The Sacred Heart Cathedral boys basketball team made its intentions clear from the tip. Archbishop Riordan would not be getting anything easy.

The seventh-seeded Fightin’ Irish beat the defending Central Coast Section Open Division champion Crusaders for the first time this season, 58-49, on Friday night to start this year’s Open Division pool play.

The visiting Fightin’ Irish learned from their mistakes in their two previous losses to their West Catholic Athletic League foe and tapped into their strengths defensively. That meant occupying the paint and ramping up their aggression on the glass against a Riordan team with a size advantage.

“That was the goal,” Sacred Heart Cathedral coach Caesar Smith said. “They got a lot of points in transition our last game, that’s how they closed out our first game. So we wanted to make sure we limited those opportunities and make it more tough.”

Sacred Heart junior guard Zemaury Erfe had all the answers late in the game, including a pair of 3-pointers that both extended the lead back to double digits.

Efre finished with 12 points and Fedrick Pernell had 14 points, 12 in the first half. Junior wing Jerry Mixon Jr. added 11 points.

Pool play continues Monday and finishes Wednesday.

The winners of the two four-team pods meet for the CCS Open Division title on Friday at Santa Clara University.

SHP prepped for success >> Sacred Heart Prep coach Tony Martinelli has been with the Gators since 2007-08, so he’s learned a thing or two about scheduling and what kind of players he needs to win.

Take Sam Norris, SHP’s 6-foot-6 center/forward and one of three team captains. On Friday night, he followed a teammate’s missed shot by grabbing the rebound and putting it back in the hoop for two points, then hitting a free throw to complete a three-point play.

All with 2 seconds left.

That allowed Sacred Heart Prep to beat Menlo-Atherton 60-59 in pool play of the CCS Open Division. The Gators (18-6) next host Sacred Heart Cathedral on Monday night.

Norris had 26 points for SHP. He is the team’s leading scorer (15.9 points per game) and rebounder (8.4 per game). Erick Osterloh added 11 points.

“I’m definitely happy where we are,” Martinelli said.

“We get a couple of home games and then we go to NorCals.”

All teams in the CCS Open Division playoffs qualify for the NorCal regionals.

CCS girls

Branham edges Los Gatos >> Two public schools met up in the opening round for the first time in the history of the CCS Open Division girls basketball playoffs, which dates to 2013.

The matchup Friday between visiting Branham, the No. 5 seed, and No. 4 Los Gatos was tightly played, as might be expected in a matchup between similar seeds.

Branham, with point guard Rebecca Sung making clutch free throws down the stretch, came up with the win, 48-45.

“Ice in her veins,” Branham coach Nick Moreno said.

Alli Von Borloeven led Branham (21-4) with 13 points, knocking down three 3-pointers. Sung scored 12 and went 6 of 6 at the foul line, including two with 15 seconds left after Los Gatos had pulled within 46-45.

She was asked how much time she puts in practicing free throws.

“Not that much,” Sung said. “Maybe 20 at practice. I guess I was lucky. I blocked out the noise and focused on myself.”

NCS boys

Moreau eliminates O’Dowd >> Two storied East Bay programs, coached by men rooted deep in the local fabric of the sport, met in an elimination game, both trying to advance another round in the North Coast Section Division I playoffs.

With its home gym filled to capacity, Moreau Catholic grabbed the upper hand in the first half and never allowed Bishop O’Dowd to make a run that might have intensified the quarterfinal down the stretch.

When it ended, Moreau celebrated a 61-45 victory that moved the Hayward school into a semifinal Tuesday at home against third-seeded California, a winner over Liberty on Friday.

O’Dowd finished 17-12.

For Moreau coach Frank Knight, the victory was his fourth in the past five meetings against his friend, O’Dowd’s Lou Richie.

Before that, O’Dowd owned the series between the Catholic schools.

“We get up for O’Dowd,” Knight said.

“When we prepare for them, we know they’re well-coached. I take it as a challenge and I am sure Lou takes it as a challenge.”

Robert Morgan II scored 16 points, Kellen Hampton had nine points and 11 rebounds, and LeBrie Goudy-Lee finished with 10 points and five rebounds for Moreau (22-5).

The Mariners also got the usual high energy from 5-foot-9 senior point guard Jesse Ybarra, a kid with bushy black hair and no low gear in his game. He had eight steals and five assists, to go with eight points.

“I just try to be there for my team,” Ybarra said.

Pittsburg’s Cinderella story continues >> Pittsburg advancing to the NCS semifinals in football would not be surprising. Happens almost every year.

But the school’s boys basketball team?

Well, that’s a Cinderella story.

The Pirates, seeded 12th, beat visiting James Logan 87-72 in the quarterfinals of the NCS Division I playoffs.

Logan, the 13th seed, was trying to write its own Cinderella story after upsetting fourth-seeded Monte Vista in the first round.

Pittsburg moves on to play Tuesday at top-seeded Clayton Valley Charter, a winner Friday over San Leandro.

How improbable is this run for Pittsburg, which upset No. 5 seed Berkeley in the previous round?

So unexpected that coach Rich Gonzales struggled to describe it. The Pirates had won a combined 14 games over the past three seasons.

“Right now, we’re on that ride,” Gonzales said. “We’ve been coming through the last few games. Magical, maybe. Or sometimes, it’s about our heart. The team just wants it.”

NCS girls

Mt. Diablo stuns No. 1 seed Berean Christian >> Mt. Diablo proved it’s tough to beat a team three times in one season.

Eighth-seeded Mt. Diablo bedeviled the top-seeded Eagles in the quarterfinals of the NCS Division V playoffs, 47-44m, after two regular-season losses to Berean Christian, including one by 17 points.

The Red Devils (17-11) outscored Berean 26-14 in the second half. MD visits No. 4 seed Upper Lake (27-1) on Tuesday.

“We went in expecting to win,” coach Ronnie McGee said. “We played with a lot of resiliency. We were down by nine at one point.”

Natalie Dance, a 5-1 sophomore point guard, led MD with 27 points. Stephanie Zuniga added 11 points, including two 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Granada upsets No. 2 California >> Junior forward Cassidy Bartolotto scored 20 points to lead the seventh-seeded Matadors past the second-seeded Grizzlies on their home floor in an NCS Division I quarterfinal.

Granada (16-12) played tough defense and allowed California (18-10) double-digit scoring in only the fourth quarter when the Grizzlies scored 11 points.

Alexa Pletschette had 11 points for Granada, all of them in the second half, including three 3-point baskets.

For California, which had a 54-46 win over Granada on Jan. 20 in an East Bay Athletic League game, Trinity Chu had 14 points and Taylor Lim nine, all on 3-point baskets.

Jerry McDonald, Darren Sabedra, Glenn Reeves, Joseph Dycus and Mike Lefkow contributed to this report.