Burlingame boys’ basketball wins second CCS title in nine months

“To get the opportunity to play at home made it even more special,” said head coach Jeff Dowd, whose name will be emblazoned on a second banner after needing more than two decades to earn his first. “It was a great crowd, and it carried the boys to victory.”

Fourth-seeded Aptos (22-5) led 37-33 early in the fourth behind the mastery of point guard Cameron Saldana, who scored a game-high 30 points, but Burlingame took the lead for good on Carson Robenalt’s 3-pointer with 6:10 remaining. It was Robenalt’s lone basket of the night, and it came off an inbound play that counted as one of Sean Richardson’s nine assists, matching a Division III championship record set by Riordan’s Eddie Stansberry in 2016.

Richardson didn’t score until the fourth quarter, but totaled six points in the final frame, with five coming in the 11-2 run that put the hosts ahead for good. His and-1 with 6:51 remaining gave Burlingame a 39-37 lead, and his drive to the basket put the Panthers ahead 44-39 with 5:31 on the clock.

“We tire out every single team we play by the third or fourth quarter,” Richardson said. “We’ve played some tough teams, but by the last couple minutes of the third or fourth, we throw that last punch at them.”

His final assist came on a Jacob Yamagishi 3-pointer from the wing with 2:11 to go, restoring a five-point advantage. Yamagishi, who was sidelined by injuries for most of his sophomore and junior seasons and didn’t play in the June 2021 championship victory over Santa Cruz, scored a team-high 20 points.

“I’m so proud of Jacob,” Dowd said. “Last year was tough on him, and he was hurt early this year. Through all that, he never stopped working on his game and he kept believing in himself.”

On a night where the Panthers made just 7 of 29 3-point attempts, Yamagishi was Burlingame’s one reliable shooter, knocking down 5 of his 7 tries from downtown. He hit a pair in the first quarter that his team closed with a 13-9 lead, drained one on the opening possession of the third quarter for a 30-21 advantage and sank one early in the fourth after Saldana’s and-1 put Aptos ahead by four.

Burlingame was largely able to handle Mariners center Jack Spinelli, limiting the 6-5 center to eight points and nine rebounds, but Saldana was a one-man show. He scored all 12 of his team’s points in the second quarter, including a 3-pointer with a hand in his face, and scored seven during a 13-3 third quarter run to put his team up 34-33.

“He has all my respect,” Richardson said of Saldana. “He’s the best player we’ve seen.”

Tyler Mausehund flew through the lane for a put-back with 1:10 left, his lone basket of the night, to put Burlingame up 51-44. Saldana capped off his performance with two free throws with 46.8 remaining, but Will Uhrich made two free throws with 32.3 left and both Yamagishi and Richardson made one in the final 25 seconds to seal it.

Uhrich scored 10 in the first half and 14 for the game, driving to the basket with force. His offensive evolution has been instrumental in Burlingame’s current six-game winning streak; the football standout largely abandoned shooting 3-pointers in favor of working his way to the basket.

“He’s always been strong driving to the basket, especially against bigger defenders,” Dowd said.

For the season, Uhrich has made just 16% of his 3-point attempts but boasts a 51% mark from inside the arc. His shift in approach has taken the Panthers from upset losses to the likes of Aragon and San Mateo to a team that authoritatively marched to a second straight section crown, and will now embark on its first state tournament trip since 2014, when Frankie Ferrari averaged 22.4 points per game as a senior.

The Panthers open play in the CIF Northern California Division III tournament Tuesday as the No. 9 seed, traveling to meet No. 8 San Ramon Valley at 6 p.m.

Also in the Division III tournament, No. 12 Menlo-Atherton travels to No. 5 Vanden-Fairfield, Tuesday, for an 8 p.m. tipoff.