Charles Williams Jr. (11) of Marin Catholic goes for a layup past Aidan Farnsworth (10) of Archie Williams in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Caden Maas (13) of Marin Catholic goes up for a shot against Archie Williams in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Henry Sethre (4) of Archie Williams goes in for a layup against Marin Catholic in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Jr Bosch (10) of Marin Catholic dribbles past Luke Calegari (1) of Archie Williams in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Jr Bosch (10) of Marin Catholic holds the ball while defended by Luke Calegari (1) of Archie Williams in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Dante Stallone (2) of Marin Catholic dribbles the ball against Archie Williams in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Kelly Storms (20) of Marin Catholic looks to pass while defended by Ben Beak (13) of Archie Williams in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Charles Williams Jr. (11) of Marin Catholic goes for a layup while defended by Aidan Farnsworth (10), Max Berman (5) and Luke Calegari (1) of Archie Williams in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Robert Dibble (14) of Marin Catholic looks to pass the ball while defended by Nate Cloughley (15) of Archie Williams in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Owen Bugas (2) of Archie Williams goes up for a shot against Theo Pontes (3) of Marin Catholic in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Luke Calegari (1) of Archie Williams goes for a layup past Walker Waite (5) of Marin Catholic in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Henry Sethre (4) of Archie Williams dribbles up the court against Marin Catholic in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Luke Calegari (1) of Archie Williams dribbles the ball up the court against Marin Catholic in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Caden Maas (13) of Marin Catholic looks to pass against Archie Williams in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Owen Bugas (2) of Archie Williams drives against Jr Bosch (10) of Marin Catholic in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Marin Catholic head coach Mike Saia talks to his team during a time out in a game against Archie Williams in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Owen Bugas (2) of Archie Williams drives against Jr Bosch (10) of Marin Catholic in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Luke Calegari (1) of Archie Williams goes up for a shot over Walker Waite (5) of Marin Catholic in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
Luke Calegari (1) of Archie Williams goes up for a shot over Walker Waite (5) of Marin Catholic in a MCAL boys basketball game at Marin Catholic high school in Kentfield, California on Feb. 4, 2023. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Marin Independent Journal)
The Marin Catholic High boys basketball team played as though its life depended on it in an MCAL regular season finale against visiting Archie Williams.
Actually, the Wildcats’ postseason life did depend on it.
Marin Catholic turned up the survival meter a notch or two Saturday and parlayed a nine-point second quarter into a convincing 61-44 victory.
By virtue of the triumph, the Wildcats (11-15, 7-9 MCAL) kept their season breathing. They host Terra Linda in a MCAL play-in game at 7 p.m. on Monday. The winner advances to Wednesday’s playoff opener at regular season runner-up Redwood.
“We came off a tough loss to Terra Linda and that one hurt,” MC’s 6-foot, 5-inch senior Caden Maas said. “We came in tonight with something to prove.”
On senior night, MC coach Mike Saia inserted five seniors into the starting lineup. They held their own, emerging from the first quarter with a one-point advantage.
But it wasn’t until junior star Charles Williams came off the bench in the second quarter that the Wildcats showed their claws.
Williams was on a mission in the second quarter. He swept the boards for seven rebounds, scored nine of his game-high 24 points and added a blocked shot and a steal for good measure as the Wildcats surged to a 20-11 lead.
Williams scored on back-to-back offensive rebound put-backs, knifed through the lane for another bucket and, with about a minute remaining before halftime, buried a 3-pointer.
“He’s that kind of player,” Saia said. “He can take over a game.”
In the teams’ previous meeting, Archie Williams (11-14, 6-10) posted a solid 60-47 victory against Marin Catholic.
But there was one big difference between the first meeting and Saturday night’s clash – Williams did not play in the MC loss.
“He didn’t play against us last time and that was probably the biggest difference,” Archie Williams coach Russell Bauer said. “We focused on taking (Williams’) drive away first and foremost, but then he hurt us with the threes.”
After the second-quarter surge, MC never led by fewer than five points.
When Williams knocked down his third three of the night in the infancy of the fourth quarter, the Wildcats took a double-digit lead and increased the advantage to the final buzzer.
Saia said Williams opens the door for the entire offense.
“He pushes everybody on the team to play better,” Saia said. “The other team not only has to worry about who he is but where he is.”
Maas said the Williams factor was undeniable, but he added there was more than met the eye to his team’s resurgence.
“Our energy out there was just completely different,” said Maas, who added 15 points, including a trio of three-pointers, and seven rebounds. “You could tell even before the game that we were ready and this was one game we really wanted to win.”
Saia believes his squad is finally hitting its stride.
“We’ve been scuffling, there’s no doubt,” he said. “We’ve been trying to get the guys to click together. I think we finally did it. But it took longer than expected – like 26 games.”
MC playmaker JR Bosch, another senior, was solid running the floor. Bosch had four assists and six points.
And senior Walker Waite, despite scoring just two points, was a key factor in spearheading MC’s stifling 2-3 zone defense.
The Peregrine Falcons struggled down the stretch, losing five of their final six contests.
“We’ve struggled all season versus the zone,” Bauer said. “And we didn’t shoot very well tonight, either. You can’t win if you don’t put the ball in the hoop.”
Owen Bugas led all Archie Williams scorers with 17 points and teammate Henry Sethre added 13 points and five rebounds.
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