Sports
Intriguing Rematches for Trojans, Bulldogs at NCS
The long-awaited Stuart Wesonga-Mike Best matchup will take place Tuesday at San Marin, while San Rafael must beat Drake for a third time to advance past Round 1.
One of the great things about a North Coast Section Championships event is it often provides an opportunity for totally unfamiliar teams of different regions to match up.
That didn't exactly happen when the NCS announced its boys and girls basketball pairings Sunday, but that didn't prevent a couple of very intriguing matchups from having been set.
's boys basketball team, the only Marin County Athletic League club to beat San Marin this season, was slotted for a rematch with the fifth-seeded Mustangs on Tuesday night in Novato. Game time is 7 p.m.
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And , which beat Drake twice in boys basketball during the MCAL season, will have to do so a third time Tuesday -- 7 p.m. at Drake -- if it's to survive Round 1 of the NCS event.
The Terra Linda-San Marin matchup finally gives MCAL fans something they've been looking forward to all season -- a head-to-head between the two best big men in the league, the Mustangs' Stuart Wesonga and the Trojans' .
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Wesonga was sick when the teams met Jan. 28 at Terra Linda, allowing Best to dominate and lead the Trojans to a shockingly easy 68-47 victory.
The Mustangs, 25-4, haven't lost since then.
The Trojans, meanwhile, were the second-to-last team to get into the NCS tournament. They were seeded 12th with a 16-12 record.
Like Terra Linda, San Rafael would love nothing better than to duplicate its earlier feat. Just a week and a half ago, the Bulldogs went to Drake and recorded a 55-54 win.
Come to think of it, the Bulldogs probably would prefer to have it a little easier, as they did in their 66-60 home win over the Pirates on Jan. 14.
Despite the two head-to-head losses, Drake, 18-11, earned a 7-seed in the event, three spots ahead of San Rafael, and thus was slotted to host Tuesday's game.
First-round winners will advance to the quarterfinals on Friday.
The Terra Linda girls team, 12-16, was not selected for the tournament. Drake, which finished 14-13 and one spot ahead of the Trojans in the MCAL regular season, earned the final berth.
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