Las Positas had limited a high-scoring Los Medanos team to only 34 points and trailed by two. But the Mustangs used a 18-4 run in the second half to take a 14-point lead with 10 minutes, 13 seconds remaining, and they led by at least eight the rest of the way in an 81-69 win.

"I liked the tempo, I liked the flow," said Las Positas coach James Giacomazzi about most of the first half. "We were up 26-17, and then there was some miscommunication … and then they started kind of getting going.

"We were playing so tight (defensively) in the second half, they just started trying to turn the corner on us."

The 17^th-seeded Mustangs (21-8) also got to the free-throw line 24 times in the second half, 12 times more than the 16^th-seeded Hawks (17-12). Los Medanos made 18 of its second-half free throws.

Los Medanos' Devin Carson scored a game-high 30 points, including four of Los Medanos' six 3-pointers and 8-for-9 free-throw shooting. He averaged 22.8 points per game this season.

"They were top-20 in scoring, so I thought if we can just try to shave off six to seven points on their side and then we can score about our average, I thought we can get them in a tight ballgame late," Giacomazzi said. "But … they got their average (81 points) and we did not."

Alex Martin led the Hawks with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and the sophomore also had three assists. Martin, a Washington High School-Fremont graduate, is a first-team all-Coast Conference-North selection.

The Hawks also received double-figure scoring from freshman Sterling Mcclanahan with 14 points and 11 from sophomore Alex Ma.

In the first half, a putback by freshman Mecca Okereke gave Las Positas a 26-17 lead with 6:25 left in the half. But Carson immediately answered with a 3-pointer to start a 17-6 Los Medanos run to end the half.

The Hawks were within striking distance of the lead late in the game. A drive for a basket by freshman Elijah Mobley cut Los Medanos' lead to 77-69 with 1:20 remaining. But the Mustangs scored the last four points of the game on a close shot by Ramon Bailey and two free throws by Jalen Robertson.

Las Positas has nine freshmen, as it looks toward the future. "I like our freshman core," Giacomazzi said. "They got a lot of experience this year."

This is the ninth consecutive season that Las Positas has reached the playoffs under Giacomazzi. The Hawks went 4-2 in their final four conference games to nab the No. 16 seed in the playoffs. 

"We were top 20 in the state, 13-3 in nonconference, and then we got stuck and lost four games by two possessions or less," said Giacomazzi about the season. "We took a lot of lumps learning the hard way, and our league was really good. … In the second half of conference, we played much better."