The boys basketball team effortlessly defeated the Woodside Wildcats with a 68-37 win on Wednesday evening in their first league game of the season.
The Bears won the tip-off, and senior shooting guard Trevor Cadigan quickly scored a jumper in the first possession of the game. Still, the Wildcats came out strong, with a three-pointer and multiple jumpers, gaining an 8-2 lead.
After responding with a quick three-pointer, the Bears went scoreless for the next few minutes. A couple of shots and a jumper made by senior point guard Dominic Auer, however, tied the game. The first quarter ended with the Bears leading 15-11.
As the second quarter began, junior small forward Jerry Williams immediately banked in a shot, adding to the Bears’ six-point lead. Their run included multiple jumpers from junior shooting guard Axel Pilette and put the Bears on top, 25-13. The Wildcats were forced to call a timeout with three minutes remaining in the half.
The timeout wasn’t enough to get the Wildcats back in the game. They missed their first shot attempt, giving the Bears possession and allowing Williams to drill in a jumper. After a long dry spell, the Wildcats were able to execute offensively with a three-pointer. Following the slow quarter, halftime arrived with the Bears leading 27-16.
In the first possession of the second half, Auer knocked down a mid range shot. The third quarter was rebound-heavy, with the Bears getting multiple offensive boards every possession. Using this momentum, junior point guard Jacob Sutton stole the ball from the Wildcats and quickly passed to Cadigan, who buried a shot.
The Bears dominated the third quarter, with multiple back-to-back steals, few empty possessions, and some Wildcats foul trouble. The Wildcats’ defense simply was not strong enough to contain the Bears’ offense, and they committed a total of five fouls while desperately trying to hold them off. The Bears ended the third quarter with a 51-27 lead.
Energy was high entering the final quarter as Williams laid the first shot up and in. The Bears continued their roll with a steal from Pilette leading to a deep three-pointer from senior shooting guard Brady Santoro, giving the Bears a 65-32 advantage with two minutes left in the game. Santoro got another three-point opportunity and banked it in.
The Bears dribbled out the ball for the last 20 seconds and finished the game with a 68-37 win.
“In the second half, we came out with a lot of energy and rebounded well. We play well together, we are a really good collective unit,” Sutton said.
“We came prepared, did a great job defensively, and put a lot of pressure which made them kinda flustered leading to a lot of turnovers. We did a good job executing,” Cadigan said.
“We dominated and won by 30, it was a great team win,” junior shooting guard Luca Auer said.
