A 14-4 third quarter proved to be the difference as Mt. Eden scored a 48-38 win over San Lorenzo at the Warren Morse Memorial Showcase.
The four-game event, held at Chabot College in honor of the late Hayward star and Mt. Eden coach, was capped off with a defensive effort that certainly would have made Morse proud.
While the third quarter was the decisive frame for Mt. Eden (4-5), the most important basket of the game may have been Armando Cole Jr.’s layup at the halftime buzzer, a shot which halted a 9-0 San Lorenzo run and put the Monarchs up by three going into the break.
Cole Jr. was instrumental in the third quarter as well, scoring seven points in a 13-2 run that put Mt. Eden up by 14. Jamahni Walker’s one-handed dunk made it 37-26, and Cole Jr.’s 3-pointer from the corner gave the Monarchs their largest lead of the night.
San Lorenzo (7-4) drew to within six points with three-and-a-half minutes remaining, but the Rebels wouldn’t score again from the field and would score just two more points altogether, which came on a pair of Saveon Campbell free throws to cut it to 44-38 with 1:52 left.
Campbell finished with 13 points behind a 7-for-8 performance at the charity stripe and Patrick Pancho led the Rebels with 14, but only two other players scored at all for San Lorenzo.
Cole Jr. scored 12 for Mt. Eden and Jeffrey Okeke, one of just two seniors on the Monarch roster, led all scorers with 17.
The tight battle between Mt. Eden and San Lorenzo was a radical change from the other three games, which featured dominating performances. Alameda (7-1) continued a monster start to the year with a 65-42 win over San Ramon Valley. The victorious Hornets went on a 16-4 run to open the second quarter and outscored the Wolves 36-16 over the middle two periods. Alameda’s Ryan Cibull led all scorers with 19 points, including 14 in the first half. Josh Warren led San Ramon Valley (5-5) with 10.
In the first two games of the day, Central (Fresno) raced past Lincoln (San Francisco) 93-53 and Albany beat Tennyson 42-23, holding the Lancers to just nine first-half points.
