Advantage Bears

After a fourth quarter that saw five lead changes, the M-A Bears (3-0 PAL South, 10-3 overall) got a clutch defensive stop with 10 seconds left to hold off the Scots for a 65-62 victory in a battle of unbeaten boys’ basketball teams in the Peninsula Athletic League South Division.

“I tried to tell the guys at the end of the night, the only thing you remember is the defensive stops,” M-A head coach Mike Molieri said. “… That’s what won the game at the end is a couple big defensive stops.”

M-A guard Nick Tripaldi knocked down a team-high 18 points, but it was the rebound he nabbed to finish off Carlmont’s final half-court possession that proved the highlight of the junior’s night.

With under 10 seconds to go and M-A clinging to a one-point advantage, Carlmont guard Lajuan Nelson fired up a 3-point attempt that careened off iron, with Tripaldi crashing in against a taller opponent to secure the board. Tripaldi then rocketed a pass up the court to M-A senior Will Beasley, who was all alone to score a deuce with 3.3 seconds to go.

“I just had the mindset of I’ve got to get this board to win the game and secure it,” Tripaldi said. “I saw the guy and boxed him out, and grabbed the rebound.”

Nelson said his 3-point attempt was a secondary plan, as the Scots were looking to get the ball into the post to big man Jake Kennedy. When the pass wasn’t there, Nelson — who accounted of one of Carlmont’s nine made 3s on the night — ran into a leaning attempt from beyond the arc.

“I thought it was going to go in,” Nelson said. “I should have followed it, though, to chase the rebound.”

M-A tied a taller Carlmont team in knots in the post throughout. The Bears countered the presence of Kennedy, at 6-5, and the 6-8 senior Ben Ledwith with aggressive, physical tactics that, at times, bordered on ball-yard rules. Kennedy scored a game-high 19 points, though most of those came from 3-point land or the free-throw line. And the two combined for just eight rebounds throughout.

“We knew what we were in for,” Carlmont head coach Ron Ozorio said. “[M-A] might not be tall but they’re extremely physical and they’re well coached. They’re the gold standard in our [league]. Anytime we can match up with them and play like with them like we did tonight, we’ll take that. We’re not happy with the loss. But we competed, and that’s No. 1.”

Carlmont (2-1, 12-3) was on its game in the first half. After M-A took a 9-7 lead in the first quarter, the Scots went on an 11-0 run. Then in the second quarter, the 3s started splashing. At one point, the two teams combined for four made 3s on four alternating possessions.

The Scots took a 34-31 lead into halftime, but M-A hit the throttle in the second half. While Carlmont was comfortable from long range when its shooters had their legs under them, trying to run with the Bears proved to take a bite out of the Scots’ shooting efficiency.

“They’re definitely fast,” Ozorio said. “And we got a little rattled there. We shot some 3s that maybe we shouldn’t have. But that’s what we do. We do shoot the 3. We try to get up shots. So, I don’t have any problem with most of those.”

Carlmont was 3 of 5 from beyond the arc in the third quarter, but just 1 of 4 in the fourth.

“We’re quicker,” Tripaldi said. “So we just have to play harder than them.”

Tripaldi knocked down four 3s in the game. Senior forward Heath Hooper and junior guard Justin Anderson added eight points apiece for the Bears.

Anderson enjoyed a big finish in the first half. With the Scots up 29-22, the junior made back-to-back buckets, then two possessions later produced a big assist to senior James Beckwith, who was cutting up the baseline and powered through to cut the deficit to 33-31.

To start the second half, Anderson came up with steal and converted in transition to tie it 37-37. Hooper followed with a bucket to give the Bears their first lead since early in the first quarter.

“[Anderson] comes in there and gives us some energy,” Molieri said. “He did in the third quarter. He runs to the basket downhill, and that’s our approach with him. And he made some great passes.”

Through three league games, M-A is now tied for first place in the PAL South with Mills, as the Vikings also improved to 3-0 in league Friday with a 33-18 win over Burlingame.

Still, M-A isn’t taking to heart any favorable prognosticating that it is the team to beat in the South.

“We’re not that far from other teams; we’ve got a long way to go,” Molieri said. “I compliment Carlmont. They were intense … they were making shots. So, there’s not that big of a difference between us and Carlmont.”