Rashod Cotton Jr. bent the game to his will.

Cotton authored every important chapter as Dougherty Valley slipped past Amador Valley 59-56 in a marquee East Bay Athletic League showdown, from a first-quarter eruption that stunned a packed Amador Valley gym to a cold-blooded, go-ahead 3-pointer to win the game.

Cotton finished Friday’s game with 26 points, setting the tone early by pouring in 16 by himself in the opening quarter as Dougherty Valley — ranked 13th by the Bay Area News Group — built a lead that it carried most of the night. That cushion vanished during a furious fourth-quarter run from ninth-ranked Amador Valley on the Dons’ senior night.

But as the moment grew bigger, so did Cotton’s confidence. After his decisive long ball splashed through the net, Cotton was mobbed by his teammates and the Wildcats student section as the San Ramon school quieted a raucous crowd.

It was a fitting night for Cotton, whose opening act created the lead and his final shot secured the win.

Dougherty Valley’s Alonzo Walker III finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds while junior Rylan Sevilla added nine points and five rebounds.

“It was Cotton’s night,” Amador Valley coach Willis Gardner said. “I told him it was only right that he hit the game winner. I thought he controlled the whole game.”

No. 18 Milpitas 65, Los Gatos 56: It was a four-point game late in the third quarter. Milpitas big man Pranavram Krishnan was on the bench with three fouls. So it was up to the other half of the team’s 1-2 scoring tandem, Dylan Nguyen, to take over.

Milpitas proceeded to go on an 11-2 run to open some distance and grab control. Nguyen scored all 11 in that run on his way to a game-high 29, and Milpitas went on to a victory.

“He was MVP of the JV league as a freshman when he first got here, was the best player on his team in middle school, so he’s always been that good,” Milpitas coach Champ Wrencher said. “We joke around, ‘Are you really 18?’ He plays like a 30-year-old. He plays at his own speed and he’s got all kinds of shots. You only see that at the YMCA with older guys who have been around the block. He plays well beyond his years.”

Nguyen’s points came in a diversified arsenal, in transition, on drives and jumpers.

“Ever since I was, like, in third grade, I’ve been working on a different array of moves,” Nguyen said. “I feel I can finish at the basket, mid-range and shoot 3s.”

Milpitas led 26-23 at halftime as Krishnan (15) and Nguyen (11) combined for all 26 points. Krishnan was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim on a fastbreak dunk, a call that would probably not have been made at a college game and definitely would not have been made in an NBA game. And he picked up his third foul in the third quarter and a seat on the bench, finishing with 19 points.

But after Milpitas opened the double-digit lead, Los Gatos was forced into a situation of trying to apply pressure. Milpitas got its running game going, scoring on multiple transition opportunities.

No. 1 Salesian 85, Bethel 59: Another day, another Tri-County Athletic League Rock Division win for Salesian. Juelz Richo led the Pride with 16 points, Elias Obenyah had 14, Braylon Franklin added 13 and Asante Johnson chipped in 11 for Salesian, which improved to 20-3, 7-0. Bethel (11-12, 2-6) got 18 points from Redgley Goff and 14 each from Malik Gibson and Anthony Monts.

No. 4 De La Salle 60, No. 12 Granada 48: Ibrahim Monawar, Davit Pachulia and Olanre Owoborode each had 16 points as the Spartans rolled to an East Bay Athletic League victory over Granada (16-7, 3-4). Brandon Hahn scored 20 points to lead Granada and Cordell Taylor scored 10 points. De La Salle improved to 20-3, 6-0.

No. 6 Clayton Valley 58, Acalanes 13: You read that correctly. In perhaps the best defensive performance of the season, Clayton Valley held Acalanes to 13 points in a blowout road win in a Diablo Athletic League showdown. Cannon Simpson led the Concord school with 17 points, Charlie Sullivan had 14 and Vince Ellis had 10 as Clayton Valley improved to 19-3, 9-0. Gavin Dodge led Acalanes (13-10, 5-2) with eight points.

No. 7 The King’s Academy 62, Sacred Heart Prep 45: TKA cruised to another West Bay Athletic League victory behind 17 points from Adrian Barnett. Xavier Barnett added 14, Scotty Beamish Jr. had 13 and Hezekiah Sires scored 11 for TKA, which improved to 17-3, 6-0. SHP (10-9, 3-3) got 11 points from Brady Grossman.

No. 10 Moreau Catholic 80, James Logan 52: The Mariners won their 10th straight Mission Valley Athletic League game behind 18 points each from freshman Isaiah Dotson and junior Isaiah Clendinen. Big man Brennan Williams chipped in 16 points for Moreau, which improved to 19-3, 10-0. Logan (8-14, 5-5) was led by Brandon Ly’s 14 points.

Girls basketball

No. 4 Priory 58, No. 12 Oakland Tech 56 (OT): The Panthers continued to add to their resume as they defeated East Bay powerhouse Oakland Tech in overtime in a marquee nonleague game. Adelaide Chan and Gabby Wickham each had 14 points while Ugreat Daniels chipped in 10. Priory improved to 15-5 while Oakland Tech dropped to 9-10.

No. 9 Clayton Valley 65, No. 13 Acalanes 57: Clayton Valley took control of first place in the DAL with a key victory over Acalanes. Deoujenea Clay had a game-high 36 points for the Ugly Eagles as they improved to 15-7, 6-0. Acalanes dropped to 17-6, 7-1.

No. 18 Menlo-Atherton 73, Carlmont 43: M-A routed visiting Carlmont in a PAL Bay contest behind 29 points and 12 rebounds from Lita Fakapelea. Sky Yee was Carlmont’s leading scorer with nine points. M-A improved to 17-3, 8-1. Carlmont dropped to 11-10, 2-7.

No. 19 Dougherty Valley 42, Amador Valley 36: Keira Tom had 15 points and Vanessa Nguyen scored 13 as the Wildcats defeated Amador Valley in a low-scoring EBAL game. Dougherty Valley improved to 18-5, 5-2. Amador Valley is 10-12, 2-5.

Alameda 83, Encinal 49: The battle of the Island went to the Hornets. Alameda got 24 points from Mia Borja, 20 from Desiree Shoblo and 14 from Jennalyn Apodaca to improve to 15-6 and 3-2 in WACC Foothill Division play. Encinal dropped to 7-11, 3-2.

Campolindo 48, Benicia 47: In a battle of two of the DAL’s top teams, the Cougars came out on top. Becca Tanner had 12 points and Sofia Iakovleva added 10 for Campolindo, which improved to 17-7, 8-2. Ella Lum led Benicia (15-7, 5-4) with 13 points.