Boys basketball: Carr helps Redwood turn the tables on Branson

The Redwood High basketball team finally turned the tables in what has become one of the fiercest rivalries across all prep sports in the county, upending two-time defending champ Branson 67-54 in a feisty Valentine’s Day MCAL final before a capacity crowd in Larkspur.

The Giants (19-6) avenged back-to-back title tilt losses to the Bulls, never trailing after closing the first half on an 8-1 run.

While Redwood was hoisting its first basketball pennant since 2022, star senior guard Semetri Carr was holding up three fingers to signify his personal MCAL final three-peat. Carr transferred to Redwood this season after helping the Bulls secure consecutive league championships.

“It’s a lot of emotion, kind of bittersweet,” said Carr, who led all scorers with 29 points. “But at the end of the day, I’m just going to go out and compete for the win no matter what. It was a storybook ending to my MCAL seasons. I couldn’t have written it better than this.”

And truth be told, Carr probably could not have played much better, either.

With the game hanging in the balance after Redwood took a 30-25 lead into intermission, Carr took control in the third quarter and nearly outscored the Bulls by himself.

Carr poured in 15 points in the period as Redwood outscored Branson 22-16 in the third quarter and built a daunting 11-point lead entering the final stanza.

Carr has a tendency to steal the spotlight with plays such as his near half-court drive to the bucket and an insane inside move to drop in the layup.

But Redwood had plenty of quality performances from a supporting cast that included Brennan Woodley — who scored 13 points including three three-pointers — and big Simon Leonard, who was a monster around the rim at both ends of the court.

“All of our players are playing really well right now,” Redwood coach Jay DeMaestri said. “We had a great team effort against Archie (Williams) on Wednesday and it carried right over into tonight. I’ve coached Brennan three years in a row now and we all know he’s a dog at heart.”

Woodley teamed with Carr to put an exclamation point on the victory in the waning moments of the fourth quarter. Woodley fired a perfectly-placed long pass at the rim and Carr elevated his game and drove the ball through the hoop with a two-handed slam.

“We knew we were bigger than Branson,” said Leonard, who scored nine points, blocked two shots, pulled down six rebounds – three on the offensive end – and added a pair of assists. “So it was up to me to be the big guy in the middle.”

Leonard was at his best late in the fourth quarter when he blocked a shot at the defensive end of the court and converted a fast break layup at the other end.

“When Simon plays fired up like that, we’re a great team,” Carr said. “He’s a solid inside player and we look for him around the basket a lot.”

The Giants were mostly in control of the contest from the outset after Leonard scored inside twice in the opening moments and Noah Tanaka drove the lane for another layup.

Branson’s best surge came midway through the second period when the Bulls fashioned a 13-3 run and tied the score at 22-22 on NJ Gray’s fancy move inside for a layup.

The Bulls (17-10) hung close until intermission.

But once Carr revved up his engine, Branson could not muster similar firepower to keep the score close.

Redwood hit the dagger with 2:44 remaining in the contest when Tyler White fought doggedly for an offensive rebound and fed Woodley in the corner, who converted the three-point shot.

Chase Robertson led Branson scorers with 18 points and Gray added 12.

Redwood won the battle of the boards decisively, out-rebounding Branson 31-13.