Carlmont boys varsity basketball won in an exciting fashion over the Monta Vista Matadors on Friday, Dec. 17. The Scots were exceptionally proud of this win and were in good spirits after the game.
“The team’s performance is the best we’ve had all season,” said Ben Lefer, a junior forward for the Scots. “It showed how much we can play as a team and just trust each other.”
Midway through the first quarter, Enzo Carvalho-Goncalves, a junior guard had already hit a couple of 3-pointers to add to an early 17-2 lead that instilled some confidence in the Scots.
“There were moments where I was hitting [many] shots in a row,” Carvalho-Goncalves said. “It brought my confidence up and I think it brought the team’s confidence up.”
Lefer opened the second quarter scoring by grabbing his own offensive rebound and shooting a mid-range jump shot.
While Carlmont tried to take their momentum from the first quarter into the second, their aggressive presence on defense was met with many fouls. These fouls ended with free throws for the Matadors.
“Sometimes we’re not going to get calls not to go our way but sometimes I appreciate it because I like to see how our boys fight through the adversity because I won’t want our style to change,” said Suahail Mohammadi, head coach of the Scots.
Throughout the game, the intensity on the offensive glass was prevalent in Scots’ second-chance point totals.
“Past games have shown that we haven’t been working on that side, but tonight we really hustled on the offensive boards,” Lefer said.
The Scots started the second half with defense that quickly assumed an aggressive stance. Lefer deflected a Monta Vista pass, came up with a steal and made a layup on the other end.
Despite all the foul calls, Carlmont continued to stay locked in on defense, and Coach Mohammadi voiced pride in his team’s performance.
“There were some mistakes here and there, but I think the boys did a good job of understanding their mistakes,” Mohammadi said.
The third quarter finished with the Scots again committing two defensive fouls but the Matadors couldn’t capitalize on the extra possessions.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Lucas Bergendahl, a junior forward at Monta Vista, was fouled shooting a 3-pointer, but only ended up making one out of three free throws.
To close the game, the Scots and the Matadors traded multiple 3-pointers to put the final score at 83-52.
“My team supported me and just told me to keep shooting and I ended up making shots at the end of the game,” Carvalho-Goncalves said.
With this confidence-boosting win over the Matadors, the Scots were happy to start their winter holiday break on a high note.
“We’re going to get after it in terms of the physical part of practice, but I do believe the holidays are good for a mental recharge and time for you to spend with your family and loved ones,” Mohammadi said.
