For three quarters, Palo Alto-Los Gatos had an argument for game of the year in Bay Area boys basketball.

Both teams were playing with palpable physicality and intensity on both ends of the floor, and the lead whipped back and forth throughout the first 24 minutes.

But they play four quarters in hoops. And in the final frame, visiting Paly was the squad that separated down the stretch. The Vikings were a little more careful, a little more efficient and a little more aggressive to pull away to a 57-47 win after trailing 36-35 entering the fourth quarter.

“Two heavyweights in this conference that have been good for a long time and a great atmosphere,” said Paly coach Jeff LaMere, whose team is ranked 18th by the Bay Area News Group. “Just two teams trading punches. And I was really proud of our guys, especially how they stuck with it.”

Palo Alto entered Friday’s contest 15-2 and undefeated in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division. But though the Vikings have won eight games in a row, there have been some close calls along the way.

Paly (16-2, 6-0 SCVAL) beat Menlo-Atherton in overtime and topped Los Altos and Milpitas by fewer than 10 points. So the Vikings are used to playing close games, and that poise shone through on Friday night.

“That’s what our group does really well this year,” said Paly star guard Jorell Clark, who finished with a hard-earned 22 points to lead all scorers. “We just fight, and that’s what really helped us get the win.”

No. 6 Oakland Tech 52, No. 12 Oakland 44 >> ArDarius Grayson is a compact 5-foot-9 guard and Xan Meyer-Plettner is a hulking 6-8 center. They are Oakland Tech teammates who are about as different in terms of body type and offensive playstyle as could be.

And yet, in front of Bulldog legend Marshawn Lynch and a capacity crowd at the program’s gymnasium in North Oakland, both dominated the skies as menacing shot-blockers in a 52-44 victory over Oakland on Friday night.

It was the teams’ first meeting since Tech’s victory in the NorCal Division II championship game last season.

“This is such a great environment,” Grayson said. “Since I got here my sophomore year, every game we’ve played against O-High has been a close game.”

Reigning Oakland Athletic League MVP Grayson had a team-high 14 points to go with four swats, each tallied as a high-flying menace who erased shots from the weakside as the Bulldogs won their fifth consecutive game against Oakland.

Campolindo 57, No. 17 Acalanes 37 >> As Gavin Rendle knocked down a 30-foot dagger to end Acalanes’ hopes of a fourth-quarter comeback, the senior looked at Campolindo’s student section standing behind the Cougars’ bench and raised both arms, as if to say, ‘Are you not entertained?’

Rendle and Campolindo put on a masterclass on both ends of the floor, defeating Acalanes – the top team in the Diablo Athletic League — 57-37 in front of a packed gym to give the Cougars a statement win.

“Today was just an emotional day,” Rendle said. “It’s two crosstown rivals and we knew we needed to show up since we were the underdogs.

“I think we showed them who the better team was.”

Rendle led Campolindo with 16 points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks. Senior guard Ren Marchetti added 13 points and five boards. Forward Luke Devine had 12 points and eight rebounds in the win.

The rivalry game was full of emotions as the overflow crowd at Chris Huber Court injected the small gymnasium with playoff-like energy. Campolindo came into Friday’s game with something to prove after dropping two of its previous three games.

No. 1 Archbishop Riordan 73, No. 15 Valley Christian 46 >> Four-star Texas A&M commit Jasir Rencher showed off his SEC-caliber talent by scoring 18 points in Riordan’s rout of Valley Christian. The Crusaders have won each of their six West Catholic Athletic League games by at least 20 points. Ryder Bush tossed in 16 points and Andrew Hilman scored 17 points as Riordan improved to 15-1.

No. 3 San Ramon Valley 77, No. 8 California 63 >> Luke Isaak scored 24 points, Mason Thomas had 20 and Elliot Conley totaled 19 points to lead SRV to a crucial East Bay Athletic League win over California. The victory puts SRV in a four-way tie for first place in the EBAL with California, De La Salle and Dougherty Valley. California got 21 points from Dane Wallace, but it wasn’t enough as the Grizzlies dropped to 19-3, 4-1.

No. 4 Dougherty Valley 72, Granada 49 >> Jalen Stokes scored 24 points to lead Dougherty Valley to its fourth straight win. Kenny Cloud totaled 17 points and senior guard Cole Roque had 14 in the win. Dougherty Valley improved to 15-6, 3-1.

No. 5 De La Salle 51, Amador Valley 42 >> De La Salle star Alec Blair made his return to the lineup from a shoulder injury and scored a game-high 25 points to lead De La Salle to its second consecutive win. David Balogun chipped in 12 points. The Spartans improved to 18-3, 4-1. Amador Valley dropped to 17-5, 2-3.

No. 8 Dublin 64, Monte Vista 61 >> The Gaels bounced back after their close loss to De La Salle last week by edging Monte Vista at home. Jordan Morganstein led the way with 17 points, followed by Anthony Knight, who had 16. Ian Desai and Collin Ellis each had 21 points for Monte Vista.

No. 9 Moreau Catholic 80, Newark Memorial 39 >> The Mariners breezed through another Mission Valley Athletic League game behind another solid performance from Kellen Hampton. He scored 21 points and Dominic Walker had 15 as Moreau improved to 15-3, 8-0. Moreau will play Redwood on Saturday at the Crush in the Valley showcase at Contra Costa College.

Bellarmine 59, No. 10 St. Ignatius 45 >> Bellarmine, playing at home in San Jose, upset the Wildcats behind 19 points from Will Corbett and 12 from Brennan Williams. The outcome dropped St. Ignatius out of a first-place tie with Archbishop Riordan in the WCAL standings. Bellarmine improved to 12-4, 3-3. SI, which plays host to Riordan on Tuesday, fell to 12-4, 5-1. Raymond Whitley led SI on Friday with 20 points.

No. 13 Liberty 71, Pittsburg 60 >> Dante Vigil (18) and Jaiden Miller (16) combined to score 34 points as Liberty handled Pittsburg at home. Andrew Vixon added 13 for Liberty, which improved to 20-2, 6-0. Senior Jermaine Earnest had a game-high 22 points and Terrance Wiley chipped in 21 for Pittsburg, which dropped to 11-9, 3-3.

No. 14 Ygnacio Valley 98, Concord 44 >> The Wolves had six of their eight players score in double figures in a road rout of Concord. Junior Jalan Cody had a game-high 21 points and Antonio Kellogg Jr. chipped in 19.

Girls

No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 77, No. 14 Sacred Heart Cathedral 33 >> After two wins by “just” 15 and 14 points in recent WCAL games, it was back to business as usual for top-ranked Mitty. Junior forward Emma Cook led all scorers with 16 points, sophomore Tee McCarthy had 13 points and freshman Maliya Hunter scored 10 in the rout. Kaylen Alysa Edora led Sacred Heart Cathedral with eight points.

No. 2 Acalanes 77, Campolindo 31 >> KK Lacanlale poured in a team-high 18 points as the Dons routed DAL rival Campolindo and improved to 18-1. Dulci Vail scored 14 and Ariana Hallstrom put in 13 points. Sophie Chinn made three 3-pointers on her way to a 17-point night for Acalanes. Raegan Shum led Campolindo with eight points.

No. 4 San Ramon Valley 61, No. 17 California 21 >> The Wolves were too much for California as SRV cruised in an EBAL matchup. Ella Gunderson had 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting to go along with nine rebounds, and Alyssa Rudd had eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Hania Bowes scored 12, and Maya Knapp had eight points and seven rebounds.

No. 8 Priory 51, No. 19 Menlo School 44 >> Ugreat Daniels scored a game-high 17 points as Priory held a 28-21 lead at halftime and closed out the WBAL duel. Menlo School got 16 points from Karen Xin, 14 from Ruiqi Liu and 10 from Ava Allen.

No. 12 Oakland Tech 73, Oakland High 37 >> Jhai Johnson scored 25 points on the night that she reached 100 official blocks for her Oakland Tech career. Meanwhile, fellow frontcourt phenom Terri’A Russell had 24 points as Oakland Tech rolled past defending CIF Division V state champion Oakland. Kyla Smith scored 10 points and Tyliana Velasquez had nine points on three 3-pointers as the Wildcats kept it somewhat competitive until the fourth quarter.

Mountain View 43, Gunn 35 >> Alana Hernandez carried Mountain View in a defensively-dominated victory over Gunn. The 5-3 senior guard scored a team-high 26 points as Mountain View improved to 14-3 overall and 6-1 in the SCVAL El Camino Division. Teammates Ellie Westgate, Fiona Lee and Emma Tang combined for 13 points. Gunn’s Anushka Krishnan scored a team-high 16 points, and Carina Gross had 14 points.