LIVERMORE — Each assertion victory wants an exclamation level.
On Saturday night time, Jalen Stokes supplied one.
After all, he did.
The Dougherty Valley star grabbed the ball close to midcourt, received away from a urgent defender and had a transparent path to the basket, with one exception.
Redwood star Semetri “TT” Carr, sure for Cal, was lurking.
“I saw TT try to contest it,” stated Stokes, who’s headed to UC Davis. “I am not going to back down from a challenge.
“I had to finish it.”
The thunderous fourth-quarter dunk introduced the home down and left mouths dropped, together with Dougherty Valley coach Mike Hansen’s, because the top-seeded Wildcats gained their third consecutive North Coast Part championship with a 69-37 victory at Livermore Excessive.
The San Ramon faculty beat De La Salle for the Open Division title two years in the past and captured Division I crowns over Dublin final season and now Redwood.
Stokes’ dunk got here throughout a 12-0 run that pushed the result in 57-30. The celebration was on for Dougherty Valley, which thought it ought to have been among the many part’s six Open groups however as a substitute was left to dominate Division I.
Solely Clayton Valley within the semifinals stayed inside single digits of the Wildcats.
Stokes, a high-profile switch from Dublin, completed with 17 factors, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, two blocks, a steal and a few dunks, none extra memorable than the one down the stretch.
“That was electric, man,” Hansen stated. “We were making our run. That was like the nail in the coffin. Two high-level Division I guys meet at the rim, and J to finish like that is big time. They’ll have battles down the road. TT is a hell of a player. That’s a hell of a team. The score isn’t really indictive of who they are. I wouldn’t want to play them again in NorCal.”
Dougherty Valley, which had by no means gained an NCS title earlier than the win over De La Salle in 2023, received off to a powerful begin Saturday as Tyler Robbins was lively close to the rim and Alonzo Walker III sizzled from past the arc.
“My coach told me to be ready.” Walker stated. “Last game I didn’t do as well and the game before that I didn’t play. I just stayed ready and waited for my moment.”
The freshman hit three first-half 3-pointers to assist Dougherty Valley take a 28-21 lead into halftime. He added three two-point baskets within the third quarter to complete with 15 factors.
Dougherty Valley’s boys basketball workforce poses for a photograph after the Wildcats beat Redwood 69-37 for the North Coast Part Division I title on on Saturday night time, March 1, 2025, at Livermore Excessive Faculty. (Darren Sabedra/Bay Space Information Group)
Robbins additionally had 15 factors, together with eight within the fourth quarter. Rashod Cotton Jr. added 9 factors and Kenny Cloud completed with eight.
“That’s like a normal game,” Robbins stated. “We put all our hearts out there. We were pretty mad not getting in the Open. But there is nothing we could do about it. We just played our (tails) off every game of Division I and now we’re ready for D-I state.”
Dougherty Valley dominated on protection after halftime, holding second-seeded Redwood to 9 factors within the third quarter and 7 within the fourth. The Giants entered the sport averaging practically 60 factors per sport.
Carr, a switch from Branson, scored 13 within the first half to maintain his workforce within the sport and completed with 22. No person else had greater than three factors for Redwood.
Dougherty Valley’s Cole Roque stands on a ladder to chop down the nets after the Wildcats gained their third consecutive North Coast Part championship — this one in Division I — on Saturday night time, March 1, 2025, with a 69-37 victory over Redwood at Livermore Excessive Faculty. (Darren Sabedra/Bay Space Information Group)
Dougherty, then again, received contributions all through its rotation because it adopted the varsity’s boys soccer workforce, which beat De La Salle for the NCS Division I title on Saturday afternoon.
Later Saturday, Dougherty Valley’s women basketball workforce fell brief, shedding to St. Mary’s-Berkeley within the Division III title sport, however traveled 600 miles roundtrip simply to advance to the ultimate.
“Little old Dougherty Valley,” Hansen stated. “Shoot, Dougherty Valley athletics. I was at the NCS soccer game. Beat De La Salle in the final. That was great. Come here. Guys played really hard, really tough and stayed together. I don’t know how our girls did. But just for them to get to the final says a lot about our school, our community.
“But it starts, I think, with this program. Kind of laid the foundation of how you can do it there. You get really good kids. Great student-athletes that care about each other and play the right way. It works.”
Dougherty Valley star Jalen Stokes is all smiles after the Wildcats beat Redwood 69-37 for the North Coast Part Division I title on on Saturday night time, March 1, 2025, at Livermore Excessive Faculty. (Darren Sabedra/Bay Space Information Group) 
Dougherty Valley coach Mike Hansen stands on a ladder to chop down the nets after his Wildcats gained their third consecutive North Coast Part championship — this one in Division I — on Saturday night time, March 1, 2025, with a 69-37 victory over Redwood at Livermore Excessive Faculty. (Darren Sabedra/Bay Space Information Group)
