Pilots in the News--Winter Sports

3/19--St. Joseph Ntre Dame Pilots Basketball Teams Shine, Alameda Sun

3/17--Fearless University takes up S.F. mantle, San Francisco Chronicle

3/3--NCS girls basketball: Harris' shot caps Branson comeback win, Marin Independent Journal

2/26--Salesian, St. Joseph boys have eyes on state, Alameda Journal

Stars of the Week, Alameda Journal : Monica Cuyugan: The junior guard scored 18 points and sank three 3-pointers in a first-round 51-39 BSAL playoff win over Salesian on Feb. 16 . Jacari Whitfield/Brendan Keane: In the BSAL playoffs, the two juniors combined for 35 points in a first-round 68-57 win over Kennedy on Feb. 16. Keane added 12 points in a 38-29 semifinal win over St. Patrick/St. Vincent on Feb. 18, and Whitfield added 14 in a 61-43 championship-game loss against Salesian on Feb. 20.

2/22--North Coast Section boys basketball preview, Oakland Tribune

North Coast Section girls basketball preview, Oakland Tribune

2/19--St. Joseph boys basketball stuns St. Mary's in BSAL finale, Alameda Journal

Prep Insider, San Francisco Chronicle

Star of the Week: Alameda Journal: Jacari Whitfield: The junior point guard had 15 points to lead a 45-40 upset over St. Mary's on Feb. 12. He also hit five 3-pointers to score 15 points in a 70-65 overtime loss to St. Patrick-St. Vincent on Feb. 10.

2/12--Stars of the Week, Alameda Journal--Jacari Whitfield: The junior exploded for 30 points, and the Pilots needed every one of them in a 58-55 win over visiting Albany on Feb. 1.

2/9--Basketball season's final stretch looms, San Francisco Chronicle

2/5-Alameda Journal: Girls Basketball: St. Joseph Notre Dame 68, Encinal 67: The visiting Pilots (19-2, 8-2 through Feb. 1) outlasted the Jets (10-8, 3-4) in double-overtime on Jan. 27 to win a Bay Shore Athletic League cross-Island thriller.

After a relatively quiet first half saw St. Joseph lead 18-17, exploded in the third quarter. The teams combined for 42 points and the Pilots took a 40-37 lead.

But another high-scoring period in the fourth saw Encinal tie the game at 56 at the end of regulation. It remained tied at 62-all after one overtime before the Pilots finally prevailed.

Boys Basketball: St. Joseph Notre Dame 62, Encinal 53: The Pilots (17-5, 6-2 through Jan. 31) beat their Island rivals on Jan. 27 behind a a monster game from 6-foot-10 Brendan Keane, who produced 27 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks. Byron Buckley led the Jets with 17 points and Jimmy Hartwig added 14, but there was no stopping Keane. Skyler Noble also had a big night with 18 points.

Star of the Week: Brendan Keane, St. Joseph Notre Dame boys basketball — The junior scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 62-53 win over Encinal on Jan. 27. Through Jan. 31, he was averaging 12.5 points per game.

2/1--Boys basketball ranked 8th, girls 12th in latest East Bay basketball poll

1/29--Salesian boys basketball downs St. Joseph (Oakland Tribune)

1/29--Athlete of the Week (Alameda Journal): Jacari Whitfield, St. Joseph Notre Dame boys basketball — The junior scored 20 points for the No. 8 Pilots in a 53-50 win over Head-Royce on Jan. 18, then added 14 in a 67-65 BSAL win over Kennedy on Jan. 22.

1/21--Athlete of the Week (Alameda Journal): Jacari Whitfield, St. Joseph Notre Dame boys basketball — The junior had 20 points and six assists in the Pilots' 53-50 win over fellow Division V power Head-Royce at the Jan. 18 Martin Luther King Jr. Showcase at Cal State East Bay. He also added 16 points in a 58-43 loss to St. Mary's on Jan. 15.

1/21--SJND 53--Head-Royce 50 (Oakland Tribune)

1/14--St. Joseph Notre Dame out to early BSAL boys basketball lead (Oakland Tribune)

1/7--St. Joseph Notre Dame basketball stands out in tournaments

1/7--Carmen Lockhart named Bay Area News Group girl Athlete of the Week

1/4--SJND basketball teams ring in the holidays with big wins

12/31--From the Contra Costa Times: St. Joseph Notre Dame 49, Notre Dame-Belmont 34: Carmen Lockhart scored 12 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to earn the Lady Cougar Classic's Most Outstanding Player honor as the Pilots (11-0) beat the Tigers in the tournament finals at Newark Memorial. Monina Cuyugan scored a game-high 18 points, including three 3-pointers and Ashlee Wood grabbed 10 rebounds and made seven steals for St. Joseph. Cuyugan and Geena Serles made the all-tournament team for the Pilots. Emily Morris led Notre Dame-Belmont with 12 points and eight rebounds. St. Joseph went 10-of-12 on the free throw line in the last three minutes to seal the win.

12/31--Ten reasons 2009 was great--Oakland Tribune: 1) THE MIRACLE PILOTS: With all due respect to the rest of the great moments of 2009, the top spot has no competition. The St. Joseph Notre Dame boys basketball team trailed Branson-Ross by 19 points with 3 minutes remaining in the CIF NorCal Division V championship game and a wildly successful season — which already included an NCS Division V championship game win over Branson — seemed over. But the Pilots delivered a comeback for the ages by outscoring Branson 23-2 down the stretch for an improbable 42-40 win that earned the Pilots a trip to the state championship game.

12/28--From the Oakland Tribune: St. Joseph Notre Dame 55, Castro Valley 54: Freshman Desiree Harris scored 15 points and Monina Cuyugan hit four free throws down the stretch as the Pilots held off the Trojans in the opening day of the Lady Cougar Classic at Newark Memorial High. St. Joseph went 10-of-14 from the foul line down the stretch, while the Trojans made only 4 of 11 from the charity stripe in the final quarter, The Trojans trailed by seven points but pulled within 55-52 with 11 seconds left. Michelle Miyamoto's 3-point attempt rimmed out, before Geena Series' rebound and put-back trimmed the deficit to one point. However, Castro Valley was unable to stop the clock. Elena Ala and Danica Appleby both had 14 points to lead the Trojans. Carmen Lockhart had 13 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Pilots.

12/24--St. Joseph High boys basketball aiming to fly even higher--Alameda Journal

12/12--From the Contra Costa Times: SJND 43, Branson 35: The host Pilots (5-1) broke open a close game in the fourth quarter, defeating rival Branson (5-1) in the Island Classic. The low-scoring contest had several turnovers and aggressive defense, and the game was tied 19-19 at the half. It stayed close until the final three minutes, when Pilot point guard Jacari Whitfield (14 points) drained a 3-point shot to give the Pilots a 36-30 lead. Branson's Tyler Gaffney, who had a game-high 16 points and played a strong all-around game, closed the gap to 36-33 with his fourth 3-pointer. But with 50 seconds left and the score 38-35, Whitfield made another 3-pointer, leading his team to its third consecutive victory over the Bulls. The Pilots defeated Branson in last season's North Coast Section Division V finals, and Whitfield's buzzer-beater beat the Bulls a week later to take the NorCal tournament.