Menlo School boys' and girls' basketball celebrate CCS championships

It was the first CCS title for the Knights since 2017 and its first under Knights first-year coach Ben Batory.

As expected, the game came down to the wire. Menlo, which held a slight lead through three quarters staved off a last-ditch effort by the top-seeded Chieftains. Menlo trailed 58-53 with 1:30 left before Daniel Solomon sank a three-pointer on a feed from Will Eggemeier with 1:01 left. Menlo sophomore Sam Reznik, on Solomon’s assist, banked a three-pointer for the go-ahead score. Lucas Vogel, who’s virtually unshakeable at the line, sank a pair fo free throws and a Solomon basket wrapped up the win.

“Will was able to find me on my three and I think that started some momentum, then Lucas came up big time in second half,” Solomon said. “Then, I was coming down the court and I saw Sam. He has confidence, and I’ve built trust with him over the year. I told him to always look, always look and I’ll get it to you, and it was a bank (shot) but I think he stepped up with confidence, and that’s really a reason why we won the game.

Menlo junior Lucas Vogel led the charge, scoring 17 points and contributing four assists and six rebounds.

“We had to fight for every single bucket, every single play, everyone stepped up, “ Vogel said. “ It was huge. We were down, and we just clawed back at the end.”

Solomon posted 14 points and five assists while sophomore Sam Reznik added 11 points, four rebounds and three steals. Junior Brooks Mead added five assists and eight points.

“It was a great team, collaborative effort to win that.” Solomon said. “It was a great feeling to close CCS with a medal.”

The third-seeded Knights, which beat Harker, then avenged a loss in last year’s CCS semifinals to The King’s Academy, head into NorCals with a 20-7 record.

Menlo girls down Harker to capture CCS Division IV championship

The Menlo girls’ basketball team handed Harker its only two losses this season, the latest a 54-49 win, to claim the Central Coast Section Division IV championship on its home court Saturday.

The top seeded Knights pulled away in the fourth quarter, starting with senior Jazlin Chen’s free throws to give Menlo a slight lead 41-39 with 4:40 left. Freshman Karen Xin sank one of her four three-pointers on a Shannon Li feed. The teams would trade baskets until Chen and Li delivered putbacks, giving the Knights a 51-46 advantage with 20.6 seconds left. Harker’s Anjali Yella added her third three of the quarter but the Eagles could only foul down the stretch to stop the barrage of shots.

Xin poured in a team-high 18 points and fellow freshman Angelica Chou added 12 points and seven rebounds. Chen a senior, contributed 10 points, four rebounds and three blocks and provided a great presence in the post. The Knights used their playoff experience to their advantage after competing in the Open quarterfinals and semifinals the past three seasons and winning a state championship in 2019.

“We knew (Harker) really was hungry in (their first CCS final) - we knew we would have to come back with that same energy,” Li said. “ We just had to stay calm and play the game, trust each other and execute. I think we did that today. We came together and got the dub. I’m really proud,”

On Sunday, the Knights will find out their matchup for NorCals which begins Tuesday.