El Camino wins big to open Central Coast Section Division III boys’ basketball tournament

Elco opened on a 13-0 run, benefitting from Gunderson’s inability to control the ball. The Grizzlies (9-11) committed 27 turnovers in the game, including turning it over on each of their first nine possessions.

“They don’t shoot the 3,” El Camino head coach Boe Egipto said. “So, we kind of packed it in. … It looked like they didn’t want to shoot, and we kept it that way.”

In fact, El Camino had 15 made shots in the first half. That was more shots than Gunderson attempted, as the Grizzlies shot 5 of 12 from the field in the first half. The Colts went on to shoot at a 55.3% clip (26 of 47) on the night.

El Camino senior Jonathon Claybon led all scorers with 18 points and was critical to his team’s fast start. While the Colts finished their regular-season slate in the Peninsula Athletic League North Division scoring at a steady clip, Claybon said the Colts were still haunted by some poor shooting games earlier in the season, specifically their Jan. 21 rivalry game with South City, in which a slow start led to a 45-42 loss.

“Our coaches got on us about bad starts,” Claybon said. “So, to start off CCS, we wanted to make sure we didn’t start off flat, that we start off hot and started off fast, and that’s what we did.”

Pressure defense, takeaways and transition finishes fueled the early run, sparked by a three-point by point guard Nick Santos, who was fouled on a layup and buried the and-1 to open the game.

The key to El Camino’s success, though, was the team’s depth. The Colts were forced to adjust their lineup, as Santos slid into the starting point-guard role two weeks ago after senior Anthony Kallas sprained an ankle Jan. 29 against Oceana.

Santos got the job done with 16 points, six steals and three assists. But Kallas came off the bench to make his presence felt, including a big finish in the first half during which the senior was involved in the Colts’ final three scoring plays.

“I think that’s one of the No. 1 things we try to do as a team, is just making sure the ball is moving and making sure we’re all getting open shots,” Kallas said. “That’s something we’ve always built off of. It really helps us get runs, get the points on the board.”

With the Colts having doubled up Gunderson for a 33-16 lead, Kallas finished a dribble-drive into the paint by slinging a no-look pass between two defenders for a wide-open Claybon under the basket. The next time down the floor, Santos got Kallas back by kicking an assist pass to him for an easy layup. Then El Camino finished off the red-hot first half with Kallas assisting on a bucket by senior Joey Pierotti to go into halftime with a 39-16 lead.

“I always like to be the guy that gets us shots, gets us open shots,” Kallas said. “Because I’m not much of a scorer. But I definitely like getting my teammates involved.”

Then Claybon kept the foot on the throttle for the Colts to start the second half. The senior forward tallied 10 points in the third quarter, finishing the run with a flourish by coming up with a steal at midcourt and getting an open lane to the hoop to finish with a mighty one-handed dunk to set off the home crowd at El Camino.

“That kid’s a talent for sure,” Egipto said. “He’s one of a kind. He plays bigger than he really is.”

Egipto raved about the Colts’ depth, and with good cause. While starting guard Josh Harrold added nine points, El Camino got 27 points from its bench, including eight points from Kallas and seven points from senior Ethan Nguyen.

And while Claybon’s impressive dunk was a tough act to follow, the home crowd was equally as fired up at the big finish from reserve guard Franc Carulla. A recent addition to the varsity roster, the senior entered late and fired up the crown when he converted 4 of 4 free throws in the closing minutes.

Most of the nine seniors on El Camino’s roster have developed through the basketball program with Egipto, who was the junior-varsity coach three years ago. As he moved up to varsity head coach two years ago, the majority of the Class of 2022 moved with him.

“That was the key about having chemistry with these kids,” Egipto said. “It’s pretty rare to have them all four years, and I did.”

Gunderson senior Andrew Cortez scored a team-high 11 points.

With the win, El Camino has a quick turnaround. The Colts advance to Saturday’s second-round game, traveling to No. 8 Monterey for a 7 p.m. tipoff.