Hot shooting carries HMB Cougars into CCS finals

Perez totaled 26 points and 17 rebounds, as HMB (16-10) blazed its way to shooting 60.4% from the field — and this with the towering senior sitting for five minutes in the third quarter after picking up his third foul.

“He told us coming into the playoffs that it was ‘playoff Owen’ time,” HMB head coach John Parsons said. “So, that was ‘playoff Owen,’ and just a hell of a performance.”

HMB’s dominant post presence turned into a case of choose your poison for Menlo, as HMB senior Gio Garduno-Martin scored a game-high 28 points, while connecting for four made 3-pointers. Garduno-Martin actually put two more long-range splashes through the cylinder, but had them whistled off on off-ball offensive foul calls.

The 6-2 senior sharpshooter’s best stretch came in the wake of Perez leaving the floor three minutes into the second half. Garduno-Martin connected for a quick-release 3 on a pull-up jumper with a defender in his face, and went on to score nine points while Perez was sitting.

“Gio’s one of the most important people on our team,” Perez said, “and whenever me or him gets in trouble, we always lean on the other person. It’s just huge, the shots he hit today. It all just leads to us being a team and being able to pass the ball. Whoever scores, scores, but as long as we’re getting ahead and getting the win, that’s what matters.”

The Cougars were shooting 58.6% from the field through the first half. The hot hand of Garduno-Martin led HMB to shoot 12 of 15 in the third quarter.

“There’s just not much you can do,” Menlo head coach Ben Batory said. “We ran into the best version of Half Moon Bay tonight. And, when they’re at their best, they’re really difficult. ... If you get them on an off night, you’ve got a chance. But tonight was definitely not an off night.”

Menlo’s big gun, senior guard Ethan Zhao, was coming off a milestone two weeks ago, when he surpassed 1,000 points on the season in the Knights’ Feb. 13 rivalry game at Sacred Heart Prep. Zhao became the 12th player in program history to hit the millennium mark, the last being Lucas Vogel in 2022-23.

“He should have scored a thousand points last year,” Batory said. “He’s just such a selfless player, he defers. If there’s any weakness that he has, he defers too much.”

Zhao deferred quite a bit in the first half, totaling just five points by the break. The senior finished with a team-high 18 points.

But there was no keeping step with the Cougars, who opened on a mini 4-0 run courtesy of a dribble-drive layup by Garduno-Martin, followed by a high-octane offensive board and put-back by Perez. HMB went on to lead wire to wire.

“This was one of our better offensive performances,” Parsons said. “We talked at halftime, we felt like if we were just patient, we didn’t need to force anything. It was about just getting great shots in that second half. So, kudos to the team, they really listened to that. I thought they were patient. We really kind of picked our shots and really just dissected them and executed in that third quarter.”

Menlo (14-12) got close midway through the first quarter, when junior forward William Lenihan drilled a corner 3 to close the deficit to 10-9. The Cougars seemed to take the one-score margin personally, responding with a 7-0 run — Perez took an over-the-top assist pass from senior Daniel Moctezuma for an easy lay in; Moctezuma then crashed through the paint for a physical layup; and Garduno-Martin drilled a long wing 3.

In the second quarter, Menlo got as close as 30-26 when Jayar Davis knocked down a long 2 from the top of the key. HMB responded with a 5-0 mini-run, and took a 40-29 lead into the half — seizing on Menlo’s over-help defense to find wide open shooting targets, several times with shooters left all alone right under the bucket.

“Our coaches are amazing,” Perez said. “The plays we draw up, we’re just used to getting open at this point.”

HMB had four scorers in double figures, with Moctezuma totaling 13 points, and junior Levi Meighan going for 10 points and seven rebounds. Menlo sophomore Tres Onyejekwe netted 13 points, while junior forward Kai Mawakana added 11.

But there was no answer for Perez and HMB’s post presence, as the Cougars out-rebounded the Knights 34-18.

“We’ve talked about it since day one where the No. 1 goal is try and hang a banner,” Parsons said. “And we always say it’s tough to win a championship, but you’ve got to try to get there first. So, we did a good job of getting there. Now, we’ve got to go try to close the deal.”

HMB now advances to its eighth CCS championship final in program history. The Cougars have three CCS titles all-time, the last coming in 2017-18. The Coastsiders will take on top-seed Sacred Heart Prep at a neutral site. Time and location were not available at press time.