Isabella Wilson

Senior Jeremiah Phillips goes up for the shot while two Woodside defenders try to stop him. Phillips made the shot and was quick to get back on defense. The Wildcats had little success stopping the Carlmont offense throughout the night. “The energy felt it was high. This is a team that isn’t as good as us, so we definitely want to show that we were better,” said Emil Gordi said.

The Carlmont varsity boys basketball team destroyed the Woodside Wildcats, winning 54-37 on Wednesday night at home. This is Woodside’s first year in the Peninsula-Bay League, the top league in the area, and they have been struggling to succeed.

The Scots came out strong, winning the tipoff and immediately scoring five points in the game’s first two minutes. 

The momentum continued as Carlmont barely gave Woodside the opportunity to score, leading 16-4 at the end of the first quarter. 

“I thought we passed the ball and got the ball around very well. We got up in transition, and we got a lot of easy layups,” said sophomore Jordan Rice. 

The Scots dominated the first half by more than doubling Woodside’s score, 29-12 going into halftime. 

The energy was high coming into the game and the Scots maintained it throughout.

“We were playing music in the locker room to get us fired up,” Rice said.

The Scots kept their momentum and energy into the second half. They continued to make drives to the hoop and keep their defense strong. 

Senior Jeremiah Phillips displayed his connection with his teammates with a behind-the-back pass to Dominic Crosby, who then shot and made the basket with ease during the fourth quarter.

The Scots finished the game and advanced their overall record to 8-8. 

“We have guys who can get to the rim. We have guys who can shoot the ball really well, and we have good quickness and athleticism, so we’re good on defense. It’s just putting that all together,” head coach John Schrup said.

All those factors have led to the team’s success this season. After playing the Wildcats, Carlmont’s record is 4-1 in the Peninsula-Bay league standings. Their loss was against Menlo-Atherton, the only team ahead of them in the league standings.

As the Scots enter the second half of their season, Schrup believes his team is progressing in all the right directions. 

“I think we’re growing and getting better at the right time, which is getting towards the end of the season and second half of the league. We just have some things that we need to clean up,” Schrup said.

The Scots still hold on, hoping their rematch against Menlo-Atherton will go in their favor. 

“I think we should win the next game against them. We’ve been practicing hard and conditioning well, so we should be able to compete,” junior Emil Gordi said.