Boys basketball: Marin Catholic powers into Bambauer semifinals

As far as Bambauer Holiday basketball tournament trophies go, the Marin Catholic High cupboard is a bit bare. Suddenly, however, a big, shiny new trophy gleaming in the case doesn’t seem so far-fetched for the Wildcats, who have not captured their own tournament since 2011.

After Marin Catholic’s second waltzing victory – a 92-61 quarterfinal thrashing Friday of Heritage (Brentwood) – in as many nights at the 2025 gathering of teams, the Wildcats have to be considered one of the favorites for the Bambauer title.

And if the Wildcats do reach the promised land with first-place trophy in hand, chances are nobody will be able to pinpoint one player and claim he is the reason MC won it.

Marin Catholic (9-2) survives and usually thrives because of its depth.

At times, the Wildcats seem to have two distinct and separate starting lineups and coach Kevin Vasquez is not a bit shy about rotating players five at a time.

“It’s all about depth,” said MC’s Henry Dibble, who knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 14 points — one of four MC players to reach double-figures in scoring. “Knowing we have another quality player coming in after our shift allows us to play at 110 percent the entire time we’re on the court.”

The Wildcats feature a carousel of shooters, rebounders and defensive specialists. At any given moment in a game, a different player takes center stage.

Dibble and Oliver Myers were beasts in the first half, combining for 26 points as the Wildcats pulled away 54-33 at halftime.

Neither Dibble or Myers scored another point in the contest – and there was no drop off in MC’s performance.

“The best player on our team is depth,” Vasquez said. “Depth is our best player.”

Depth was starter Jack Herman scoring MC’s first seven points of the third quarter. Herman was terrific throughout, scoring a game-high 15 points and corralling a team-high six rebounds. But in the third quarter he was at his best, contributing 11 points, a rebound at both ends of the floor, and a blocked shot.

Just about the time Herman took a breather, sophomore Liam Crawford came to life. Crawford scored eight straight including a pair of three-pointers as the Wildcats extended their already comfortable lead to 69-37. Crawford finished with 11 points, two steals and an offensive rebound.

“The players know they can go as hard as they can while they are out on the floor because at a certain point they know they are going to come out and get a rest,” Vasquez said. “But they also know they are going to come back in.”

So far, the MC revolving door is working fabulously.

“It’s all up to us,” Dibble said. “You can talk about rankings and stats all you want. But at the end of the day, the unit is what really matters. We know in order to be successful we have to play as a unit and not as a bunch of individuals.”

Six other players contributed more than two points including Bentley Morrow (six points, four rebounds and two blocked shots), Don Hammond (seven points, two steals), Joe Hammond (four points, two steals), Chase Williams (four points, three rebounds), Micah Pierce (four points, three rebounds), and Dom Tarantino (three points, three rebounds).

Marin Catholic advances to Monday’s semifinals and takes on Lincoln — a 66-57 winner against Central Catholic in Saturday’s late game.