Natalia Rubinelli of St. Vincent, middle, fights for a loose ball with Maeli Gordon, left, and Lainee Delapo of Ukiah, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Rohnert Park. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Natalia Rubinelli of St. Vincent is fouled by Isabella Mowery of Ukiah, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Rohnert Park. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Lara Urfer, left, and Andrea Hartmann of St. Vincent block the shot of Dana Cabada of Ukiah, aturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Rohnert Park. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Samantha Sarlatte of St. Vincent and Maya Wollitz of Ukiah tip it off to start the game, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Rohnert Park. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Samantha Sarlatte of St. Vincent, steals the basketball away from Dana Cabada of Ukiah, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Rohnert Park. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Ukiah defenders, from left, Aaliyah Wilson, Maya Wollitz, and Dana Cabada put pressure on Samantha Sarlatte of St. Vincent, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Rohnert Park. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
George Chaput of St. Vincent drives to the basket, guarded closely by Luke Morie of Rancho Cotate, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Jack Ellis of St. Vincent drives to the hoop against Rancho Cotate, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Izayah Rush of Rancho Cotate breaks the St. Vincent press, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Jack Ellis of St. Vincent brings down a rebound over Rancho Cotate, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Jack Ellis of St. Vincent celebrates a basket and the potential for a three point play after being fouled by Rancho Cotate, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Izayah Rush of Rancho Cotate scraps for a rebound over Bruno Koetz of St. Vincent, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
Luki Morie of Rancho Cotate drives the lane against St. Vincent, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
The Rancho Cotate student section celebrates a three point bucket by Jordan Alvarez, against St. Vincent, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
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Natalia Rubinelli of St. Vincent, middle, fights for a loose ball with Maeli Gordon, left, and Lainee Delapo of Ukiah, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Rohnert Park. (Kent Porter / The Press Democrat)
An electric fourth-quarter comeback by St. Vincent’s boys basketball team secured the league tournament title for the Mustangs in a Saturday night thriller against host team Rancho Cotate.
St. Vincent entered the final quarter of the North Bay League Redwood division title contest down 16 points, but outscored the Cougars 25-7 in the frame to seize the victory.
Rancho Cotate maintained its lead all the way from early in the first quarter until St. Vincent tied it on a quick shot inside the key by junior Barrett Chaput with 34 seconds left.
The Cougars would go on to miss a layup and the Mustangs snagged the rebound.
St. Vincent head coach Nick Iacopi called a timeout with 17.9 seconds left. With the game tied at 62 and the ball in the hands of Mustangs senior guard George Chaput, he drove to his right and laid it off the glass to give St. Vincent the 64-62 lead with just 3.6 seconds remaining.
“He trusted in my ability to go score,” George said of his coach’s decision to put the ball in his hands with the game on the line.
“That was something that I just put in knowing that (Rancho Cotate head coach James) Slade is amazing at scouting and knows everything I’m running,” Iacopi said. “It’s like a real hard chess match.”
The Mustangs forced a turnover in the last seconds to secure the victory and the upset of the tournament’s top-seeded Cougars. St. Vincent, seeded No. 2 for the tournament, was 0-2 in the regular season against Rancho Cotate.
“They believed they were going to win if they kept fighting, even when they were down,” Iacopi said of his players. “We’ve been on a roller coaster all year.”
George Chaput finished with a team-high 15 points for St. Vincent. Junior Dylan Chelew had 13 points and senior Jack Ellis added 12 for the Mustangs.
“We knew that if we play as a team, play together, we can break down the press, break down their defense and chip back — and we did just that,” George Chaput said.
Rancho Cotate senior Jordan Alvarez led the Cougars with 24 points, 18 of which came off three-pointers. Cougars sophomore Izayah Rush was the second-leading scorer with 21. Alvarez and Rush were the only Rancho Cotate players scoring in double digits.
Slade was proud of Rancho’s play but said there’s a lesson for his team before the North Coast Section playoffs begin.
“That’s kind of been our Achilles heel. Having great leads and then giving them away,” he said.
He also acknowledged it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season.
“Losing kind of wakes you up and it shows our guys that no lead is ever enough,” Slade said. “We’ve done it way too many times this year and I hope that this is the one where we actually learn from it.”
Ukiah girls triumph
The top-seeded Ukiah girls team beat No. 3 St. Vincent 56-39 earlier Saturday to open the NBL-Redwood doubleheader.
First-year Ukiah head coach Adrian Lopez credited his team’s defense for their success this season, which included a 10-0 record in league play.
“I think the biggest thing that we have is a culture around defense,” Lopez said. “Our defense adjusts and is very complicated to figure out.”
Ukiah junior Lainee Delapo led the way for the Wildcats on Saturday night, scoring a team-high 22 points, going 8-for-16 from the field and 4-for-7 from three-point range.
Wildcats sophomore Aaliyah Wilson made a big impact on the glass, grabbing 18 rebounds — 11 on defense and seven on offense. She also had three steals and tied with senior Maya Wollitz as the Wildcats’ second-leading scorers, with 11 points each.
“Last year, they got here and they lost this game,” Lopez said of his team. “So this is a big one for us.”