Skyline-College of San Mateo basketball teams meet in Coast North Conference showdown

Erica Mendiola (Carlmont) had 16 points and Courtney Townsend (Aragon) pulled down 16 rebounds as CSM (2-0, 13-2) ran past Ohlone, 71-34 on Saturday.

Skyline took a quick 20-12 first quarter lead over Foothill (0-2, 10-8) and was in firm control at 44-30 by halftime. It was 64-46 after three quarters.

Tatiana Newsome (St. Ignatius) added 18 points and Nicole Brunicardi (Burlingame) had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Lady Trojans, who were able to put 11 players on the court. Latu, a 5-8 freshman guard, had a fine all-around game, connecting on 11 of 17 field goals, and providing four assists, two steals, and four rebounds. She is scoring at a 23.6 clip for the full season.

San Mateo took leads of 15-10 after one quarter and 29-18 at halftime over Ohlone (0-2, 4-12). A 20-5 third quarter made it 49-23 as the Lady Bulldogs were able to put 14 players on the floor. Townsend connected on 4-of-8 field goal attempts for eight points and had two steals and two assists.

Chiara Brown (American-Fremont), in only 18 minutes of action, connected on 6-of-11 field goals for 12 points and five rebounds. She continues to lead the Coast North with a 63.1 season field goal percentage and with 9.8 rebounds per game; also, is No. 4 in season scoring with a 17.5 average — to pace CSM.

No. 17 CSM men fall to Chabot in OT; visit neighbor Skyline Wednesday

In a high scoring overtime game, it’s important to sink field goals – something the CSM men failed to do until the final 12 seconds of Monday’s make-up game with visiting Chabot College. That lonely 3-pointer by Bobby Arenas gave the host Bulldogs 91 points – vs. 93 for Chabot. The Gladiators (2-1 Coast North, 10-5) sank four free throws after that to win a key 97-91 Coast North men’s basketball contest, squaring San Mateo’s record at 2-2.

The 17th-rankedBulldogs (13-5 overall) will match 2-2 marks at Skyline College (10-8) Wednesday at 7 p.m. in San Bruno. That’s also a clash for early San Mateo County bragging rights. Both teams hold wins this month over District neighbor Cañada College.

“This was our first game in 10 days,” said CSM coach Mike Marcial. “They have a good team, and we were missing guys.” They included 6-9 center Muti Shuman — and Marcial said he was needed to counter the also big Gladiators up front.

Despite the field goal drought, CSM battled with Chabot throughout the extra five minutes, connecting on 6-of-8 free throws. Chabot took an 84-82 lead on a layup by Isaiah Veal 18 seconds into overtime. San Mateo tied it twice at the foul line – at 84 and at 85, before the Gladiators sank four free throws for an 89-85 advantage with 2:18 remaining.

Aragon High grad Sam Manu then appeared to net four Bulldogs free throws — but one was taken away on a lane violation — leaving CSM down, 89-88, with 50 seconds left. San Mateo was unable to trade baskets with the Gladiators, who scoreed the winning points with 17 seconds left on two successful free throws by Chabot’s Skylar Robinson.

San Mateo began second half play Monday with a 41-37 lead, off a 3-point buzzer beater by Arenas at the mid-game break. In the second half, there were nine lead changes and five ties, the last coming with 5.5 seconds left in regulation on a dunk by Manu off an inbound timeout pass, sending it to overtime.

Arenas (Riordan High) and Manu led all scorers with 23 points apiece. Arenas had four 3-pointers. Desai Lopez (St. Francis) had 13 points and Pearce Uniacke (Serra) 12 for the Bulldogs. Veal and Robinson each tallied 18 points for Chabot.