Rivalry night in the PAL meant packed gyms all around San Mateo County, and the mix of tight games and heroic performances certainly didn’t disappoint as the sellout crowds were entertained all over the Peninsula.
PAL North
The first round of the Battle of Daly City went to the visiting Jefferson Grizzlies, who welcomed a healthy Marquez Costiniano back to the lineup for a 58-54 win at Westmoor (8-9, 3-2). Costiniano led four double-digit scorers with 12 points, and Jefferson (10-7, 4-1) also got 11 from Brooks Daniels and 10 apiece from Jovani Image and Luis Villareal. Both Costiniano and Villareal had transferred from Westmoor to Jefferson before their junior seasons, and two Costiniano free throws within the final 30 seconds put the Grizzlies up three after watching a 10-point lead dwindle to one before a packed house. J.J. Cruz, who came over from Westmoor with Costiniano and Villareal, sealed the game with a free throw with 2.4 seconds left. The Rams got a game-high 13 points from Niko Martinez, 11 apiece from John Aguas and Josiah Cox and nine from Nate Cote.
First place is now shared between the Grizzlies and Half Moon Bay, as the Cougars rolled to a 66-52 win at Terra Nova, outscoring the Tigers 17-3 in the second quarter and leading 55-27 through three before the hosts made the final score look more respectable with a strong fourth quarter. Sorie Syme led Half Moon Bay (11-6, 4-1) with 21 points and seven rebounds while Mykola Ediger, who missed last Saturday’s loss to Westmoor, racked up 17 points and five assists before getting to watch the fourth quarter from the bench. Ben McKnight added 10 points, while Justin Milch scored 10 of his 17 in the fourth for Terra Nova (12-6, 4-2). Jack Bellinger finished with 13 for the Tigers.
Needing wins in six of their final eight games to qualify for the postseason, the South San Francisco Warriors blasted rival El Camino, 54-34. Puneet Kumar’s and-1 gave the visiting Colts an 11-10 lead late in the first quarter, but South City would lead by as much as 18 in the first half and was never in jeopardy down the stretch. Nico Alimorong scored a game-high 21 for South San Francisco (6-10, 1-4) and Justin Slie added 14. Kumar led El Camino (3-14, 2-3) with eight.
PAL South
After the Mills Vikings scored just 33 points last Friday and 38 on Wednesday, a huge performance by Colby Vasquez at rival Capuchino sparked a tremendous offensive outburst. Vasquez scored a career-high 34 points as Mills (8-10, 4-2) beat the Mustangs 70-60, while point guard Aaron Chen added 17. Capuchino (6-12, 2-4) got 13 points from Dylan Ackermann, while four of his teammates each scored nine.
San Mateo had won three straight meetings with Burlingame, but Jeff Dowd returned to coach the Panthers this season, and he hasn’t lost to the Bearcats since 2001. That streak continued on Friday as Burlingame (8-10, 4-2) pulled out a 48-44 overtime win, marking the 20th straight time Dowd has defeated the Bearcats and Burlingame’s 29th head-to-head win in the last 32 meetings. Ryan Miles-Ferguson scored a game-high 18 points for San Mateo (5-13, 0-6), and it was his 3-pointer with three seconds left that forced OT, but the Panthers got the winning basket with 18 seconds left in the extra period from Anthony Sylvestri, who scored 12 points. Freshman Sean Richardson went scoreless from the field but Burlingame but was 5-for-6 from the free throw line and accumulated 10 assists, while Taylor Clark led the hosts with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Jackson Chew scored 13 for the Bearcats, who held a 22-15 halftime lead.
Highly-touted freshman Calvin Mader-Clark turned heads in the Battle of the Fleas with 21 points and 15 rebounds as Hillsdale (11-7, 4-2) picked up a 47-35 road win over the Aragon Dins. Junior Cotton added 10 for the Fighting Knights, while Aragon (8-10, 2-4) struggled to score with star senior Sam Manu out injured.
An 18-3 third quarter propelled sixth-ranked Menlo-Atherton (14-3, 6-0) to a 58-30 win at Woodside, with Nick Tripaldi leading the Bears with 12 points. Justin Anderson added 10 and fellow football standout Skyler Thomas added nine, while Woodside (5-13, 0-6) got nine from Kyle Knudson and trailed just 32-22 at halftime.
12th-ranked Carlmont has often been stuck in tight games this season, but the Scots posted a convincing 50-37 win over the Sequoia Cherokees, outscoring the visitors 30-9 over the middle two periods. Sho Takahashi led Carlmont (15-3, 5-1) with 13 points and Sammy Bean added nine, while Sequoia (7-10, 3-3) got nine points from Davin Leathers.
