No. 1 Dougherty Valley, propelled by fourth-quarter run, beats No. 2 San Ramon Valley

DANVILLE — An electric crowd and a special guest greeted the Bay Area’s hottest boys basketball teams Tuesday night.

And through three quarters in a packed San Ramon Valley gym, they were dead even, just as they were at halftime.

But in a blink of an eye, Dougherty Valley — the Bay Area News News Group’s top-ranked team — scored nine unanswered points, a run to start the final quarter that was too much for second-ranked San Ramon Valley to overcome.

When the clock reached zero, the visitors celebrated a 64-58 victory to open what will no doubt be an East Bay Athletic League gauntlet for both teams.

Connor Sevilla and Ryan Beasley, both of whom missed last week because of illness, carried much of the offensive load for Dougherty Valley (16-1, 1-0). Sevilla finished with 30 points and Beasley added 20.

But defense helped swing the tide in the game’s most crucial point.

“That’s a credit to the whole team,” Sevilla said. “We played great defense in that little stretch and that’s really what lifted us on top the rest of the game.”

San Ramon Valley (15-2, 0-1) got an emotional boost before tip-off as assistant coach Hans de Lannoy, who has battled cancer for a few years and recently entered hospice care, attended the game in a wheelchair and sat near the team’s bench.

The Wolves have dedicated their season to de Lannoy, rallying behind the coach as they captured a prestigious Southern California tournament over the holiday break.

“That guy continues to inspire everybody,” San Ramon Valley coach Brian Botteen said. “So many people love him and were helping him out throughout the course of the evening.”

The home team got off to a sizzling start, building a 19-10 lead as Parker McClaughry carried the hot hand. The senior guard scored 10 of his 25 points in the opening quarter.

But Sevilla and Beasley heated up in the second quarter — combining for 18 of the Wildcats’ 22 points — and the teams went to the locker room tied 34-34.

The visitors scored the first eight points of the second half, but the cushion evaporated when San Ramon Valley closed the quarter with 3-pointers from McClaughry and Luke Isaak and a basket in transition from Elliot Conley.

The 8-0 run evened the score 50-50 with a quarter to play.

Ninety seconds later, Dougherty Valley had scored nine consecutive points to, as it turned out, put the score out of reach.

“It was big,” Beasley said. “That was all the momentum for the fourth. Coach told us to sit down and play defense and everything will be good.”

It has been good for Dougherty Valley all season. Even with Beasley, Sevilla and a third starter, Landon Edmond, sidelined last week, the team rolled over Kennedy-Fremont by 37 and Berkeley by 25.

“No excuses,” coach Mike Hansen said. “Last week our bench stepped up. We come back here tonight and don’t have our same energy and they get off to that blistering start. It’s like, ‘Uh-oh.’ I took Ryan out and tried to settle him in and our bench guys went in and played with confidence because they got it last week. That’s that good strength in numbers stuff.”

Beasley said he wasn’t at full strength.

“I was winded, as everybody could probably see,” he said. “But I had to push through. Thank you to my guy Connor going crazy tonight. All props to him and all our teammates for working hard.”

Blake Hudson, the third guard in Dougherty Valley’s lineup, finished with 10 points.

Neither side will catch a break Friday as Dougherty Valley travels to eighth-ranked Granada and San Ramon Valley visits seventh-ranked California.

“It’s going to be a very competitive league,” Botteen said. “We lick our wounds tonight. But we better get our attention on Cal because every night’s going to be a competitive one.”