The 'old' guys rule

It was the upstarts who held sway in the first 20 minutes but the veterans took the Second Annual Nor Cal Clash by a final score of 91-87 Sunday evening at Contra Costa College. Whether due to experience, greater physical maturity, more polished skill development or a combination thereof, seniority triumphed but not before being pushed hard.

The 2012 youngins led 28-22 at the end of the first 10-minute quarter and maintained the lead, 47-41, at halftime. Finally displaying more consistency, the class of 2011 put together a 30-point third period to take the lead 71-62 and held on for the close conclusion.

Senior Juan Anderson stuffed the stat sheet via 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, a trio of blocked shots (more on one of those below) and three steals. Mark Tollefsen, out of Sam Ramon Valley High, topped the 2011 squad with 13 points.

Junior Robert Upshaw produced a double-double composed of 15 points and 14 boards while his teammate on the night, Dominic Artis, contributed 13 points for the 2012-ers. 

Here's our take on some of the various players, plus thoughts on the ball that was played:

* Politicians and corporate leaders get dinged for lacking "the vision thing'" but Juan Anderson overflows with this attribute. He displayed the ability to pick out both open teammates and, maybe more importantly, soon-to-be open colleagues and delivering pinpoint passes. Anderson was named the Player of the Game. His shooting was off though throughout most of the game.

*  Finally, a replacement slogan has emerged for the venerable "it ain't over until the fat lady sings" description of a game's make-or-break outcome. From now on we're going with "it ain't over until Juan Anderson says so" as his last millisecond run-and-jump block on a breakaway layup attempt amply demonstrated not to count your points until the basketball emerges through the net.

* 6-foot-7 David Andoh was king of the midrange jumper -- a seemingly lost art -- last night. He is going to bring frontcourt scoring to St. Mary's this coming season.

* Mark Tollefsen is a net-nestling shooter. Let him catch and fire is simply a losing strategy as his treys last night never met iron.

* Just like in boxing, it's the lower weight divisions that are often the most enjoyable to watch in hoops. Last night's matchup of T.J. Taylor and Dominic Artis banging each other around out front via dribble-drives and defensive stops was quite the spectacle.

* 6-foot-11 Robert Upshaw opened the game with a nice spin move inside for a basket and later nailed a top of the key trey. There's promise in the 2012 big but also much work still to do. The PAC-10 will be watching.

* JT Adenrele  may 'only' measure out at 6-foot-6 but no one battled harder and played big inside than the soon-to-be senior from Oakmont High.

* Berkeley's High Langston Morris-Walker already looks college-ready physically and enjoyed some nice sequences on the court last night.

* Gary Williams is a solid glue guy and the 6-foot-3 Castlemont backcourter is one to watch as he enter his senior year.

* Watch to see the development of 2012 frontcourter Richard Longruss. The 6-foot-7 Bishop O'Dowd star had his moments and the addition of a couple more inches should throw his recruiting interest wide open.

* Which is true: Sometimes it is the little things that count versus don't sweat the small stuff? Context rules the day, but it's certainly the former on the basketball court.

* As is usual, not a lot of outside-shooting accuracy was on display -- attempts, yes -- in the Contra Costa College gym.

* The play was certainly uptempo but too often sloppy. We're not sure one jump stop was employed in all forty minutes as penetrating the key resulted in seeking and making contact rather than any mid-range shot attempt. There were also no dunk freebies on the menu as it seemed every attempt to swoop in and send the ball downward was hotly contested.