CONCORD >> Three minutes into Clayton Valley’s 53-44 win over Northgate on Thursday, point guard Elijah Perryman knocked down what looked like a routine 3-pointer from the left wing. It’s a shot the senior has hit multiple times during his three-year career on varsity.

But when he made this shot, Perryman let out a burst of emotions.

The Utah State commit stomped the floor, pumped his fist into the air and screamed as if he hit a game winner. For Perryman, that shot was the biggest of the season to this point.

The first-quarter 3-pointer was his first made basket since fracturing the fifth metatarsal in his right foot two months ago in a loss to Destiny Christian at the Gridley Invitational Basketball Tournament. Perryman missed 19 games for Clayton Valley — a stretch in which the team went 10-9.

For a moment this season, there was some uncertainty as to whether Perryman would step on the floor for Clayton Valley again. But after scoring a team-high 13 points on senior night to lead the Ugly Eagles to a win, there’s hope that Clayton Valley’s Division I point guard can add a much-needed boost with the postseason right around the corner.

“It felt good to be back on the court,” Perryman said. “It’s urgent when you can’t play, but it felt good.

“When I got injured, I had something to prove. I wanted my family to come see me play on senior night and I’m just glad they could.”

Perryman is on a minutes restriction and wasn’t in Clayton Valley’s closing lineup, but the 6-foot-3 senior was joyous on the bench as he watched his teammates hit shot after shot to seal the win.

“Elijah was our missing piece,” said sophomore forward Zion Grissom, who led the Ugly Eagles with 15 points. “When he gets the ball, he can facilitate and he can score. We couldn’t ask for a better point guard.”

It’s been a roller coaster season for Clayton Valley. A favorite to win the Diablo Athletic League title, the Concord school is fifth in the DAL and 15-10 overall. With the team starting to gel at the right time, the goal for Perryman and the Ugly Eagles now is to make a deep postseason run in the North Coast Section playoffs. Clayton Valley also got all-league guard Vince Ellis back from injury on Thursday.

“The end goal is to go to a state championship and win it all, but we’re going to take it one game at a time,” Perryman said.

Northgate (17-8, 7-4) was led in scoring by Grayson Boustead with 14 points. Nico Martin and David Harris each had 10 points for the Broncos.

No. 15 Ygnacio Valley 74, Alhambra 54 >> Ygnacio Valley outscored Alhambra 38-20 in the second half to blow open a close game on Thursday night. YV led led 36-34 at intermission. The Wolves (17-8, 6-3 Diablo Athletic League) went on a 15-2 run in the third quarter. Antonio Kellogg Jr. had 25 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead the way for Ygnacio. Todd Tatom Jr. had 14 points, including hitting 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Jaimison Krause led Alhambra (11-14, 3-8) with 15 points. Samuel Gillaspy had 12, all on 3-pointers.

No. 19 Campolindo 74, College Park 64 >> The Cougars raced to a 23-11 advantage in the first quarter, setting the stage for ninth-year coach Steven Dyer’s 200th win at Campolindo. Ren Marchetti and Gavin Rendle had 19 points for the Cougars. Freshman Miles Cooper scored 26 points for College Park (16-9, 7-4).

Albany 75, Bethel 48 >> The Cougars got a little revenge Thursday night with their victory at Bethel. Earlier this season, the Jaguars traveled to the East Bay and surprised Albany 70-62. There was no chance that was going to happen again. Albany led 40-22 at the half while improving to 21-4 on the season. The Cougars are 8-2 in the TCAL Rock and trail only Salesian in the standings. Bruno Der had 18 points and Coree Harvey 17. Daman Young pulled down nine rebounds for Albany.

Summit Shasta 77, University Prep Academy 47 >> Allan Rayo and DJ Randall each scored 12 points as the Black Bears improved to 9-0 and clinched the Private School Bay Division title. The Daly City school is 18-3 overall and has won 58 league games in succession dating back to the 2019-20 season. University Prep Academy received a game-high 13 points from Jack Reboredo. The San Jose school fell to 14-7, 5-3.

Mt. Eden 79, Tennyson 42 >> The Monarchs rolled to their eighth win in their last 10 games behind Denzel Jackson’s 25 points. Mt. Eden is 7-1 in the WACC Shoreline and 14-9 overall. Matthew Lorje had 20 points and five steals for Tennyson (6-17, 0-8).

San Lorenzo 66, Encinal 59 >> The Grizzlies stayed within a game of first-place Mt. Eden in the WACC Shoreline standings. Mt. Eden is 7-1, San Lorenzo is 6-2. The Grizzlies are 13-9 overall. Brian Brown had 23 points for San Lorenzo and Kingsley Eneh had 21.

Girls basketball

No. 14 Clayton Valley 58, No. 17 Northgate 43 >> Ella Scott poured in 17 points and De Clay scored 14 in a big road win over Northgate. Sophomore Maddison Sardelich had a huge game for the Broncos with 12 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough. Samantha Myhr led Northgate in scoring with 15 points. Clayton Valley (18-6, 9-1) moved into second place in the bunched DAL standings. Three teams are within a game and a half of first-place Acalanes. The Dons are 9-0, followed by Clayton Valley, Northgate (9-2) and Campolindo (9-3).

No. 16 Salesian 48, Pinole Valley 38 >> Salesian had to rally from a 26-20 halftime deficit to increase its TCAL winning streak to 103 games. Thursday night’s game turned when Salesian outscored Pinole Valley 19-4 in the third quarter. Janiya Sawyer was the star for Salesian with 12 points, five assists and four steals.

Westmont 51, Sobrato 42 >> Lara Macian scored 17 points and Adina Freudenblum contributed 14 to lead the visiting Warriors to a hard-fought victory. The Warriors are 16-6 overall and 6-2 in the BVAL Santa Teresa, where they are clinging to a one game lead over Silver Creek. Sobrato (7-14, 1-7) was led by Cameron Isle with 17 points.

Silver Creek 44, Santa Teresa 37 >> The Raiders broke a 28-28 tie when the defense took over and held Santa Teresa to nine points in the second half. Mo Martinez had 14 points and Amira Dyer scored 12 for the winners. Brielle Moseley came up huge with 14 rebounds in addition to her seven points. Santa Teresa was led by Trinity Lacy with 14 points.

The King’s Academy 40, Mercy 26 >> It was a defensive struggle in the first half, with TKA taking a 14-11 advantage at the break. The Knights finally broke the game open with 12 points in the fourth quarter. Callie Nishitoyo was the only player from either team in double figures with 19 points for TKA. The Knights are 16-5 in all games and 7-1 in the West Bay Skyline, good for first place. Mercy is 7-8, 1-7.

Pioneer 48, Christopher 43 >> The Mustangs may have pulled off the stunner of the night in handing Christopher only its fourth loss of the season. Aly Liu, a freshman guard, was outstanding, pouring in 24 points, including all nine for Pioneer in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Sax had 14 points for Christopher. The Cougars are 16-4 overall and 7-3 in the BVAL Mt. Hamilton. Pioneer is 9-11, 2-7.

Correspondent Mike Lefkow contributed to this report.