Burlingame takes tourney

More importantly, however, the win came against Riordan, the 2002 division III state champions and a member of the vaunted West Catholic Athletic League.

"[The championship] is great for our program," said Burlingame coach Jeff Dowd. "A quality win (like this) will help us in [the Central Coast Section playoffs]."

Burlingame (5-1) was not at its best, but it got contributions up and down the roster to beat a taller Riordan squad. The Crusaders crushed a very good Sequoia team 64-50 in the semifinals Thursday night, outrebounding the Cherokees 46-19.

The Crusaders held the rebounding edge over Burlingame on Friday night as well, but the Panthers did enough work on the boards to keep pace with Riordan. The Crusaders outrebounded the Panthers 35-24, but the difference came in the fourth quarter when Riordan pulled down 13 rebounds.

But the two biggest boards of the night went to Burlingame. With the Panthers nursing an eight-point lead, 45-37, Riordan's Kevin Tran went to the free-throw line to shoot a 1-and-1. He missed the front end and Burlingame's Nick Polidoroff ripped down the rebound. Seconds later, Riordan's Isaac Johnson went to the line in a similar situation.

Same result. He missed the shot and Polidoroff was there for the rebound. Polidoroff finished with seven rebounds for the game.

"I can't say enough about him," Dowd said.

With Burlingame holding its own on the boards, the difference came down to shooting. Riordan outshot Burlingame 60-45, but the Panthers connected on six 3-pointers compared to just one for Riordan.

"That's phenomenal for us to win when they get 15 more shots," Dowd said.

Burlingame point guard Drew Shiller was on fire in the first quarter, scoring nine of his team-high 12 points in the opening eight minutes.

With Shiller struggling from the field the rest of the game, the Panthers got contributions from their two shooting guards, Nick Buckley and Chris Nakiso. The two combined for 14 points, including three 3-pointers.

Buckley scored six of his eight points in a 20-second span near the end of the first half. First, he drilled a 3-pointer to turn a 17-15 lead into a 20-15 advantage. Moments later he came up with a steal, drove the length of the floor, flipped up a shot while fouled and hit the ensuing free throw to give Burlingame a 23-15 lead with 3:24 left in the half.

"That's the best game [Buckley's] put together here at Burlingame," Dowd said. "He gave us a lift."

Nakiso's only two baskets — both 3-pointers — came at critical times in the second half. His first with 22 seconds left in the third quarter expanded Burlingame's lead to 10, 37-27. Early in the fourth, Nakiso's second 3-pointer gave the Panthers their largest lead of the game 43-28.

"We came in with a lot of questions, (especially) about our toughness," Dowd said. "Look what [Riordan] did against a good Sequoia team, a good South City team. We didn't play up to our capability and still got the win."

In the third-place game, Andre Belion scored 18 and Saul Chavez added 17 as Sequoia beat Gunn 58-48. In the consolation final, Hillsdale blasted Los Altos, 62-40. Pat Drieth led the way for the Knights, scoring a game-high 22 points. Renato Hodzic and Preston Steele each added 13.