Burlingame right at home in Nor Cals

Playing in front of a packed house, and the Burlingame pep band making a rare appearance to boot, the Panthers (20-9) took care of business to end Bret Harte’s season with a 52-38 victory.

“We knew coming in it was going to be packed,” Burlingame sophomore Scott Cornelius said. “We invited a lot of people, so we kind of had to show up for them. The last home game of the season. So, we knew we had to put on a show, and that’s what we did.”

It took Burlingame some time to get its offense going. In fact, over four minutes elapsed before the Panthers scored their first points of the contest on a step-back 3-pointer from sophomore Lucca Maher with 3:31 to go in the first period.

“[Bret Harte] did a good job of packing the paint, and we, at first, were just finding our shooters to start the game,” Burlingame head coach David Lopez said. “And after that, after our boys got settled in, they finally started making the easy play and got our guys going.”

The Bullfrogs (31-2), who entered play with just one overall loss on the season in 32 games, looked to spread the offense early on. The shots weren’t falling at first, but senior forward Sawyer Maurer and company produced some clutch offensive rebounds. Maurer scored eight of his nine points in the first quarter, including two put-backs to give Bret Harte an early 6-3 lead.

Burlingame, meanwhile, started off an ice-cold 0 for 5 from the floor.

“That just happens sometimes,” Cornelius said. “We were getting any look we wanted, they just weren’t falling. So, coach got some of the dudes off the bench to get in. We’ve got some shooters, we start looking for them, and then when shots fall, it gets contagious. And that’s how we get going.”

Cornelius and junior forward Max Robenalt came off the bench to dial in the shooting, big time. Robenalt hit a first-quarter 3 to spark a 6-1 run that overcame an early deficit, and tie it 9-all. Cornelius then knocked down two 3s in the second quarter, including a splash out of the corner to give the Panthers a 17-15 lead. The sophomore’s second 3 on an inside-out assist pass from senior Payton Fong Heady capped an 8-0 run.

“Me and Max, we just have a connection like that,” Cornelius said. “So, it’s good to see us both succeed in a game.”

The Panthers never trailed again, with their bench accounting for 15 points, all from Cornelius and Max Robenalt.

“That’s what they do, especially Scotty and Max,” Lopez said. “They’re two of our best shooters on our whole team, and our whole bench, honestly, all can shoot it. So, they did their job, and I’m so proud of them for coming through when we needed it most.”

Maher steadied the interior from there. While the Bullfrogs out-rebounded Burlingame 34-24 overall — with a game-high 11 boards from the 6-2 Maurer, and 6-4 junior center Triston Plowman adding nine points and seven rebounds — Maher, a 6-4 sophomore, used his length to detour Bret Harte from driving to the hoop.

Maher finished with a game-high 18 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds.

Both teams took some time to break the seal in the second half. But after Bret Harte senior Mason Williams scored a layup over two minutes into the third period, Burlingame’s aggressive man defense went on lockdown, spurring a 9-0 Panthers run., fueled by back-to-back corner 3s from Robenalt.

The Bullfrogs shot 41.5% from the floor, but didn’t score a 3 through the first three quarters. They bounced back with two in the fourth, with Williams scoring from the corner, and senior Tumiso Owens connecting from up top, cutting Burlingame’s lead to single digits 43-34 midway through the closing period.

“They got a little bit of momentum,” Lopez said, “and we learned what that momentum can do for a team.”

The Panthers were on the winning end of an unlikely comeback in their Central Coast Section Division II quarterfinal win 61-52 at Westmont-Campbell. Burlingame trailed 10 points in the fourth quarter, only to go on a 20-2 run to win it.

“So, it was crucial for us just to slow their momentum down,” Lopez said, “slow the pace down, and really just settle our guys down and focus for the moment. So, our guys handled that little run well, and at the end of the game they really stepped up for us.”

It was Maher who took the game in hand late, coming out of a timeout to get downhill for a driving layup. After senior guard Jean-Luc Uharriet came up with a steal to score in transition, Maher followed with a steal of his own and got fouled at the other end. Maher made 1 of 2 free throws, then scored the next time down the floor to up the lead to 50-34 and put the game on ice.

Uharriet finished with 10 points for the Panthers, who shot at a 43.9% clip. Williams tallied a team-high 10 points for Bret Harte.

The Panthers now match the best Nor Cal march in program history, advancing to Saturday’s regional semifinals. Burlingame last got as far in 2022-23, falling in the CIF Division IV regional semifinals 50-47 at Chico in former head coach Jeff Dowd’s final game at the helm.

Burlingame will travel Saturday to Atherton to face No. 2 Sacred Heart Prep. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The two teams met in an exhibition game at the start of the season, with Burlingame winning on a Uharriet half-court buzzer-beater.