Salinas opened up a tight game with a strong fourth quarter and went on for a 73-62 win over Santa Teresa Saturday night at Piedmont Hills to advance to the CCS Division I semifinals. The Cowboys (21-5) will face top-seeded Bellarmine (16-11) Wednesday night at Independence. Santa Teresa, the defending CCS Division I champs, ends its season at 12-13.
The fifth-seeded Cowboys got past the fourth-seeded Saints despite another big night from Santa Teresa star Trevor Priest, who went for 29 points on 12-of-23 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three-point range to go along with 14 rebounds. Derek King added 18 points for Santa Teresa, which also got 10 points and 11 rebounds from junior forward Christian Paolinetti.
Salinas led just 55-53 heading into the fourth quarter but outscored Santa Teresa 18-9 to cruise to the mild upset victory.
