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Terra Linda 79, San Marin 73

For the San Marin High boys basketball team, the third time was actually not the charm. Actually, it was more like strike three.

Terra Linda sent down the Mustangs for the third time this season on Tuesday, this time for a 79-73 victory in the first round of the North Coast Section Division III playoffs.

In a game that featured 81 combined points by halftime, the Trojans (18-12) kept the game's tempo pushed to the max.

"That's our game plan always," Terra Linda coach Steve Farbstein said. "We always feel like we can get up the floor and get into transition. But (San Marin) shot the heck out of the ball."

That San Marin shooting kept the game close throughout. To start the fourth quarter, the Mustangs (14-15) went on a 7-2 run to cut the Trojans' lead to a single point at 60-59.

That turned out to be the Mustangs' last gasp, and Terra Linda immediately followed with a 6-0 run to regain its cushion. Farbstein admitted that was one of the more tense moments of the night.

"If they'd scored again, maybe a panic starts to set in," Farbstein said. "We were fortunate it was our possession. We got a bucket, we got a stop and we got another transition bucket. All of a sudden we could breath a little bit again."

San Marin continued to hit big shots throughout the final 2 1/2 minutes of the game - 3-pointers by J.T. Delagnes, John Seavey and Dustin Cole - but the Trojans' 8-for-11 free-throw shooting down the stretch was enough to secure advancement to a Friday game at No. 2 Analy (27-1).

But for as many 3-pointers as San Marin hit, the land behind the arc on Tuesday belonged to Terra Linda's Kenny Woodard.

The senior guard for the Trojans nailed six 3-pointers, five of them coming in the first half when the Mustangs were matching the Trojans shot for shot.

"We like to play like that," Woodard said after scoring a game-high 26 points. "We like for things to open up and we can run. (San Marin) went to that 2-3 zone, and we'd penetrate down the middle and things just opened up for me in the wings."

Woodard hit five of his 3-pointers in a hectic first half that, while it wasn't in his game plan, San Marin coach Craig Pitti let roll.

"In all honesty, we have a difficult time slowing Terra Linda down," Pitti said. "It turned into a shootout in the first half, and I knew that exactly wasn't our strong suit. But we were right there with them."

Terra Linda started the game with a 9-3 run, but San Marin chipped slowly at the lead - while the teams mostly traded baskets - and eventually took the advantage when Chris Glennon nailed a 3-pointer halfway through the second quarter to put the visiting Mustangs up 31-30. It was another 3-pointer, this one by Terra Linda's Kevin Maloney less than a minute later, that put the lead back on the home side of the scoreboard.

The Trojans pushed ahead even further when Woodard was fouled in hitting his fifth trey of the game. He converted the rare four-point play, and the Trojans stood with a 42-35 advantage.

Delagnes had the half's last word, however, with a 30-footer at the buzzer to cut the Trojans' lead to three at the intermission.

"What a great way for J.T., as a senior, to go out," Pitti said of Delagnes' team-high 23 points. "He was just incredible tonight."

For the Mustangs, Seavey finished with 17 points, while Stuart Wesonga came away with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

~ John Swartz of the Marin IJ

Terra Linda 49, Redwood 61

It was 31 years in the making, and there were well over 31 hugs and handshakes for Redwood High boys basketball coach Steve Compagno after he coached the Giants to their first MCAL playoff championship since 1979.

"I was kind of embarrassed, actually," Compagno said after he walked off his home court after Redwood beat Terra Linda 61-49 on Saturday to cap a perfect run through the league campaign.

Even though he had the lion's share of the congratulatory embraces following the game, Compagno immediately turned the attention to his players.

"These guys wanted it from Day 1 ... and they were on a mission," he said. "These kids deserve it. They were the best team wire-to-wire this year, and it's just a privilege to be their coach."

After a slow start to the contest, top-seed Redwood (26-2) got going early in the second, extending its lead to 19-11. No. 3 Terra Linda (17-12) answered immediately in the form of a Kenny Woodward 3-pointer; he had a chance at completing a rare four-point play, but Woodward missed the free throw that followed after he was fouled draining the trey.

It was a missed opportunity that somewhat exemplified the Trojans' night.

More unconverted chances followed, especially in the fourth quarter - with the game's outcome still in doubt - when Terra Linda forced back-to-back Redwood turnovers but couldn't convert them into any points.

When the Giants had chances, and second chances, the MCAL champs didn't squander them. Redwood converted 21 points off Trojan turnovers and added another 10 points off its own offensive rebounds.

"I thought the key to the game was their offensive rebounding," Terra Linda coach Steve Farbstein said. "They got second shots and way too many opportunities to keep their possessions alive."

DeMarqus Wiggins led the way on the glass for the Giants with 10 rebounds, completing his double-double performance after also scoring a game-high 20 points.

"DeMarqus is a big-game guy, and he's worked extremely hard to get to this point," Compagno said. "I'm very proud (of the way) he maintained his composure."

For Wiggins, it was the second time leading the Giants in scoring this postseason. He totaled 33 points in his two league playoff games.

"We did this together as a team," Wiggins said. "It took all 17 players from the first day to the last day. ... I think one goal that the players had together was to get one for our coach and one for our school. We did it, and it felt great."

Ryan Healy was second in scoring for the Giants with 14 points, and nearly earned a double-double himself with his nine rebounds. Center Max Jackson turned in 12 points.

But Compagno said their efforts were rewarded because of the floor leadership of Jay Flaherty, who took the ball up the court against Terra Linda's pressure defense and kept the offense working as a single unit.

That defensive pressure, Flaherty said, was tighter on Saturday that it has been all season long.

"(Terra Linda) came out with a lot of defensive intensity," he said. "I think that's the best I've ever seen them play. Kenny (Woodward) was giving me a horrible time. I couldn't get much done in the first half. I think we kind of settled down (after halftime), and the atmosphere really came into play."

Mike Best and Christian Manoli led the Trojans with 16 and 12 points, respectively. And Terra Linda will now look to its North Coast Section Division III hopes.

"I think we could be a 6 or 7 seed," Farbstein said. "It's going to get us a home game ... and we'll take it from there."

Compagno, meanwhile, sees his team succeeding in the NCS D-II playoffs much like it did in the league campaign.

"We're not done," he said. "We're going to go to the North Coast ... and we'll really find out how good we can be.

"I think we're real good. I think we're going to go a long way. I think you'll see us in the NorCal championships."

~ John Swartz of the Marin IJ
 

Terra Linda 46, Branson 41

Terra Linda High boys basketball coach Steve Farbstein has spent the season wondering when his team would deliver the defensive effort he was convinced they were capable of producing. He finally got satisfaction Friday night.

The third-seeded Trojans (17-11) turned up their defensive intensity in the MCAL tournament semifinals at Redwood, forcing Branson (18-6) to miss its first 16 shots as Terra Linda posted a 46-41 victory over the second-seeded Bulls. The Trojans' reward is a championship battle with top-seeded Redwood at Redwood on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

"Defensively, by far that was our best game of the year," Farbstein said. "I envisioned that we could defend like that at the beginning of the year. Overall, it was an outstanding defensive effort on our part."

Branson held Terra Linda to its lowest point total of the season in a 51-28 victory during the regular season, but Terra Linda was much sharper from the start Friday. With 6-foot-8 center Mike Best disrupting Branson's inside game and Kenny Woodard and Christian Manoli among others hounding the Bulls on the perimeter, Terra Linda found the formula for success.

"Michael was a huge factor because they couldn't get in the lane against us," said Farbstein, who then lauded his entire team's efforts. "They stuck to the game plan defensively. Not that they haven't before, but I think we're an offensive-minded team and we think offense first. And in order to win this championship they had to defend and they believed in that."

"It feels good to finally get a win," said Manoli, who led Terra Linda with 16 points. "They're good. I always have a really hard time with them because they play that defense. It's great to beat them."

The feeling in the other locker room was something short of exhilaration. The Bulls, who had a similar letdown in a loss to Drake last week, were wondering what went wrong. Given that the North Coast Section playoffs begin next week, Branson has limited time to come up with answers.

"It's disappointing to say the least," Branson senior guard Tyler Gaffaney (20 points) said. "I think we came out soft and slow. We didn't play hard; the whole team came out without any energy. We were lackadaisical. We didn't care."

Gaffaney and senior forward Adam Boone did their best to get Branson back in the game in the fourth quarter, combining for 19 points in the final period. But Terra Linda's lead, which reached 15 points when Kenny Woodard (12 points) scored on a drive with 1:41 to play, proved too big to overcome.

"We just didn't have it," Boone said. "We didn't really play together like we talked about after the Drake game. É We started out slow and I kept thinking, 'Maybe we'll pick it up now. Maybe we'll pick it up.' And it was never there."

Terra Linda built a 9-2 lead in the first quarter, with two free throws from Gaffaney accounting for the Branson points. The Trojans then extended their lead to 16-2 before Sam Jacobs dropped in the Bulls' first field goal at 4:22 of the second quarter. At halftime, the Terra Linda lead stood at 24-10.

"I thought we did a good job on Tyler, Tyler had to work for everything he got," Farbstein said of Gaffaney. "And we're fortunate that Adam didn't get going until late."

Branson coach Bob Donlan was upset by what he perceived as a lack of focus by the Bulls.

"We struggled. That's going to happen some times," Donlan said. "You know, you struggle and how do you respond to adversity? Tonight we crumbled. The guys got tentative, you know doubting themselves after the first couple shots didn't go. And we lose sight and let it affect us on the other side of the floor. We didn't right the ship in the second quarter and we didn't seem to wake up until desperation time. I'm extremely disappointed. My kids told me they got the wake-up call after Drake. And it was clear with our effort tonight that they didn't."

Donations will be solicited during the MCAL finals to benefit Woodard, whose mother was shot to death in Richmond last year.

~ Dave Curtis of the Marin IJ

Terra Linda 57, Drake 45

The difference: With No. 3 seeded Terra Linda holding a narrow 44-42 lead in the waning minutes of its first-round MCAL playoff game with No. 6 Drake, the Trojans' Kenny Woodard, who scored 14 points with four assists, hit a 3-pointer extending the lead to five, and TL (16-11) went on to beat Drake (13-15) in Terra Linda. The Trojans' Christian Manoli led all scorers with 19 points, and Mike Best turned in a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Cole Charlton also grabbed a dozen boards, as TL beat the Pirates for the second time in four tries this season.

From the coach: "We set a tone in the first quarter and took control early," TL's Steve Farbstein said. "We ran the floor early and got a lot of points in transition. (But) Drake kept chipping away, ... from my team's perspective, I don't know if we played our best game but defensively we played our best team game of the year."

Notable: Collin Carmody scored 11 points and Ryan Euphrat added nine for the Pirates.

Tam 71, Terra Linda 70

The difference: Needing a victory to become eligible for the North Coast Section Division III playoffs, Tam came through with the victory in overtime. Clay Griebel-Thorpe hit the second of two free throws to break the tie in the final seconds. TL's Christian Manoli, who led all scorers with 39 points, missed an 18-footer at the buzzer to give Tam (13-13, 5-9) the win over the Trojans (15-11, 9-5). Peter Malmquist hit a 3-pointer to give Tam a one-point lead in the final minute of regulation, before Cole Charlton hit one of two free throws for TL to send the game to the extra period.

From the coach: "We have been searching for some competitive spirit all season long and tonight we got it when we needed it most from Willie Smith and Peter Malmquist," Tam's Alex Pribble said. "When times got tough Willie and Pete fended off the wolves during Terra Linda's comeback and in overtime."

Notable: Terra Linda's Mike Best did not play for disciplinary reasons. Best was involved in a controversial sequence in which San Marin standout Stuart Wesonga was injured last week. Kenny Woodard missed the game for personal reasons, while teammate Ricky Winkeller was out sick. All are expected to be back when the Trojans open MCAL playoffs on Tuesday. "We were shorthanded tonight so we leaned on some different people tonight," TL coach Steve Farbstein said. "Cole Charlton had his best game of the year with 12 points and 11 rebounds." TL's Richie Guzman added 14 points. Ja'Van Hall led Tam with 18 points, while Malmquist added 16 and Smith contributed 15. Tam did not qualify for the MCAL playoffs.

Redwood 61, Terra Linda 49

It would hardly qualify at an artistic masterpiece, but the Redwood High boys basketball team was not about to complain. Not after their 61-49 victory at Terra Linda on Tuesday night guaranteed the Giants sole possession of the MCAL regular-season title for the first time since the 1978-79 season.

But one might forgive the Giants (23-2, 13-0) for wanting more. With a victory over last-place Justin-Siena on Thursday, they would become the first Redwood squad to go unbeaten in an MCAL season since the 1970-71 squad.

"It's great to go 13-1," said Giants senior guard Ryan Healy. "But 14-0 sounds much better than 13-1. That's our goal, to go perfect. We've been waiting for this year for a long time. It's been so fun. It's one of the funnest - sorry, most fun - it's been one of the most fun seasons and one of the best teams I've ever been on. I'm just having a ball."

Healy played a pretty big role in Redwood's win Tuesday, contributing 13 points and helping to hold Terra Linda point guard Kenny Woodard to seven points. For good measure, Giants center Max Jackson finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds and Max Hillman threw in eight second-quarter points as Redwood erased a 17-13 first-quarter deficit.

"We want to win every single game," Jackson said. "So, winning every single game, that means we go 14-0. You know, that's our goal."

Redwood coach Steve Compagno said it would be great to finish 14-0 for his players' sakes.

"It's not important to me, I think it's important to them," Compagno said. "You know, one of the questions that we posed for the team was: 'How good can we be every time we take the court?' And they've really taken that challenge to heart."

The game was tight throughout the first half, with Redwood finally taking the lead for good when Jackson hit two free throws to make it 27-26 with 3:31 left in the second quarter. The Giants extended their lead to 31-26 by halftime, then took their first double-digit lead when Healy hit a 3-pointer to make it 39-28 with 5:27 remaining in the third quarter. The Trojans (15-10, 9-4) got to within 42-37 when Christian Manoli (21 points) scored on a drive early in the fourth quarter, but a three-point play by Jackson after he corraled his own rebound less than 20 seconds later swung the momentum back to Redwood.

"I thought that our intensity level was good," Terra Linda coach Steve Farbstein said. "And I think with that kind of effort we have the ability to compete with the Redwoods and the Bransons. Really, if you look at it, it's a five-point game and we get the first bucket of the third quarter and it's a three-point game and then we go cold for 4 1/2 minutes. ... But I think for the most part the energy level that we expended was good. It was a four-minute stretch of the third quarter that was basically it."

For Redwood, the goal remains staying focused on the next game at hand. That might be difficult considering the big picture shows the Giants in contention for the No. 1 seed in the North Coast Section Division II playoffs.

"We're playing one game at a time," Healy said. "Next game is Justin-Siena and that's our biggest game of the year."

"The game we're about to play is always our biggest game," Jackson added.

Though the Giants would not confess to looking ahead, they were happy to look back at the victory over Terra Linda in a game that was physical from the outset. That the victory came on the road also was a source of pride.

"Somewhere down the road, we're going to have to play in an environment that isn't friendly," Compagno said. The officials "called the game the way they saw it and we played the game the way we had to play it. We did what it took and I challenged them before the game to stay perfect and they did. And I think this is the best that we have played all year because we had fight through, it got physical. And we just kept playing. That's what I'm most proud of, that we maintained our composure."

By Dave Curtis of the Marin IJ

Terra Linda 69, San Marin 61

Kenny Woodard scored nine of his 22 points in the fourth quarter after San Marin center Stuart Wesonga went down with an injury, leading the Terra Linda High boys basketball team to a 69-61 win on Saturday.

The Mustangs (13-11, 6-6 MCAL) lost Wesonga to a back injury late in the third quarter. San Marin lead by three when Wesonga went down and was outscored by 11 points the rest of the way.

"In terms of how severe it will be, we'll just play it game to game," San Marin coach Craig Pitti said. "It's too early to tell."

Christian Manoli scored 19 points, had eight assists and seven rebounds for the Trojans (15-9, 9-3), who pulled away from the Mustangs with a 23-17 advantage in the fourth quarter.

"(The Mustangs) had a lot of momentum at the time (Wesonga) went down with the injury," TL coach Steve Farbstein said. "We kind of perked up at the time he went out of the game, really got ourselves back into the transition game."

Wesonga had 19 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks before the injury occurred.

The victory assures TL of no worse than a third-place finish in MCAL. San Marin remains in good shape for a playoff run and could lock up a spot with a win over Novato on Tuesday.

Terra Linda 62, San Rafael 55

The difference: After struggling from the free-throw line early in the game, TL's Christian Manoli found his rhythm, making 6 of 6 in the fourth quarter to help the Trojans hold off a San Rafael comeback attempt. TL (14-9, 8-3) led by 13 late in the third quarter but a 10-0 run by the Bulldogs (10-13, 3-8) made things interesting. Manoli led all scorers with 22 points. He added eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. Mike Best scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds. Richie Guzman added 13 points.

From the coach: "Richie Guzman played one of his best games of the year," TL's Steve Farbstein said. "Mike Best was solid again for us. Kevin Maloney did a great job coming off the bench for us tonight."

Notable: Patrick Carney and Ben Hunter paced San Rafael with 15 points apiece. Teammate Diego Camarillo added 12 points. TL is in third place in the MCAL and could secure a finish of at least that high with a win over San Marin on Saturday.

Drake 61, Terra Linda 58

The difference: Sophomore guard Ryan Euphrat had 18 points, nine rebounds and committed zero turnovers to lead the Pirates (9-13, 3-7) to an upset win at Terra Linda (13-9, 7-3). Drake trailed 35-32 midway through the third quarter, thanks to Ricky Winkeller, who led TL with 13 points. But the Pirates kept the game close and Marky Parnow (10 points) and Euphrat hit free throws to seal the victory.

From the coach: "It was a huge game for (Ryan), he's been playing really well the last four or five games but this was a huge game for him, he was amazing," Drake's Doug Donnellan said. "Going to TL, where they play extremely well, and are an amazingly talented team we only suited up 10 guys, but the 10 guys that suited up, I couldn't be prouder of. They couldn't have played harder."

Notable: Christian Manoli and Kenny Woodard each scored 13 points for TL