MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — On Wednesday night, the Santa Cruz Cardinals were treated to an experience that’s a familiar one for teams on the other side of Highway 17.
They had to deal with a Cupertino team that slows games to a crawl with suffocating zone defense, but they overcame that nuisance and held on for a 37-35 win in the semifinals of the 44th Joe Schram Holiday Classic.
“We just needed to make shots,” Santa Cruz head coach Lawan Milhouse said. “We had plenty of good shots (in the first half), we just needed to knock them down.”
Those shots finally started falling in the second half, and with Aden Cury’s dominance on the offensive glass, Santa Cruz (9-2) finally started to take control after scoring just five points in the first quarter and 13 in the first half.
“There’s not much he can’t do,” Milhouse said of Cury, who scored 11 points and earned eight of his game-high 17 rebounds on the offensive glass. “He tries to do a little bit of everything, and he does it. Rebounding is one of his biggest things.”
It was Cury’s 3-pointer that gave the Cardinals the lead for good after a Shaunak Ayalasomayajula mid-range jumper tied the game at 21 late in the third, and Cury connected from beyond the arc again early in the fourth to give his team a 30-23 lead. Cupertino (6-5) trailed just 34-33 on three Jake Ellegood free throws with 3:31 left, but Cury’s assist on a Kosi Warren-House corner three put the Cardinals back up by four.
Santa Cruz went scoreless in the final three minutes, but Cupertino could muster just one more basket, an Andrew Chen transition layup. The Pioneers had a chance to take the lead, but missed a three from the corner with six seconds left and had to foul twice to put the Cardinals on the line. Langston Burkett missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with two seconds remaining, but all the Pioneers could muster in the final seconds was a full-court desperation heave that never came close to the rim.
Matt Burks and sophomore Demeke Smith each scored nine for Santa Cruz, all on 3-pointers. Ellegood’s 11 led Cupertino, and Ayalasomayajula finished with nine.
St. Francis 67, Palo Alto 25
St. Francis head coach Mike Motil typically doesn’t have much to say to the media after games. After addressing his team, he briefly fields questions from reporters, gives short responses and then talks with his family.
Considering how much he had to say after Wednesday’s game, it was clear he was especially proud of his Lancers.
After suspect defensive performances in their first eight games, his team finally had a breakthrough in the semifinals of the 44th Joe Schram Holiday Classic, beating Palo Alto 67-25.
“We just challenged them. I knew it was there,” Motil said. “This is a brotherhood. We did a great job flying around, getting deflections and rebounding the hell out of the basketball. It was emotional. I can’t do it for them. I’m too doggone old. I’m on the wrong side of 50 to be out here motivating them all the time.
"We had some good words before the game, some great words at halftime, and these boys just went out there and flew around the court. It was really good to see that they had each other’s backs.”
The Lancers responded to his words, taking control with a 21-5 second quarter and allowing just 16 points across the final three periods.
“We didn’t talk too much about tactics tonight,” said Harlan Banks, who recorded nine points and six rebounds. “Our coach just wanted us to go out and play really hard.”
Tactically, St. Francis (7-2) let the Vikings sit on the perimeter and settle for 3-point shots. They made just three, all by Ryan Lykken, who scored a team-high nine.
Vince Barringer led the Lancers with 15 points, including a trio of 3-pointers to bring his season total to 31 through nine games. Brylan Lundy scored 12, John Frazier added eight and Darren Siscar, who started at point guard with both Isaiah Kerr and Gavin Everett unavailable, finished with seven. Tim Netane scored just two points but gathered seven rebounds and four assists.
Nikhil Majeti scored eight for Palo Alto (6-4), going 6-for-8 at the free throw line.
Palma 62, Tamalpais 52
Though Joey Finley technically wasn’t in the starting lineup for Palma, he played as much as one and made as much of an impact as one could hope for, even if he wasn’t on the floor for the opening tip.
The 6-foot-6 Finley, also a standout on the football field, scored a game-high 19 points and gathered nine rebounds in a 62-52 win over Tamalpais in the consolation bracket at the 44th Joe Schram Holiday Classic.
Palma (7-3) went up by 10 when Finley made one of two free throws with 7:26 left, then took a 52-42 lead on Ryan Roggio’s floater off the glass to kick off a decisive 7-2 run. Colton Amaral answered Clark Bester’s layup with a 3-pointer and Finley lightley grabbed the rim for a semi-dunk off a Nate Jean-Pierre assist to make it 57-44.
Jean-Pierre scored 18, while Charles Kosta scored 10 and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds. Alexander Schnedecker led Tamalpais (1-9) with 14 points, while sophomore Auvin Cole scored seven of his 12 on free throws. The Red-Tailed Hawks also got eight points apiece from Bester and Ryan Judge.
Monterey 63, Newark Memorial 49
For years, the Monterey Toreadores have been predicated on fast-paced, high-flying guards.
Their guard play isn’t quite as good as it was on their CCS championship teams, but they’ve got a man in the middle to make up for it.
Six-foot-5 Jordan Funderburg was the difference on Wednesday afternoon, with 13 points, eight rebounds and five blocks in a 63-49 win over Newark Memorial.
Monterey (5-5) took control with a 25-point second quarter and held on late to advance to the consolation championship of the 44th Joe Schram Holiday Classic. Newark Memorial (2-9) cut the lead to 54-49 when Anthony Rodriguez scored on an inbound play with three minutes left, but the ‘Dores got the final nine points to close the game. Seven of those nine came from Matthew Gallagher, including five free throws. Gallagher scored a game-high 22, Abishek Fluker chipped in 12 and Bryan Ventura added nine.
Rodriguez scored 11 to lead the Cougars, while Ormal Farooq and Julian Issac each added nine. Issac also dished out five assists.
Thursday’s schedule
5th place game: Palma (7-3) vs. Monterey (5-5), 4:30 p.m.
3rd place game: Cupertino (6-5) vs. Palo Alto (6-4), 6:15 p.m.
Championship: Santa Cruz (9-2) @ St. Francis (7-2), 7:45 p.m.
