The 3-0 start at the beginning of the season now seems like a fantasy for the Carlmont varsity basketball team.
Carlmont continued their losing ways on Friday night, as the Scots lost to Sequoia, 36-32, despite a late run led by sophomore guard Michael Costello and senior forward Yash Malik.
The first half was absolutely atrocious for the Scots. They scored eight points in the half, with only one made field goal.
On the other hand, Sequoia got everything they wanted inside the paint, mostly due to the fact that the Cherokees utilized the one thing they had that Carlmont didn’t: center Julian Bertero.
Bertero, a six-foot-five center, was simply too large for the Scots to handle. He scored seven points in the first half and grabbed three offensive rebounds, assisting to the 21-8 lead for the Cherokees.
At the half, Carlmont coach David Lowe said, “We’ve put ourselves in a hole and failed to capitalize on any shots. We’ve got to play harder than them in the second half.”
The third quarter, however, was completely different from the first half. Carlmont, led by Costello and Malik, tied the game up at 25-25, with the two players scoring seven and six points respectively in that quarter alone.
The fourth quarter was neck and neck. Carlmont pulled away to a four point lead with less than a minute left, but then got sloppy on defense, leading to two consecutive lay-ups for Sequoia, tying it up at 32-32.
With five seconds left, Sequoia’s senior guard Jerod Woo found Bertero, who went up for the shot and was fouled.
Bertero knew the game was on the line, yet sank both free throws without even touching rim.
Carlmont had one last chance but turned the ball over and Sequoia made two final free throws to finish the game, 36-32.
After the game, Lowe said, “We’ve been practicing and playing poorly the last few weeks and we won’t make PAL… This group has a lot of seniors and we’ll have to make a lot of adjustments next year.”
After a 3-0 start in league, Carlmont now drops down to 5-6. Meanwhile, Sequoia improves to 6-5.
With nine seniors on their roster, the Carlmont varsity basketball team will have a completely different look next season. They will try to redeem themselves next year when the sophomore players join the team.
