Alma Heights takes lead in PSAL North

The Eagles (5-0 PSAL North, 12-2 overall) extended their winning streak in Private School Athletic League North Division play to 57 games Tuesday night with a 54-36 win at home over Summit-Shasta (4-1, 9-2). And, other than not being able to put the ball in the basket for the opening four minutes, it was pretty much all Alma Heights.

“Usually that’s not how we play,” Alma Heights senior Lucas Sotto said of the slow start. “But when that stuff happens, we’ve just got to stay composed, refocus and just play our game. And once that first basket gets in, that’s when things got going.”

It wasn’t long before Alma Heights started doing what it does best — hitting the throttle and not letting up. It’s a surefire formula, which has perpetuated the current league win streak that started in the 2012-13 season. The Eagles shared a PSAL North championship that season, and have since won four outright league titles.

Last year, the biggest challenger to Alma Heights in the league standings was Nueva School, a 5-year-old San Mateo private school that joined the Central Coast Section and the PSAL in 2016-17. Nueva School finished in second place, its only two loses coming to Alma Heights.

This year, Summit-Shasta — a 5-year-old charter school in Daly City — joined the CCS and PSAL. Alma Heights and Summit-Shasta entered play Tuesday tied atop the PSAL North standings. But those old Eagles staples of pressure defense, surefire passing and momentum 3-point shooting proved as effective as ever.

“We don’t need the momentum to make our baskets,” Lucas Sotto said. “But once we start going, it’s going to be hard to stop us.”

Trailing 4-2 with three minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Eagles got cooking. Two factors changed the complexion of the game. The big one for Summit-Shasta was a first-quarter injury to sophomore forward Jerome Odhams, who hobbled off with a high ankle sprain.

Then there was the full-court press of Alma Heights, which served as a wakeup call. Summit-Shasta committed 16 turnovers in the game, with seven of them coming in the opening period. Playing the takeaway game set a 10-0 run in motion for Alma Heights.

“We weren’t really doing things on offense, so we knew we had to shake things up on defense,” Lucas Sotto said. “Once things started going on defense, it channeled into offense.”

The Eagles went on to enjoy two 10-0 runs in the first half. With this, frustrations were evident among the Summit-Shasta ranks, especially after being able to keep Alma Heights off the scoreboard for so long.

“Honestly, we played great defense for the first three minutes,” Summit-Shasta head coach Jorge Chevez said. “But we couldn’t score. … You can’t win if you don’t put the ball in the basket.”

Through the first half, Summit-Shasta shot just 15 percent (3 of 20) from the field. And the Black Bears got buried from beyond the 3-point arc as, in the second quarter, Lucas Sotto knocked down two 3s and his younger brother Diego Sotto added another.

“They hit big shots,” Chevez said. “That’s why they’re the top team in this league.”

Lucas Sotto scored a game-high 17 points and matched the game-high with eight rebounds. He totaled three 3s in the game, but it was a 3-point play he manufactured from the free-throw line that was his most impressive of the night.

Both teams shot abysmally from the stripe. Alma Heights converted 7 of 13 free throws, while Summit-Shasta hit just 9 of 24. But Lucas Sotto took the sting out of these numbers by missing the second of two free throws, but storming in for his own rebound and converting a quick layup.

“That’ huge because, especially Lucas, you can see it out there, he’s full go always,” Bermudez said. “He’s really good at those hustle plays.”

As a team, Alma Heights’ ability to distribute was just as huge. The Eagles totaled 15 assists as a team, paced by Diego Sotto and senior guard Spencer Panis with four apiece.

Summit-Shasta senior Lasalle Manning hit as many free throws as Alma Heights did as a team, going 7 of 12 from the stripe to total a team-high nine points. The 6-foot forward also shared the game-high of eight rebounds with teammate Justin Aranda and Lucas Sotto.

“[Manning] does a lot because he’s our best athlete,” Chevez said.

Summit-Shasta senior Nicolas Radoc hit two fourth-quarter 3s to add eight points. Bumgarner added 10 points for Alma Heights.