Menlo-Atherton boys' basketball rolls Capuchino in ragged PAL opener

“You’re going to be reporting on a lot of ugly basketball because that was ugly basketball (Wednesday night),” M-A head coach Mike Molieri said. “These guys have to get reps.

“Right now, I’m just happy to get a win.”

Neither team shot the ball particularly well. The Bears connected on just 28% of their shots, shooting 22 for 78 from the field. The Mustangs certainly had their chances, but like M-A, struggled getting shots to fall. They shot 15 for 53.

“COVID is really kind of hitting the whole league,” Capuchino head coach Marc Gamble said. “We didn’t have practice last week.”

M-A (1-0 PAL South, 5-4 overall) led by double digits most of the way, but Capuchino (0-1, 9-4) never gave in. Trailing 43-28 going into the fourth quarter, the Mustangs put together their best stretch of shooting as they went on an 8-2 run. When Tino Stemberga came up with a steal and layup, Cap was down just nine, 45-36 with just under five minutes to play.

M-A responded. Johno Price knocked down a layup off the bounce and Connor Cadigan followed with a penetrating, pull-up, fade-away jumper. When Ryan Anderson scored on a slash to the hoop and followed that with a fastbreak layup, the Bears’ lead was pushed back to 17, 53-36.

While the Bears missed a lot of shots, the fact they got that many looks was encouraging. M-A helped its cause by dominating on the offensive glass. While the Bears barely out-rebounded Cap, 35-32, 18 of M-A’s boards came on the offensive end. Allen Chang and Cadigan each had four offensive rebounds. During one sequence in the third quarter, the Bears came up with four offensive rebounds in a row before finally earning a trip to the free-throw line.

In fact, the free throw was a point of emphasis for Molieri and the Bears and if they had shot better, they would have put away the Mustangs a lot sooner. Instead, M-A was 10 for 26 from the line.

“(Getting to the line) helps us get points,” Molieri said. “We have guards (who can get to the rim). I’m OK with them going downhill.”

Anderson led M-A with 12 points, while Chang added 11 as nine Bears got in the scoring column. Capuchino was led by Nico Caruso, who finished with a game-high 19 points.

“[Caruso’s] hustle and aggressiveness … kept us in the game,” Gamble said.

In the first quarter, it was a pair of Caruso 3-pointers that kept the Mustangs in the game early. His first tied the game at 5 and his second of the period tied the game at 10.

But it was M-A’s Chang who was dominating. The junior forward scored nine of the Bears’ first 10 points of the game, hitting three field goals and going 4 for 6 from the line.

The Bears continued to dominate in the post the rest of the quarter, finishing on an 11-2 run to lead 21-12 after the first quarter.

M-A’s post game was never quite the same the rest of the game, however.

“We have to be more patient,” Molieri said. “We’re not shooting well. I don’t think many teams in this league can play defense for an entire possession. … The 3 will always be there.”

Jalen Williams opened the second quarter by knocking down a jumper and then scoring on a scoop to the hoop before Cap’s Nikos Gamble knocked down a 3 to cut the M-A lead to 10, 25-15. The lead stayed there for most of the rest of the half, with the Bears leading 32-20 at the break.

In the third quarter, the Bears threatened to break the game open. When Price came up with a steal and dunk, the Bears led 37-20 with 3:13 left in the third.

But the Mustangs had one last gasp. Stemberga and Lisiate Lavulo each made 1-of-2 free throws and Lavulo scored layup. In the final 32 seconds, Caruso made back-to-back buckets to close the M-A lead to 43-28.

Caruso continued his hot streak to open the fourth, scoring on as pair of drives to the basket. When Stemberga came up with fastbreak bucket, the Mustangs were in the game, but could not get any closer.

“We made sure [the Bears] knew they drove up here for a reason,” Coach Gamble said. “I’m proud of [my team].”