Burlingame boys stun Santa Cruz to claim CCS Division III basketball crown

“It just feels great,” Dowd said. “I’m so proud of the kids, the grit they showed and how resilient they were. Sean (Richardson) made some huge shots and they just went out there and gave an unbelievable effort.”

No matter how big or small Dowd’s teams are, no matter whether they’re underclassmen or seniors, defense has been a constant for the Panthers, and it showed up in a big way on Saturday. Second-seeded Burlingame (11-4) held the Cardinals 22 points lower than their season average, only allowing double-digit points in one quarter.

Santa Cruz (19-1) did score 15 points in the third, with sophomore Aden Curry tallying six of his team-high 12 in the period, but the Cardinals could only draw even once in the final period when Kosi Warren-House hit a 3 to even the score at 33 with 5:20 left. Out of a timeout, Richardson dished off a perfect pass to Lou Martineau, who scored his only points of the night to put the visitors in front for good.

Doubtful to play after injuring his ankle in Tuesday’s quarterfinal win over Aptos, Martineau not only started and scored the go-ahead basket, but also played baseball earlier in the day as Burlingame topped Carmel in the CCS quarterfinals, 7-5. Martineau drew a walk and drove in a run, and his lone basket was one of just five Panther two-pointers.

Richardson sealed the game with a pair of 3s from well beyond NBA range, both with the shot clock winding down. The first gave Burlingame a 38-33 lead with two minutes left, and the latter served as the dagger, giving the Panthers a six-point lead with 14.4 left.

“I practice the deep ones since you never know when you’ll need them,” Richardson said.

The referees put 0.8 seconds back on the clock after a basket by Warren-House and a timeout, but the added time simply meant the Panthers got to celebrate twice with a group that’ll be back next year in full. Only one senior saw the floor during Saturday’s game.

Leading the junior-heavy core was Richardson, who scored a game-high 13 points, and Will Uhrich, who finished with seven points, eight rebounds and four charges drawn.

“When I can’t score, I just try to focus on defending and bringing energy,” said Uhrich, who also plays football. “The charges bring energy to the fans and the guys on the bench.”

Points were tough to come by all night, with Burlingame going scoreless from the field until M.J. Dowd, Jeff’s sophomore son, knocked down a deep three to close the first quarter, trimming the Santa Cruz lead to 8-4. Burlingame took the lead for the first time on a Richardson 3 midway through the second, led 18-15 at half and went up by as much as seven during the third before the Cardinals closed the quarter on a 6-0 run.