Half Moon Bay denies M-A in OT

With the win, first-place HMB finishes off a season sweep of M-A, and now maintains a one-game lead over second-place Carlmont in the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division standings. M-A — coming off four straight PAL South Division titles — is all but eliminated from the race for the Bay Division title in the PAL’s new power-league structure.

“Good teams find ways to win,” HMB head coach John Parsons said. “I tell our guys all the time, we pride ourselves on being a versatile team, and you’ve got to win different ways. And tonight we pulled it out. I don’t know exactly how, but we got it done.”

HMB forward Gio Garduno Martin heated up from 3-point land, and delivered his team to victory. The sophomore didn’t record a point in the first half, but emerged to convert five 3s and finish with a game-high 18 points. His corner 3 to open OT gave the Cougars their first lead of the night, a lead they’d never relinquish.

“I’m a shooter, it’s always ready,” Garduno Martin said. “It’s there.”

Garduno Martin’s first 3 of the night came with two minutes remaining in the third quarter to cut M-A’s lead to 34-29, but the Bears matched HMB point for point. A smooth, underhand layup from Garduno Martin with 25 seconds left in the third kept it in reach at 38-33.

Then came the rain in the fourth quarter, as Garduno Martin began pouring in the 3s. Still, the Cougars couldn’t catch M-A on the scoreboard. Garduno Martin got rolling when he pulled up from the perimeter on a transition break and drilled the 3 to get close at 40-39. But M-A produced a mini-run sparked by senior senior David Baron.

While Baron’s surprising exploits were for naught, the big senior — who only took over a starting role in recent weeks with M-A’s Trevor Cadigan and Johan Missan sidelined with injuries — seemed to be taking over the in the closing minutes of regulation. Baron’s gutsy offensive rebound and inside-out assist pass set up senior John Anderson for a perimeter splash. The next time down, Baron danced to the hoop for a soft-touch underhand layup to push the lead to 45-39. Then he denied HMB on the defensive side, meeting a dribble-drive with a blocked shot.

“Significant moment and he stepped up,” M-A head coach Mike Molieri said. “So, that’s definitely a positive thing for the team that he showed them that.”

Garduno Martin wasn’t done, though. Not by a long shot. More like three long shots, as he nailed back-to-back 3s down the stretch, including one from the top of the key with 36 seconds in regulation to tie it 45-45. Then, he almost won it at the end of regulation, disrupting an M-A inbound with four seconds on the clock with a quick steal and a half-court shot that banked the glass and drew iron, but was just off target.

A collective gasp could be heard around the M-A gym as the shot hung in the air. Garduno Martin said he didn’t notice the crowds reaction as he was in the zone. But it certainly seemed to have an effect on the four-minute overtime to follow.

“We love the energy and the crazy gyms,” Garduno Martin said. “We put in a lot of work. We were ready for pressure. ... We never quit. That’s just what keeps us winning all the time.”

M-A (3-3, 14-5) was sitting pretty early. The Bears jumped out to an 11-2 lead, paced by a pair of 3s by senior guard Justin Moore. HMB closed it to a one-score game four times prior to finally catching the Bears at the end of regulation, including at 19-16 midway through the second quarter on a perimeter 3 from senior Gavin Glynn, who finished with three 3s and 13 points.

Anderson matched Garduno Martin for the game-high with 18 points. But the Bears finished shooting just 31.7% from the field, including 3 for 16 from 3-point range. And they didn’t covert a single field goal in overtime.

“We’re struggling scoring,” Molieri said, “We haven’t hit close to 60 in the last week (without Cadigan and Missan in the lineup). That’s our struggle right now.”

HMB shot 42.6% from the floor, and made one more field goal than M-A despite taking 13 less shots. Still, M-A defense proved tough in the interior, forcing HMB to 3-point territory. The Cougars responded by shooting 9 of 24 from beyond the arc.

“They’re tough,” Parsons said. “I’ve got a ton of respect for Coach Mo and their program. They’ve been kind of the top of the food chain, as far as public schools go, for a long, long time. They play hard as hell, and it was a fun one.”

HMB sophomore forward Owen Perez finished with 12 points, while Moore and Baron scored 10 apiece for M-A.