It was a chilly rainy day on Feb. 4, but that didn’t stop the Menlo- Atherton Bears and the Carlmont Scots from giving all they had in their game.
The Bears took the victory, but the Scots freshman team did everything they could to fight all the way through.
“The boys showed a lot of heart in the fourth quarter,” said head coach Jimmy Cappels. “Our defense was solid, though the third quarter was tough. Either way, I’m very proud of what the boys put together; shots just weren’t falling.”
The game started off slow, but both teams started rolling as the first quarter came to an end though the Bears led by two.
The second quarter was more of the same until the last three minutes when the Bears made three quick 3-pointers to put them up by nine at the end of the first half.
“The energy is great, we’re hitting shots, I like the way the boys are playing,” said head coach Harry Bell as he explained his thoughts on the Bears’ play in the first half. “We just need to keep taking good shots and playing good defense.”
Even though the Scots were down, they were determined to play better defense and get the ball to the basket more in the second half. However, the third quarter did not go as planned, as the Bears kept hitting threes and getting to the basketball more often than not.
Though the Scots got to the free thrown line a lot more during the duration of the quarter, the third period came to an end, with the Bears holding a 8 point lead heading into the final period of play.
“We need to get back on defense! Take the smart shots, and handle the ball with care,” Cappels said to the Scots just before the fourth quarter.
The Scots fought hard throughout the fourth quarter, but the Bears kept up their good defense they had shown all game.
In the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, freshman Joe Seaman got to the basket converting an and-one play over the Bears defense, then hitting the free throw the cut the Bears lead to 4.
M-A ended up turning it over, and freshman Dalton Meeks put up a quick three to cut the Bears lead to just one.
The Bears then inbounded the ball, and the Scots had to foul fast. M-A freshman Aaron Hawns then hit two free throws to put them back up by 3.
The Scots tried everything they could but ended up only getting one more free throw to cut the lead to two.
The Bears ended up pulling away in the end by playing stellar defense and sealed the deal with a 49-47 win over the Scots.
“They played their hearts out, and I’m tremendously proud,” said Cappels.
M-A was very proud of their play throughout the game.
“We showed up to play basketball today, Aaron was hitting his shots, and all the boys were playing defense. Not much to complain about,” said Bell.
This was the last matchup of the season of the season between the Scots and the Bears, and fans are looking forward to the matchup again next year.