015 and left with a career record of 71-45. Since taking over at Acalanes he has a career record of 28-19. The Miramonte Matadors, currently 0-7 in league have had a disappointing season, but did put up a fight against the Ugly Eagles losing 77-59. However, Miramonte led 25-16 after the first quarter, and led 33-32 at halftime.
DFAL has proven to be one of the toughest divisions in the North Coast Section and still has no clear champion. It will come down to the last games of the regular season for Las Lomas, Clayton Valley, Campolindo, and College Park to see who will be the DFAL champion. This will be an interesting race for the top spot at the end of the season, stay tuned.
