Boys basketball: Redwood tightens race for top seed with win over MC

The fight for the top spot in the league just got a lot tougher after the defending MCAL champions emphatically reasserted their claim.

Redwood High bounced back from Tuesday’s loss to rival Branson with a 58-51 statement win Friday night against Marin Catholic, which entered the game undefeated in league play.

“I’ve been saying the entire season, although we lost a tough one against Branson, we’re a good team,” Redwood head coach Jay DeMaestri said. “This is a tough league, and every game is a challenge.”

Redwood, Marin Catholic, Branson and Archie Williams High each have one loss in league with two weeks left in the regular season. The opening round of the MCAL playoffs is scheduled for Feb. 9, with a play-in game on Feb. 7, if needed.

“This win helps us, definitely,” said junior Harry White, who gave the Giants a big boost with eight points, all in the first half. “This shows we shouldn’t be underestimated. I think we’ve been overlooked a little.”

The Giants (8-11, 4-1 MCAL) led most of the game, but were forced to rally late in the second half. Jake Post, who scored 14 points for the Giants, cut the hoop for a layup to give the Giants a 42-40 lead at the end of the third quarter. Post took two trips to the free throw line, pushing the Giants’ lead to five points early in the fourth quarter, enough to virtually seal the win.

Olen Johnson led the Giants with 15 points, 10 of which came in the first half as the Giants opened a double-digit lead. Richard Byrne added 10 points for Redwood.

Senior Micah Pierce scored a game-high 20 points to lead Marin Catholic (17-3, 3-1), while sophomore Chase Williams came on strong late for 10 points as the Wildcats rallied.

“We did a good job, but we needed to be more aggressive,” Williams said.

The Wildcats trailed by 10 at the break, but three baskets by Pierce and a shot from Henry Dibble fueled a Marin Catholic rally to start the second half. Williams got the ball in the paint with his back to the hoop, then spun and let loose with a jump shot over a Redwood defender to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 34-33, nearly 3 minutes into the third quarter.

“We came out in the second half kind of slow and they started to turn up the pace,” White said. “We had to settle down and do what we do well. We had to slow them down.”

Johnson hit a Redwood jumper, then Williams came back with a layup at the other end as the teams went back and forth. Byrne had just hit a pair of free throws to give Redwood a 36-35 lead, when Pierce took the ball on the run and rammed it home as if to issue a challenge to the Giants.

Johnson answered the challenge with a 3-pointer that gave Redwood a 40-38 lead, but Williams tied the game at the free throw line. That’s when Post put his stamp on the game to put Redwood ahead to stay.

“In the first half, we weren’t at our best, but in the second half we started to hit our stride,” Williams said. “Unfortunately, we started to get tired in the fourth quarter, and we can’t do that.”

A basket by Williams kept the Wildcats within three points, before the Giants tightened their hold on the lead with a jumper from Wes Fitzpatrick and a 3-pointer from Byrne.

Redwood lost a 52-49 thriller to Branson on Tuesday, while Marin Catholic held off Archie Williams, 76-72. Now, they’re all tied atop the league standings and primed to knock each other out.

Marin Catholic is scheduled to face Branson (10-11, 4-1) on Tuesday, while Redwood has a Tuesday game against San Marin (12-10, 1-3) before facing Archie Williams (14-6, 3-1) on Jan. 30.

Despite the loss, Marin Catholic goes into next weed “with a lot of confidence. We’re not worried,” Williams said.