Encinal High School (EHS) men’s basketball team took down rival St. Joseph Notre Dame (SJND), 46-41, in overtime on Dec. 4 at the Pilots’ home gym. It was the Jets first win of the season.

The Jets and Pilots were knotted at 36 at the end of regulation. The Jets were able to separate from the Pilots for the first time in the overtime period, outscoring their SJND, 10-5.

“It felt great to beat St. Joe’s,” said EHS senior guard Quinton Rainey. “There was so much on the line for us, and it was a revenge game since we lost to them the past year. All in all, it was just a reminder of how good we can play if we just communicate and play to our strengths.”

Both teams struggled on offense for most of the game. The Pilots led, 6-4, at the end of the first quarter. The game was highly contested as neither team held a substantial lead throughout the contest.

The Pilots led, 14-12, at halftime, and 25-23 at the end of the third quarter.

With the win, EHS moved to 1-2 on the season, while SJND fell to 2-1. The Jets will take on Sonoma Valley Saturday at home. The Pilots will face Vintage High of Napa today on the road.

The EHS women’s team will face SJND’s women’s team Friday on the Pilots’ home gym. The Lady Jets are 0-3 on the season after losing, 64-34, to Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa Friday, Dec. 3. The Lady Jets’ other two losses came in a 51-45 defeat to Granada High of Livermore in their season opener on Nov. 29 and a 66-27 loss to Branson High of Ross on Dec. 2.

The Lady Pilots are also 0-3 on the season. SJND has struggled to stop opposing teams on defense. They have allowed an average of 86 points per game in the first three games of the season. They lost, 94-12, to St. Ignatius of San Francisco in the season opener on Dec. 2, 84-21 to Capuchino High School of San Bruno on Dec. 3 and 80-13 to Central High School of Fresno on Dec. 4.

Alameda High
Alameda High School (AHS) women’s team is 2-0 on the season with wins over Antioch High (61-29 on Dec. 1) and Bethel High School of Vallejo (49-32 on Dec. 3) They will face Wilcox High School of Santa Clara on Saturday, Dec. 11.

The AHS men’s team is 3-1 on the season. They defeated Skyline High of Oakland, 68-62 in overtime, in their season opener on Nov. 24. They beat Windsor High School 64-33 on Nov. 30. After losing 61-43 to Archbishop Mitty of San Jose on Dec. 1, they rebounded with a 61-53 victory over California High of San Ramon on Dec. 4. The Hornets will face Bethel on Saturday, Dec. 11.