Burlingame boys’ basketball team goes cold in Burlingame Lions Club Tournament championship game

“I’m proud of the effort, but you have to make shots,” Dowd said.

Burlingame simply didn’t make enough of them. The Panthers managed to connect on just 12-of-45 field goal attempts, a chilly 26% shooting percentage. To compound matters, the Panthers went long stretches without any points. When Lou Martineau came up a steal and layup with 5:24 left in the first quarter, Burlingame led 5-2.

The Panthers didn’t hit another field until Martineau connected from deep for a 3-pointer with 4:51 in the second quarter.

That was a field-goal drought of eight minutes and 33 seconds, one that saw the Eagles take control of the game. The only points the Panthers got during that span was a pair of Kyle Haslam free throws with 10 seconds left in the opening quarter.

Los Altos, on the other hand, outscored Burlingame 18-5 during that time to take a 20-7 lead.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying the Panthers were coming up empty. It just happened to one of those nights when shots simply weren’t falling. They did a good job of attacking the basket, especially in the first quarter, but the Eagles blocked four shots in the opening eight minutes to let the Panthers know there would be no easy baskets.

“I think in the first quarter, we got good looks,” Dowd said. “In the second quarter, the looks didn’t seem too good.”

Part of Burlingame’s issues stemmed from the fact the Panthers were without its leader, point guard Sean Richardson, who had his left ankle in a cast and was on crutches after tearing ankle ligaments. Dowd said Richardson is out six weeks, minimum.

“Part (of our struggles) is adapting to the loss Sean and other players who are injured,” said Dowd, whose bench saw five players in street clothes.

It also didn’t help that Richardson’s backup, Jacob Yamagishi, who missed most of the 2021 spring season with injuries of his own, got in early foul trouble against Los Altos.

All of it added up to the Panthers’ first loss of the season.

Despite being down 20-7 with 5:45 left in the first half, the Panthers did make a small run. Martineau’s 3 was followed by a slashing drive for a layup from Will Uhrich and a pair of free throws from Tyler Mausehund and the Panthers were down just six, 20-14, with 2:11 to play.

Unfortunately for Burlingame, those free throws would be the last of the half as the Panthers went the final 2:11 without a point as Los Altos closed the half on a 10-0 run to lead 30-14 at halftime.

Carson Robenalt went on a personal crusade in the third quarter to keep Burlingame close. He opened the second half with a drive into the paint, followed by a putback. When he hit a 3 with 4:39 left in the quarter, Burlingame was down just 11, 32-21.

Again, the Panthers went cold from the field. They managed five more points the rest of the quarter, as the Eagles went on a 10-5 run. When Robenalt hit a corner 3 with under a minute to go in the third, he got the Panthers back to where they started the quarter — down 16 points — going into the fourth.

“Carson was a starter for us earlier in the year,” Dowd said. “But then he got sick. … He’s just rounding into form.”

Burlingame had one last rally in it. The Panthers opened the final period by outscoring the Eagles 10-5 and when Yamagishi hit a pair of free throws, Burlingame trailed by 11 again, 47-36, with just under four minutes to play.

But to finish off the theme of the night, the Panther managed to score just four more points the rest of the way.

Burlingame was led by Robenalt, who finished with 10 points. Yamagishi added 9 for the Panthers. Los Altos (5-1) was led by Andrew Reilly, who scored a game-high 16 points. Jake Skaggs had 11 points to go along with 9 rebounds — 5 of which came on the offensive end.

Burlingame, after winning four straight tournament titles from 2008 to 2011, was attempting to win the Lions Club title for the first time since that 2011 season.

Instead, it was Los Altos winning its inaugural Lions Club championship.

“I thought they were a really solid basketball team,” Dowd said. “On offense, they were very disciplined. … They’re length really bothered us.”

In other tournament action, Half Moon Bay beat Aragon 58-51 in the seventh-place game, while Menlo School topped Priory 53-43 in the consolation final. Hillsdale took a second-quarter lead over Stuart Hall, but couldn’t hold on as “The Hall” beat the Knights 47-41 in the third-place game.