It didn’t take flashy moves or fancy shots for Carlmont to beat visiting Sequoia on Friday night. It took defense, and lots of it. The Scots won the defensive battle against the Cherokees, and combined with poor offensive efforts on both sides of the court, hobbled to a 32-19 victory.
With 53 seconds left in the first half, Carlmont forward Yash Malik hit a 3-pointer with just two seconds remaining on the shot clock. The crowd rejoiced as the three tied up the game at the end of the half, but the score was just 10-10.
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half. Carlmont (15-3, 4-2 PAL-South) hit just three shots on 22 attempts going into the locker room, while Sequoia (8-13, 3-3) converted on 5-of-19 attempts.
“Offensively we struggled,” said Sequoia coach Fine Lauese. “We had some good looks, but weren’t able to knock them down. We didn’t execute.”
Part of the offensive deficiencies were due to poor execution, but Lauese admitted that Carlmont’s defense “played well and deserves credit.”
In fact, both defenses played extremely well. Sequoia big man Michael McCloden was a monster down under, blocking four shots. One of McCloden’s blocks came in the fourth quarter when he swatted a jump shot by Carlmont’s Brandon Patterson, took it cross-court for a layup, drew a foul and converted the three-point play. McCloden led Sequoia with six points.
Despite the admirable defensive efforts, offense was seriously lacking, and Carlmont coach David Low was frustrated with his team’s effort on the offensive front.
Carlmont guard Michael Costello led the field with 12 points on the night, ten of which came from free throws.
“The coaches spend time preparing for the game and developing a game plan. The kids learn the plan and we practice it. But it gets frustrating when they start playing and for whatever reason they abandon the plan,” said Low.
The Scots ended a two-game skid with the victory, after losing two in a row to Menlo-Atherton and Burlingame. But it certainly wasn’t pretty.
“We need some guys to really step up and perform at a higher rate,” said Low, “At this point in the season, practicing everyday since October 29, these kids are getting fatigued, but this is where it counts.”
Carlmont will try to continue its winning ways when it hosts Mills on Tuesday at 6 p.m., the start of a three-game week.
Sequoia will try to get back on track when it visits Aragon on Tuesday, also the beginning of a three-game week.
