Scots ousted from basketball playoffs

"I think a lot of the kids put too much pressure on themselves,” Scots coach Dave Low said after his team’s 58-44 loss to Gilroy in a Central Coast Section Division I playoff quarterfinal Saturday at Independence High. "And when you put too much pressure on yourself, all of a sudden there’s a lack of focus and a lot of mental errors that led us to that slow start.”

Indeed, No. 5 seed Carlmont (22-6) didn’t look like itself from the opening tip. The Scots fell behind early with a spate of turnovers and never fully recovered. Of course, some of that had to do with No. 4 Gilroy (19-6) wreaking havoc defensively. Gilroy’s full-court pressure gave Carlmont fits, and even when the Scots had success crossing midcourt the Mustangs’ zone defense forced the Scots into a number of low-percentage shots.

Things couldn’t have started worse for Carlmont, which opened the game by committing five consecutive turnovers. That helped propel Gilroy to a 13-0 lead with 3:20 left in the quarter. The Scots finally got on the scoreboard with just under 3 minutes remaining on a Taylor Crawford jumper from close range. But the Scots continued to struggle in all phases of the game.

They struggled to get open looks offensively, gave up too many easy baskets defensively and yielded myriad open looks for Gilroy shooters from the 3-point line. It all added up to a 35-19 halftime deficit. Carlmont trailed by as many as 17 points and didn’t do itself any favors with another slow start coming out of halftime.

The Scots opened the third with five turnovers on their first six possessions. They trailed 48-32 after three quarters before gradually chipping away at the deficit. Every once in a while, Carlmont had spurts of solid play, but every time it made a run Gilroy had an answer. A driving layup from James Testa cut the Scots deficit to 51-42 with 3:56 to go, but that’s as close as they would get.

Gilroy turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, but Testa’s layup attempt rimmed out. The next time down the floor, the Mustangs scored and from there cruised to victory. The sequence pretty much summed up the Scots’ day, because there were a couple of other occasions in which they could’ve gotten closer only to have players miss open jumpers. Carlmont equaled its season high with 23 turnovers and went just 15 of 34 from the free throw line. Low credited Gilroy for playing well but also felt a lot of his team’s shortcomings were self-inflicted.

"Us not looking very composed was a direct reflection of how well they were playing,” Low said. "But to be honest with you I don’t think their extended zone press was any different then anything we’ve seen all year.”

Suhail Mohammadi led the Scots with 16 points, while Testa and Nolan Richins added eight apiece. Carlmont was attempting to make the semifinals for the second straight year. Last season it made a stirring postseason run before falling to eventual Division I champion Bellarmine in the semis, 49-44. Although the Scots didn’t advance as far this time, they were co-champions of the Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division this season — no small feat considering last year’s PAL South Division title was their first league title in 24 years.

"There’s a lot to be proud of,” Low said. "With all the players we graduated from last year’s team, I don’t think a lot of people gave us a chance to come back (and win another league title). You win 22 games in a season and you’re going to lose at some point. We fell one game or maybe two games short of our goal, but the kids played their hearts out this year.”

Boys’ Basketball

CCS playoffs

Division I quarterfinals

At Independence High

No. 1 Serra 62, No. 8 Alisal 31

Alisal 6 7 10 8 — 31

Serra 18 17 16 11 — 62

ALISAL (fg ft-att total points): Guzman 0 2-2 2, Saldana 1 0-0 2, Camacho 0 2-2 2, Angulo 3 1-2 8, Sosa 6 2-4 14, Uruela 1 0-0 3. Totals 11 7-10 31. SERRA — McGrath 1 0-0 2, Moore 4 0-0 9, Reudy 6 0-0 13, Tana 7 3-4 17, Pacheco 4 0-1 8, Jajeh 4 1-2 9, Leahy 1 0-2 2, Regina 1 0-0 2. Totals 28 4-9 62. 3-point goals — (A) Uruela, Angulo; (S) Moore, Reudy. Records—Serra 23-5, Alisal 16-10.

No. 4 Gilroy 58, No. 5 Carlmont 44

Carlmont 8 11 13 12 — 44

Gilroy 17 18 13 10 — 58

CARLMONT — Mohammadi 5 4-7 16, Mendiola 1 4-9 6, Barret 1 0-0 2, Testa 3 1-3 8, Crawford 2 0-0 4, Hsu 0 0-1 0, Richins 1 6-12 8, Faulkner 0 0-2 0. Totals 13 15-34 44. GILROY — Hamik 6 3-4 18, Gaines 2 0-0 4, Opere 1 6-9 8, Aldridge 0 2-4 2, Hartman 3 2-4 8, Fishler 0 1-2 1, Yawary 5 4-6 16, Harrell 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 19-31 58. 3-point goals — Mohammadi 2, Testa; (G) Hamik 3, Yawary. Records — Carlmont 22-6, Gilroy 19-6.