The Carlmont Scots varsity boys basketball team prevailed over the Hillsdale Knights following a dominant 64-46 win on Friday. The game pushed the Scots’ record to 9-8 overall and 5-1 in their league, where they are currently second behind Menlo-Atherton.
The win furthered the Scots’ 3-game win streak following previous victories against Woodside and Mountain View. The loss for the Knights makes their record 5-13 overall, and they are currently 0-6 in their league and are seventh in the standings.
The Scots got off on the right foot as they took a 15-4 lead over the Knights midway through the first quarter. The Scots could use their larger size, scoring all of their first 12 points from within the paint.
“We came out, defended well, and pushed the ball in transition. We were denying the passing lanes on defense, which sparked our offense,” said Carlmont head coach John Schrup.
Despite the slow start, the Knights slowly came back. Hillsdale junior Sebastian Avina scored a corner three off an inbound in the quarter’s final seconds to narrow the score to 17-13 in the Scots favor.
The second quarter was a back-and-forth between the two teams. It wasn’t until the Scots went on an 11-5 run in the middle of the second quarter that gave them some breathing room.
With seconds remaining in the half, Carlmont senior Franklin Kuo got a steal off a dropped pass before dunking it on the other end, bringing the score up to 34-23 with the Scots in the lead.
“In the first half, we passed the ball around and moved it, and we got wide-open layups, and I thought that got us going,” said Carlmont sophomore Jordan Rice.
The Knights came into the third quarter in need of a spark and found it through a 9-4 run aided by Hillsdale senior Cruz Barcklay, who had a 3-pointer from the corner. The Knights were able to get within six points of the Scots midway through the third quarter.
“I think we knew it was going to be a tough game, and so we’ve had a lot of tough games in the past. Tonight, it’s about us competing for 32 minutes,” said Hillsdale head coach Arjuna Manning-Laisne. “I thought we did compete for 32 minutes, and so that made me really pleased.”
With 12 seconds remaining, Carlmont senior Camden Ngo hit a step-back three to extend the Scots lead by 10. The Scots concluded the quarter ahead with a score of 45-35.
The Scots started the fourth quarter strong with back-to-back 3-pointers on their first two possessions from Ngo and Carlmont senior Jeremiah Phillips.
The Knights responded with a pass from Hillsdale junior Callum North to a cutting Hillsdale senior Jaden Chu and finished the play with a layup.
Possession went back and forth as time wound down, and the Scots slowly increased their lead, leading 58-40 with two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The Scots closed out the game 64-46.
Despite the win, Rice does see areas for improvement for his team, primarily on the defensive side.
“We had a lot of breakdowns, offensive rebounds and easy layoffs for them,” Rice said. “If we get better there, we’ll be fine.”
Although the season is nearing an end, the Scots still face a lot ahead of them, according to Schrup.
“We play Menlo-Atherton this Friday and got to take care of business. That’s really going to be for the league championship. Then, CCS, nor-Cal, State, all that good stuff,” Schrup said.
