Boys basketball: San Marin survives thriller against Terra Linda

A dunk by Terra Linda High center Evan Brewster opened Friday night’s showdown with a thunderous statement. But San Marin senior Anthony Elwell and the host Mustangs had the final say in a thrilling victory.

“This was a huge win for us,” San Marin head coach Chris Lavdiotis said after the Mustangs eked out a 69-66 home victory over Terra Linda in Friday’s MCAL opener. “We’ve been burping a bit lately, winning one game, then losing the next. Now we’re in league play and we’re 1-0 and we have momentum.”

San Marin (10-7, 1-0 MCAL) is scheduled to host MCAL title favorite Marin Catholic (13-2), the second-ranked team in the North Coast Section, on Tuesday.

“Marin Catholic is the consensus team to beat, but we’re right there in the mix,” Lavdiotis said.

The Trojans (9-5, 0-1), who face Tam on Tuesday, also figure to be in the playoff mix toward the end of the season.

“We are back. We are not a team to be overlooked,” Terra Linda head coach James Baker said. “Teams used to look at us as an easy ‘W’ but not anymore. We’re going to be a tough challenge.”

The fans were on their feet for the final minutes of Friday’s gripping contest as the teams battled back and forth.

Logan Walters scored 14 of his game-high 23 points during a second-half Trojans rally. He also pulled down 12 rebounds. Junior Wesley Harrison and senior guard Shauwn Sharpe added 12 points each, while Brewster finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Sharpshooter Jake Beisler led the Mustangs with 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and Miller Morgan tallied 17 points. Grant Means added 11 points.

Elwell finished with nine points, including the final four for San Marin. The Mustangs led by one point with less than 4 seconds left on the clock when Elwell drew contact from Brewster, who fouled out, sending Elwell to the line to shore up the Mustangs’ lead.

“Our guys will tell you that Anthony Elwell was the player of the game,” Lavdiotis said. “It was fabulous what he did on defense. We hadn’t seen anyone go right at Brewster before, so that’s what he did. Getting Brewster to foul out was a big part of the game.”

The Mustangs had led since the middle of the second quarter, but found themselves in a tug of war with the Trojans down the stretch. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Harrison and a layup from Walters put the Trojans ahead 58-57 with 4 minutes, 30 seconds left to play.

The teams went back and forth, with the Mustangs taking a one-point lead with Means at the free-throw line with just more than a minute to play. The Mustangs got the ball back and tried to set up for a 3-pointer to ice the game, but Brewster emphatically rejected Morgan’s attempt.

San Marin settled for a layup from Elwell, giving the Mustangs a 67-64 edge with 25 seconds left. Sharpe went up for a game-tying 3-pointer only to be fouled. With the game potentially on the line, he missed the first of three free throws, then sank the next two, leaving Terra Linda trailing by the slimmest of margins.

The Trojans immediately fouled the Mustangs, sending Ryan Houlahan to the line with 3.8 seconds left. A stroke of luck for Terra Linda as Houlahan missed both shots, but Brewster was whistled for his fifth foul amid the chaos to grab the rebound, sending Elwell to the line, where he calmly sank both shots.

“Other teams have figured out that Brewster is one of our main guys, and they focus on him,” Baker said. “But our other guys have to step up, like they did tonight.”

A desperate halfcourt shot from Sharpe hit the backboard and bounced away as time ran out on the Trojans’ comeback hopes.

“We prepared well for this game,” Lavdiotis said. “After Tuesday’s (55-52) loss to St. Joseph, the guys were so disappointed… But they were focused for this game.”

The Trojans battled to a slight lead in the first quarter, but Beisler hit a trio of 3-pointers to rally the Mustangs to a 29-24 lead midway through the second quarter. The Mustangs were on the run as they opened an 11-point lead before the break. Morgan’s shot over Walters at the buzzer was initially called a 3-pointer, but then it was ruled he stepped inside the arc, for a 39-28 lead.

No lead was safe with two teams eager to state their case as early title contenders. Walters rallied the Trojans to within four points in the third quarter as he poured in eight points.

“We turned up the defense and made it uncomfortable for them to shoot the 3-pointers,” Baker said. “Then our shooters stepped up,” as the Trojans outscored the Mustangs 20-16 during a third-quarter surge to set the stage for a dramatic finish.