Redwood Boys, Girls Make NCS Basketball Tournament

Despite stumbling early in the Marin County Athletic League Tournament, the boys basketball team is right where it wants to be this week -- on its home court as it attempts to defend its North Coast Section championship.

The Giants, 16-11, were seeded sixth in the Division II bracket and drew San Lorenzo, 13-13, in the first round. The game will be played Tuesday night at Redwood at 7 p.m.

The Redwood girls also snuck into the Division II tournament despite a 13-14 record. They must travel to Santa Rosa on Tuesday night to face fourth-seeded Montgomery, 21-7, at 6:30 p.m.

Redwood's boys did not play San Lorenzo in the preseason, so the teams know little about each other. In fact, the two teams had just one common opponent -- each beat Petaluma rather handily.

San Lorenzo plays in the Hayward Area Athletic League, which features the top-ranked teams in both Division I (Castro Valley) and Division III (Bishop O'Dowd). So the Rebels' 8-8 record maybe isn't as mediocre as it might sound.

If Redwood wins its first game, it will play either third-seeded Las Lomas, 22-4, or Arroyo, 13-13, in the quarterfinals on Friday night. The Giants would host the game if Arroyo, another San Lorenzo school, were to upset Las Lomas. Otherwise, the game will be in Walnut Creek.

The Redwood girls got two pieces of good news when they were informed they had made the 14-team NCS field.

First off, just gettting in with a losing record was a break. Then the Giants found out their first-round opponent would be Montgomery, a team they beat on the road in December, 44-36.

If Redwood were to duplicate the feat, it would play again on the road Friday night at either eighth-seeded Maria Carrillo of Santa Rosa or Hayward.