DANVILLE, CA – For the second time this season, Monte Vista routed Pittsburg. The Mustangs’ 75-38 home win on Tuesday night earned them a match up with Moreau Catholic in the second round of the NCS Division I playoffs.
Evan Dunphy scored 17 points, Luke Sinclair added 16, and Anthony Santa Maria added 13 for five-seed Monte Vista. Nate Rutchena struggled from the field but tallied 10 rebounds and four assists.
“We’ve been playing with each other for years,” Santa Maria remarked. “When it clicks, it’s fun.”
Jalen Robertson led 12-seed Pittsburg with 12 points. The Pirates never led; after the game was tied at four, the Mustangs went on a 12-0 run. Monte Vista led 34-19 at the half and outscored the Pirates by 11 in the third quarter to put the game firmly out of reach.
“We’ve had a good two weeks of practice since the Granada game,” Monte Vista coach Nick Jones said. “The ball was moving really well tonight, and when the ball’s moving well we’re much harder to guard then when we’re standing around. We prepped for the press. We knew they were going to have to turn us over to generate offense on their end.”
Pittsburg hosted Monte Vista in December, a contest the Mustangs won by a nearly identical score, 73-43. Incidentally, earlier in the evening the Monte Vista girls won their NCS first round game also by nearly the same score, 74-39.
The Mustangs have now won three straight games by a total margin of 70 points.
Monte Vista and Moreau Catholic did not play each other this season. Each faced Castro Valley early in the season; the Mustangs lost by seven while the Mariners won by seven. Moreau topped Liberty 73-57 in their first round game.
“It doesn’t matter where we go,” Santa Maria added. “We love being on the road in hostile environments.”
