Win No. 300 for SHP hoops coach Tony Martinelli

The Gators’ longtime coach earned his 300th varsity win in style, as SHP (3-0 WBAL Football, 9-4 overall) held on for a 61-59 victory at rival Menlo School with a fantastic finish. Junior center Erick Osterloh tallied the game-winning buzzer beater, pulling down an offensive rebound and hitting scoring the put-back.

“Pretty memorable one,” Martinelli said.

Osterloh finished with six rebounds, four of them offensive boards. The 6-3 junior was part of the play design with SHP coming out of the timeout, looking to break a 59-59 tie.

Menlo (1-2, 7-10) had just tied the game with an offensive rebound of its own. The Knights were trailing by 3 when senior Lucas Vogel battled for a board and scored a put-back while drawing a foul. Vogel drilled the free throw to tie it, giving him a game-high 20 points.

SHP junior TJ O’Brien, scoring a team-high 16 points, had been answering Vogel’s exploits all night. Out of the timeout, however, the Gators got the ball to junior JP Kerrigan for a midrange jumper with three seconds to go. The three seconds was something Martinelli stressed in the timeout, as to give his post players enough time to rebound if needed.

“[Osterloh] was working hard all game long but even in that last possession … you could see him getting in a position in case it missed,” Martinelli said.

The Gators totaled 34 rebounds as a team, with forward Sam Norris leading the way. The 6-6 senior recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Road to 300

Martinelli was pursuing a baseball career when he found basketball coaching. While attending University of San Francisco, he was rehabbing from injury in hopes of vying for a roster spot as a pitcher with the diamond Dons. While working out on the track one day, he crossed paths with Bob Thompson, his former varsity head coach from Mills.

Thompson asked Martinelli if he’d be interested in coaching the Mills frosh-soph boys’ basketball team. So, in 1995-96, Mills welcomed back Martinelli. He’d coach there for six years.

A native of South San Francisco, it was as a player at Mills — while playing for Thompson and then assistant coach Rick Hanson — that Martinelli first thought about going into coaching.

“Even then I knew the coaching side was something I wanted to do,” Martinelli said. “I had some good mentors there that kind of led me in that direction.”

Martinelli went on to coach at Menlo College on Keith Larsen’s staff, and at Sacred Heart Cathedral as an assistant with John Perez and Manny Nodar. He took the junior-varsity post at SHP in 2004-05. He was promoted to his first varsity post as the Gators’ head coach in 2007-08.

“I wasn’t thinking about the long-term plan,” Martinelli said. “So, I just knew I wanted to coach varsity.”

Over the past 15 years, Martinelli has recorded eight 20-win seasons, along with six Central Coast Section championships.

“Easy to stay at a place like Sacred Heart because of its commitment to just excelling, and then being able to be at your best all the time,” Martinelli said.