Carlmont’s Nate Wong drives past M-A’s Jalen Williams during the Scots’ 54-45 win over the Bears Friday night in Atherton. With the win, Carlmont is the last undefeated team in the PAL South Division standings.
There is only one undefeated boys’ basketball team in the Peninsula Athletic League South Division standings after Friday night.
And it’s not necessarily who you might think. It’s not one of the league’s blue bloods — but blue is a major color in the school’s color scheme.
Friday’s game against the Bears represented the first real test for Carlmont (6-0 PAL South, 11-5 overall) and the Scots passed with flying colors. With the score tied at 40-all with 4:16 left to play, Carlmont outscored M-A (5-2, 11-6) 14-5 down the stretch.
It was a crucial win for the Scots’ confidence because they won’t have a lot of time to bask in this win. They’ll host M-A Monday night in Belmont, with games against Burlingame and rival Sequoia still looming in the coming weeks.
“[The win Friday night] kind of validates our mental toughness,” said Carlmont head coach Ron Ozorio. “We knew we would be in for a test.”
Carlmont was led by Matthew Abiezzi, who finished with 15 points and four rebounds. Enzo Carvalho-Goncalves added 14 for the Scots, while Nate Wong chipped in 11 points to go along with seven board.
M-A got a game-high 16 points from Ryan Anderson, and nine points each from Jalen Williams and Johno Price.
Carlmont’s mental toughness we put to the test in the second half. After leading 27-19 at halftime, the Scots built their lead to 12 midway through the third quarter, 37-25, when Abiezzi flipped in a shot off a drive to the hoop with 4:28 left in the period.
M-A, which had struggled with inconsistency all game long, finally found a rhythm. It started with an Anderson 3-pointer which ignited a 9-0 run. Williams followed with a nifty up-and-under layup and Anderson added a steal and layup to cut the Carlmont lead to 37-34.
The Scots stabilized by getting an Carvalho-Goncalves steal and layup to end the quarter and Ben Lefer hit 1-of-2 free throws to open the fourth quarter and push the Scots lead back to six, 40-34.
M-A’s Ryan Anderson knocks down one of his two 3-pointers during the Bears’ 54-45 loss to Carlmont.
Nathan Mollat/Daily JournalBut Anderson came up with a steal and layup before hitting the and-1 free throw and when Price knocked down a 3 — on the Bears’ third attempt of the possession — it tied the game at 40, the first time since 3-all.
“We could have folded there,” Ozorio said.
Instead, the staggered Scots punched back. They came up with a couple of M-A turnovers and when Wong connected on a driving layup, it gave Carlmont the lead for good, 42-40. Lefer followed with a layup off a steal and the Scots were back in control.
“We just need to learn how to win the close games,” said M-A head coach Mike Molieri. “Our struggles right now, come crunch time, we just don’t know how to execute.
“[Carlmont] just beat us. They made plays when it counted.”
Lefer finished with nine points and came up with five rebounds, four of which came in the final quarter. Ozorio had high praise for both Lefer and his other post teammate, Tripp Garrish, who provided a physical presence inside.
“We were ready for physical play inside,” Ozorio said. “It we want to be tough, it starts with Lefer and Garrish. They do all the dirty work.”
The Scots finish was a reward for their strong start. Abiezzi knocked down a corner 3 for the first points of the game, Wong connected on a pair of free throws and Carvalho-Goncalves knocked down a 3 and the Scots were off and running — showing off a balanced scoring attack that has been key to their success this season.
“That’s the way we are,” Ozorio said. “We have seven guys who can score.”
Things were definitely going the Scots’ way when Carvalho-Goncalves converted the rare four-point play — getting fouled as he drained a 3 and then hit on the free throw for a 17-7 Carlmont lead with a minute-and-a-half left in the opening quarter and leading 19-10 after one.
Both offenses bogged down in the second quarter and despite having the opportunity to put some distances between themselves and the Bears, the Scots could not manage to put M-A away.
For all the defensive work the Bears were doing, however, it was not translating on the other end as they struggled with their shooting all game long.
The Bears hit on just 29% of their shots (16 for 55). Carlmont, on the hand, shot 43% (19 for 44).
“We did a good job wearing them out on defense,” Molieri said. “We had look. … We just didn’t capitalize.”
Sports Editor
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