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BELMONT —On Friday night, Menlo-Atherton nearly cemented its case as a candidate for the Central Coast Section Open Division when the boys basketball brackets are announced on Feb. 13.
The Bears clinched a PAL South title for the third time in four years after securing a 15th–straight victory with a 53-36 rout at Carlmont.
The last time M-A lost? A 60-59 nail-biter on Dec. 22 against Archbishop Mitty, currently tied atop the WCAL standings.
“Our résumé is strong every year and it’s as strong as it could be this year,” M-A coach Mike Molieri said. “It’s been a great year and we’re not done.”
Carlmont (18-4, 8-2 PAL South) entered senior night with an identical overall record, but when 6-foot-8 center Ben Ledwith picked up his second foul barely two minutes after tip-off and was forced to sit on the bench the game plan basically went out the window.
“We lost our composure a little bit,” said Carlmont coach Ron Ozorio, whose team lost 65-62 at M-A on Jan. 11. “We were so charged up and it just wasn’t happening for us. Off to the wrong foot and we wanted this game really bad.”
The Bears (19-3, 10-0) closed out the first quarter on a 9-0 run and led 26-19 at the half.
Things got out of hand after intermission after M-A took command in the third quarter to move ahead 48-26.
How best to explain the increased intensity out of the locker room?
“I hold these guys accountable, that’s the bottom line,” Molieri said.
“He gets on us if we’re not playing well, if we’re making mistakes,” M-A guard James Beckwith said. “I mean, he corrects our mistakes, but mostly it’s all about keeping us focused and getting us to play with energy.”
Molieri deflected some of the praise to Beckwith and fellow senior Will Beasley, both three-year varsity players.
“They’ve done a great job of cultivating the locker room,” Molieri said. “The kids like each other and they enjoy playing together, and I think that’s an important thing for these guys — and that’s why we’re successful, too.”
Only junior Nick Tripaldi finished in double digits for the Bears with a game-high 13 points, but seven different players accounted for at least five points in a balanced effort.
“We’re the sum of our parts,” Molieri said. “Everybody chips in and we’re not just about one player.”
The Scots got a team-high 10 points out of Lajuan Nelson, but struggled on the free-throw line to the tune of 6-of-19.
Meanwhile, M-A refused to settle for 3-pointers while going 12-of-15 from the charity stripe.
“Our goal is to keep attacking the basket,” Molieri said. “We’re just trying to get these guys to go downhill and teach these guys getting to the free-throw line.”
Carlmont still finds itself in second place, one game ahead of Hillsdale and Mills — both 7-3 in the PAL South.
There is no longer room for error with two regular-season games left prior to the four-team PAL Tournament to be held at Sequoia on Jan. 11-12.
“We fought hard,” Ozorio said. “It wasn’t our night, but we’ve played at that speed and that level before, so we’re familiar with it. Tonight we didn’t rise to the occasion.”
He added: “These games make us better. It has in the past and we want to see them again.”
It could happen, though M-A guaranteed itself a higher seed as PAL South champion.
“When we were working in the weight room all offseason and all that stuff we were just thinking about winning league and going on to the Open,” Beckwith said. “And hitting all those goals, it feels really good to get that win tonight.”
He added: “I think we belong in the Open and I think we’ll get there if we keep our foot on the pedal and win out these next few games.”
Girls: M-A 42, Carlmont 40
A streak of four-straight PAL South titles will come to an end this year for the Bears.
Not accustomed to playing the role of spoiler, M-A (11-10) ruined senior night for Carlmont (17-5, 8-2), which fell out of a tie atop the standings with rival Sequoia (18-4, 9-1).
“They came out and played hard, they were determined to win this game,” said M-A coach Markisha Coleman, who opened the season with only four players previously above the JV level. “We’ve been looking better in practice and during games, so I’m definitely proud of them with the way they fought.”
She added: “We’re a new team, we’re just getting used to playing with each other. These are great games where we need to learn from.”
The Bears, who qualified for the CCS playoffs by guaranteeing themselves a .500 record in league, got a team-high 13 points from Linnea Lindblom, responsible for the go-ahead bucket with fewer than three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Ashley Trierweiler recorded a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Scots, who earlier this season also fell 44-41 at M-A.
Carlmont finishes its regular season next Friday in a possible first-place showdown at Sequoia, which it defeated 41-36 at home on Jan. 18.
Elsewhere
Boys
• No. 1 Salesian 61, El Cerrito 45: Top-ranked team in BANG rankings stays undefeated at 26-0.
• No. 3 De La Salle 57, San Ramon Valley 55 (OT)
• No. 7 San Leandro 85, Berkeley 47
• No. 8 Bishop O’Dowd 67, Mt. Eden 60
• No. 12 Campolindo 63, Acalanes 51
• Clayton Valley Charter 80, No. 14 College Park 72
• No. 17 Monte Vista 53, California 50
• No. 18 Liberty 66, Deer Valley 43
• Freedom 66, No. 20 Heritage 61
• No. 23 Dougherty Valley 58, No. 22 Amador Valley 58
• No. 24 Leland 72, Santa Teresa 69
• No. 25 Albany 74, Hercules 62
Girls
• No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 94, No. 14 St. Ignatius 50: Stanford-bound senior Haley Jones had a night with 27 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks for the fourth-ranked team in the nation according to MaxPreps.com.
• No. 2 Carondelet 89, No. 10 San Ramon Valley 65
• No. 6 Heritage 47, Freedom 36
• No. 9 California 71, Monte Vista 44
• No. 16 Palo Alto 55, Los Gatos 37
• No. 25 tie Acalanes 56, Campolindo 28
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