SUNNYVALE, Calif. — Entering the final minute of the fourth quarter in Friday night’s CCS Open Division Quarterfinal, Justin Anderson and Nick Tripaldi had failed to score a single point.
On a night when both their Menlo-Atherton Bears and the Serra Padres both played stifling defense and couldn’t get shots to fall, they made their only baskets of the game count.
Tripaldi knocked down a game-tying 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in regulation and Anderson scored twice in the final minute of overtime, first driving to the hoop with a defender in his face, then showing how his football skills translate to the basketball court with a go-ahead steal and layup that held up as the winning basket as the Bears downed Serra in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row, 45-43.
“The guys showed composure. That was a thing we struggled with a few times at the beginning of the year. We had a tendency as a family to get too emotional, but we kept in check,” head coach Mike Molieri said. “I thought I was gonna get too emotional.”
There were plenty of reasons for Molieri to be frustrated throughout the night, but Skyler Thomas was a calming presence. The 6-foot-3 junior forward played arguably his best game of his career, with 19 points, six rebounds, four steals and just one turnover, plus a few key leadership decisions, calling the play that set up Anderson’s game-tying basket.
“He’s the key to our team,” Molieri said. “He was the one that said let’s run a horns set, we ran it and Justin did it to a T.”
Always a phenomenal athlete but previously undone by frantic play, Thomas’ newfound composure and leadership has turned him into a complete player, which was fully on display as he kept fourth-seeded Menlo-Atherton (22-3) afloat on Friday night as his teammates struggled to score.
“Sometimes I’ve had trouble dribbling, so I’ve been working on keeping the ball with me,” he said. “Last year we had James Beckwith and (Will) Beasley, and they were really good leaders.”
Thomas had seven of his team’s 12 points in the second and five of seven in the third to stay within striking distance, but it looked like it wouldn’t be enough as the Padres got the first six points of the fourth to open up a 35-26 lead, with Dimitri Koutsogeorgas assists on both a Ryan Wilson three and Damon Lewis layup, then a free throw by Jevon Jesus. The Bears finally snapped the drought with a turnaround baseline shot by Trevor Wargo and a Spencer Lin jumper from near the free throw line, but Wilson answered with a steal and layup to put Serra (17-8) up by seven again.
That’s when JD Carson, playing for not only his team but also for family bragging rights, came to life. He knocked down back-to-back threes to cut the lead to one, and though Antonio Abeyta would score in transition to make it 39-36, Tripaldi picked the perfect time for his line basket, draining a deep three to bring the Bears even for the first time since the first quarter.
“Supreme confidence,” he said.
After trailing by nine in a game where such a lead seemed insurmountable, the Bears not only tied it, but had a chance to win it in regulation after a Padre three for lead missed. With fouls to give, fifth-seeded Serra ensured there would be no chance at a shot for the win, eventually getting a steal in the final seconds as a half-court heave from Lewis hit the rim but fell away to force overtime.
Thomas got the first points of the extra period, driving around Julius Alcantara, but Serra drew even on Koutsogeorgas’ lone basket of the night, an elbow jumper, and took a 43-41 lead when Wilson scored the last of his team-high 14 points with a drive off the glass.
Trailing by two with 58.5 seconds left, Molieri made the risky decision to take his lone timeout of overtime, but it paid off handsomely as Anderson drove around Jesus and scored on the play Thomas drew up, then came up with the steal and go-ahead layup.
“You saw why he’s gonna be a hell of a defender at Washington State,” Molieri said of Anderson, an excellent defensive back on the football field.
The football theme was present throughout the night as Anderson, Carson and Thomas gained redemption for a loss to the Padres in under the bright lights at Levi’s Stadium, a game which Thomas missed with a shoulder injury while Anderson and Carson played on a defense that allowed 38 points.
“Definitely wanted to take both, but this one feels real good,” Anderson said of the multi-sport rivalry.
His steal was the last of 23 Serra turnovers, a glaring flaw in a game where the Padres played stellar defense but struggled to shoot, going 2-for-13 from beyond the arc and depriving themselves of further chances with the repeated wasted possessions, including a few uncharacteristic errant passes and balls dropped out of bounds.
“You’re not gonna win any game with 23 turnovers, said interim head coach Brian Carson, whose nephew sank the key back-to-back threes in the fourth. “They capitalized off our mistakes and that was the difference.”
It led to a familiar ending for Serra, with a missed three and last-ditch fling of the rebound falling short at the horn, the fourth time this year they’ve lost a game with a chance to win at the horn. It also meant that, once again, Alcantara’s efforts would be futile. The 6-5 forward, locked into a great battle in the post with Thomas, had 13 rebounds on the night and scored all eight of his points in the second quarter. Abeyta finished with eight as well, but Carson’s 11 and Thomas’ big performance held up as the key plays for the victors.
No. 1 Mitty 69, No. 8 Menlo 38
The Menlo Knights hung around for as long as they could, but the top-seeded Mitty Monarchs ensured they wouldn’t be bounced in the CCS Open Division Quarterfinals for a second consecutive year, breaking the game open in the fourth quarter for a 69-38 win.
With almost the entire roster having played in last year’s upset loss to Sacred Heart Cathedral, it was one of the few players who wasn’t involved in that game that led Mitty (21-4), as Nigel Burris scored a game-high 18 points. Marcus Greene had 16 and Mikey Mitchell added nine, while Menlo (20-5) got 10 from Cole Kastner but shot just 8-of-19 from the line as a team and gave up 26 points in the fourth quarter.
