After two thrilling road playoff wins over Oak Hills and Los Altos, the Golden Valley Grizzlies returned home for their first California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section basketball quarterfinals appearance since the 2009-10 season.
But after a back-and-forth matchup against the visiting Warren Bears, the Grizzlies’ playoff run came to an end after a 56-53 loss Tuesday night.
“In the locker room, it’s very upsetting for sure,” said Golden Valley coach Travis Divita. “You got a lot of seniors who know it was their last time playing and know they fell short of their goal.”
Despite the result and emotions that come from the loss, Divita said that this year’s Golden Valley team is one of the best to represent the Grizzlies and, in his opinion, one of the best teams to come out of the Foothill League.
“We’ve been able to talk about history a lot with this group, and that’s something we will reflect on when this is all over,” he said. “I believe it was 2009-10 the last time [Golden Valley] won a playoff game … I’m not going to give an exact number, but yeah, they’ll be remembered as one of the best teams in the Foothill League to ever play.”
In the loss to Warren, the Grizzlies relied on their senior group to lead the way.
In the fourth quarter, with a narrow 46-42 lead and five minutes remaining, Grizzlies’ guard Alex Villejo hit a timely corner 3-pointer to increase Golden Valley’s lead by seven.
But after the 3-pointer, the Bears stormed back to tie the game at 49 apiece, prompting the Grizzlies to call a timeout.
After the break, Warren finished the game on a 7-4 scoring run to end the Grizzlies’ season.
Guard Wyatt Printz led the team in scoring with 11 points while Villejo was second with 9 points.
Divita added after the game that seniors like Printz and Villejo will be missed not only for their contributions they showed all season, but also for their style of play they’ve displayed all year, including in the loss.
“Alex had a step-back three in the corner at the end, and [Warren] is throwing the kitchen sink at him … it’s hard for him to find a rhythm but just kept telling him to stay patient,” he said. “Wyatt Printz from the entire night to his playmaking hit some tough shots, even that floater from the left elbow … those are very tough shots.”
With the loss, the Grizzlies are eliminated from playoffs, and although Divita didn’t want the season to end, he’s grateful for the opportunity to coach the players he did as he believes a lot of members of the team are college-ready.
“They’re highly intelligent in the way they run sets. It’s so rare to see teams play chess matches in high school,” Divita said. “I always said that high school basketball is often like checkers, college they learn how to play chess, and in the pros it’s chess with moments of checkers … It’s honestly very collegiate-like, and rare for a bunch of high schoolers. So, very proud of them.”
