Half Moon Bay’s Gio Garduno-Martin, shown here against M-A earlier this season, went off for 31 points as the Cougars held off Sanger West in the second round of the Nor Division IV bracket.
Gabby Wickham, right, and her Priory teammates escaped with a 45-44 win over Clayton Valley in the second round of the Nor Cal Division I bracket Thursday.
Seven basketball teams from San Mateo County advanced to Thursday’s second round of the CIF Northern California regional bracket and six more are still alive to play in a bracket semifinals Saturday evening.
The Priory girls, the No. 5 seed in Division V, had the wildest win of the night as the Panthers clawed their way back from a 13-point, halftime deficit to take down No. 13 Clayton Valley, 45-44.
The game was tied at 10-all after the first quarter, but Clayton Valley (23-10) outscored Priory (23-6) 18-5 in the second period to lead 28-15 at the break, as the Panthers turned the ball over 15 times in the first two quarters.
“We were at a low point,” said Priory head coach Buck Matthews. “They were disappointed because they were beating themselves.”
But the Panthers rebounded in the third quarter. They got a 3-pointer to key a 6-0 run to start the second half as they would turn the tables on the Ugly Eagles, outscoring them 17-4 to tie the score at 32-all going into the fourth.
Priory built a 45-40 lead in the final minutes. Clayton Valley had its chances, but blew a potential game-tying layup in the final minute. The Clayton player was eventually fouled and went to free throw line, but missed one and the Panthers ran out the clock to advance to the Division I semifinals Saturday.
“Our schedule is so tough. [My team] has been in every situation,” Matthews said. “They’re a battle tested, mature group.”
Sasha Johnson led the offense for Priory, scoring 16 points. Ugreat Daniels added 15 as the two combined for 10 rebounds and seven steals.
The Panthers will go on the road for the first time in Nor Cal play, as they’ll head to the Central Valley to take on top-seeded Clovis (24-10). The Cougars beat No. 9 St. Ignatius (20-9), 62-55.
This will be the third meeting this season between Priory and Clovis. Priory topped the Cougars 59-56 at the Jason Kidd Invitational at Cal’s Haas Pavilion in December but, a month later in the West Coast Jamboree, the Cougars got their revenge, beating Priory 44-30.
Matthews admitted having personal scouting reports of an opponent is great, but at the end of the day, it’s all about execution.
“It doesn’t matter from the standpoint of making or missing shots,” Matthews said. “But we match up well with them.”
Boys’ basketball
Division III
No. 4 Priory 71, No. 5 Branson-Marin County 57
The Priory boys had a much easier time advancing to the Nor Cal semifinals than their female counterpart as the Panthers got past Branson (19-16), 71-57. Kasten Eggers poured in 23 points, while Jai Gerrodette added 15. Mate Palotai added 12 and Teddy Xanthopoulos’ 11 gave the Panthers four players in double figures.
Up next for Priory (22-6) is a date with top-seeded Natomas-Sacramento (25-9) at 7 p.m. Saturday in Sacramento. The Nighthawks advanced with a 73-62 win over San Lorenzo (20-12).
Division IV
No. 2 Sacred Heart Prep 59, No. 10 Soquel 48
The Gators outscored the Knights in every quarter to advance to the Nor Cal Division IV semifinals.
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SHP (18-11) led 11-10 after the first quarter and extended its lead to 24-19 at halftime. The Gators then outscored Soquel (24-7) by six points in the second half.
Up next for the Gators is a familiar opponent: No. 11 Burlingame at 7 p.m. Saturday in Atherton.
No. 5 Half Moon Bay 56, No. 13 Sanger West 54
Half Moon Bay’s Gio Garduno-Martin, shown here against M-A earlier this season, went off for 31 points as the Cougars held off Sanger West in the second round of the Nor Division IV bracket.
Nathan Mollat/Daily Journal
The Cougars outscored the Hornets 15-10 in the third quarter and that proved to be the difference in their Nor Cal quarterfinal matchup.
Half Moon Bay (18-11) trailed by a point at halftime, 27-26, but led 41-37 going into the fourth quarter.
Cougars shooting guard Gio Garduno-Martin was nearly unstoppable as he rained in 31 points. Center Owen Lopez posted a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Not only did the win send HMB into the Nor Cal semifinals, the Cougars will get their third straight home game as they’ll host No. 8 Marysville (26-7), which knocked off top-seeded Chico (19-11), 65-58.
Girls’ basketball
Division III
No. 11 Menlo-Atherton 56, No. 14 St. Bernard’s-Eureka 43
The Bears won their fifth straight playoff game as they took down the Crusaders.
M-A (23-5) led 20-12 after the first period, before outscoring St. Bernard’s (23-9) 22-11 in the second and third quarters to lead 42-23 going into fourth.
Lita Fakapelea led the offense for the Bears, scoring 17 points. Luisa Tava was right behind with 16 points.
The Bears will now go on the road to Manteca to take on No. 2 East Union (28-6) at 7 p.m. Saturday.
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