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The Menlo-Atherton boys’ basketball team took a first step toward earning a rematch with No. 1 Mitty in the Central Coast Section Division II title game by topping Los Gatos, 71-34, in the quarterfinals Saturday at Foothill College.
The third-seeded Bears (19-10) put together their best first half of the season en route to blasting No. 6 Los Gatos. Menlo-Atherton will play either No. 2 St. Francis or No. 10 Leland in the semifinals on Tuesday at Foothill
Tuesday’s winner will earn the right to play in the Division II finals on Saturday and get an automatic invite to the NorCal playoffs.
After a 7-7 tie with Los Gatos (18-9) on Saturday, M-A produced a 30-8 run in the final 11 minutes of the first half for a commanding 37-15 halftime lead. Junior forward Sam Knapp led the Bears in the first half with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“It was definitely one of our best first half’s and we’re getting guys to believe that every game is a one-game tournament,” said first-year M-A coach Phillip White.
Knapp led M-A with 25 points and 13 rebounds and was assisted by 12 points from senior guard Richard Branning. Senior forward Brendan McGrath and junior guard Peter DeFilipps added 11 and 10 points, respectively for M-A.
The Bears were 15 of 25 from the field in the first half and held Los Gatos to 5 of 20 shooting with 13 turnovers.
Also at Foothill on Saturday, No. 4 Gunn (16-10) saw its successful season come to an end in a 53-47 setback to No. 5 Westmont (17-12).
Gunn led early, 10-5, and held a 19-16 halftime advantage before Westmont came alive from beyond the three-point arc in the second half. Westmont broke open a 28-28 game in the latter stages of the third quarter and held on to advance to Tuesday’s semifinals versus top-seed Mitty.
The Titans connected on 15 of 40 shots from the floor and were paced by junior forward Kyle Perricone, who tallied 10 of his team-high 12 points in the second half. Gunn’s 6-foot-8 junior center Gus Brennan contributed 11 points and eight rebounds while senior guard Richard Wiley and junior forward Stephan Castro each tallied nine points apiece for Gunn.
Westmont, which made one three-pointer in the first half, netted five in the second half and made six of 17 three-pointers for the contest. It was the second straight year Gunn had its season end in the quarterfinals.
Division IV
Second-seeded Menlo (21-7) advanced to the semifinals on Tuesday at Hartnell College in Salinas with a 60-40 quarterfinal win over No. 7 Harbor on Saturday.
The Knights will face either No. 3 Valley Christian or No. 6 R.L. Stevenson in the semifinals. The winner will advance to the section title game next Friday at San Jose State at 4:45 p.m.
Menlo trailed by 10-8 after one period but grabbed a 28-18 halftime lead and never trailed after that. Senior Max Frye, who has been bothered by a toe injury, bounced back with a game-high 19 points to pace the Knights. Will Tashman added 10 points and Garrett Cohen contributed nine.
Division V
A new champion will be crowned in this season next weekend and Sacred Heart Prep could have a say in who that may be.
The No. 3-seeded Gators (17-8) advanced to the semifinals on Wednesday at Santa Clara High following a 68-52 win over No. 6 Eastside Prep on Saturday in Santa Clara. Sacred Heart will play No. 7 St. Thomas More, which upset No. 2 Bridgemont, 72-66, in another quarterfinal game Saturday at Santa Clara High.
Sacred Heart actually trailed at halftime, 26-22, but poured it on in the final two quarters with 46 points to eliminate the Panthers (18-11).
Eastside Prep junior forward Ivan Prema poured in 29 points and guard DJ Williams added 17, but the Gators limited the rest of the Panthers to just six points.
SHP seniors Christian Buono (19 points) and Bryan Harris (16) led the Gators. Alex Baloff and Ben Taylor combined for another 17.
