Hamilton humbled at home

The Hamilton boys basketball team's season ended painfully Tuesday night, as visiting Head-Royce of Oakland stifled the Braves, 73-40, in the second round of state playoffs.

Hamilton won its first-ever Northern Section title last weekend, garnering Northern California's No. 4 seed in the CIF regional playoffs and a bye in the opening round.

The Braves were outmatched speed-wise, and plagued by nerves, against the No. 12 Jayhawks (27-4, 12-0 Bay Counties East League).

Hamilton struggled to 14 first-half turnovers and 21 in the game, compared to eight by Head-Royce, and the Braves consistently failed to run their offense. They didn't sink a field goal for over six minutes and midway through the second quarter, they trailed by 20 points.

Omar Diaz scored a team-leading 12 points with three assists for the Braves, and Erik Smith netted 10 points, blocked three shots and stole the ball three times.

Jonathan Jacobo and Smith each grabbed six rebounds, and teammates Hector Aguilar and Daniel Jones added five points apiece.

Aguilar took a brutal charge against Head-Royce's Connor Scherer, whose quick hands resulted in several steals that generated the Jayhawks' momentum.

The Jayhawks' 6-foot, 9-inch, Jeremiah Kreisberg, put up a game-high 21 points, Nick Wright scored 15, Mitch Ito 12 and Ryan Trutner 11.

Head-Royce connected on 31-of-57 shooting from the floor (54 percent) and 8-of-12 at the free-throw line. Hamilton limped to a 14-for-41 finish (34 percent).

The Braves end the year with a record of 24-6 (10-0 Mid-Valley League). Head-Royce, who toppled No. 5 Victory Christian of Carmichael on the road in the first round, travels to top-seeded Branson of Ross in the NorCal semifinals.

Contact Paul Gadbois at 824-1036.