Boys basketball: Marin Catholic avenges loss to Redwood, advances to title game

The Marin Catholic boys basketball team has held a lofty ranking since knocking off some tough foes during the holiday tournament season.

The Wildcats (22-3)  proved they were for real by capturing first-place during the MCAL regular season.

But one thing was gnawing at the Wildcats’ craw — a seven-point loss to arch-rival Redwood in late January, Martin Catholic’s only blemish in MCAL play.

The Wildcats exorcised that demon in a rough-and-tumble 66-53 victory against the Giants in the MCAL semifinals Wednesday in front of a capacity crowd in Kentfield.

Marin Catholic advances to Friday’s MCAL final against Branson. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Redwood gym.

“Last time we played Redwood, we might have been a bit cocky,” said MC guard Oliver Myers, who led all scorers with 19 points, including an 11-for-11 performance from the free-throw line. “We didn’t come out with our regular fire. We took that loss personally. We wanted to win this game badly.”

Things went from bad to worse for the Giants late in the third quarter when Redwood coach Jay DeMaestri was whistled for his second technical foul of the game.

The second technical not only earned DeMaestri an ejection from the gymnasium but it also earned the Giants two free throws on top of the two they were about to shoot just before “T” time.

MC’s floor captain Joe Hammond, who took an elbow so hard chasing a rebound that it left a half-inch gash in his tongue, sank the first two free throws.

Myers stepped up and also swished both of his charity shots.

The four-point swing pushed MC’s lead to 45-38 and Redwood never fully recovered.

“To be honest, I think the turning point in the game was when their coach got kicked out,” Myers said. “The crowd went crazy and we just kind of fed off of that.”

The first half, however, was similar in many ways to the first meeting between the two teams.

Redwood (12-13) and its typical hard-nosed style crashed the boards and played in-your-face defense to secure a 15-12 first-quarter advantage.

Perhaps the only thing preventing the Giants from mounting a bigger lead was seven first-period turnovers as MC’s defense was diligent in patrolling the passing lanes.

“The first time we played (Redwood) they out-physicaled us and out-toughed us,” MC coach Kevin Vasquez said. “It was kind of the same way tonight in the first half. Those guys are gritty and tough.”

Marin Catholic did not secure its first lead until the final seconds of the first half after Myers converted two free throws courtesy of DeMaestri’s first technical foul. On the ensuing re-possession Myers drove the lane for a lay-up and the Wildcats led 27-26 at intermission.

The Wildcats, who converted 21-of-28 free throws in the second half, went up by seven when Hammond scored on a fast-break.

But the Giants kept clawing and crept to within three when Jake Post darted through the MC defense for an uncontested lay-up.

Redwood’s comeback fizzled out, however, as Marin Catholic’s steadiness at the free-throw line proved too much to overcome.

“We play 17 (players) deep on this team,” Hammond said. “And we fight to the end. We’re a close-knit unit and even if we get six or seven points down we don’t falter or lose faith in each other.”

The unsung star of the game for Marin Catholic was Micah Pierce, who came off the bench to contribute four steals, three offensive rebounds, two blocked shots and 10 points.

Pierce also put an exclamation point on Marin Catholic’s victory in the final seconds when he capped a fast break in style with a two-handed slam dunk.

Other noteworthy contributors for the Wildcats were Lucas Rotem, who came off the bench in the second half and dropped in seven-of-nine free throws, Bentley Morrow (eight points, six rebounds and two blocked shots), Dom Tarantino (two offensive rebounds, two three-pointers and a steal) and Jack Herman (five rebounds and a steal).

Harrington White led Redwood scorers with 16 points and teammate guard Max Monterastelli pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.