The Bears hosted Santa Cruz High School on Tuesday, March 1 for the first round of the consolation bracket of the Open Central Coast Section (CCS) division. After falling to Archbishop Mitty in the first round of CCS, the Bears came out ready to maintain their undefeated home record.
M-A came out strong in the first quarter with a tight press and fast paced offense. Two fast break lay ups from senior Christian Fioretti and a three from senior Lucas Fioretti gave the Bears an early lead of 7-5. The Bears continued to control the pace of the game with steals, fast breaks, and drives from the guards, ending the quarter with a lead of 22-12.
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Senior post players, Blake Henry and Reed Fratt, dominated the paint in the second quarter, each scoring key baskets and grabbing rebounds. Junior Eric Norton’s tough defense stopped Santa Cruz’s Kaijae Yee-Stephens, who will be playing basketball at Southern Utah next year. Junior Kai Winterling ended the half with a dynamic lay up, 38-26 Bears.
Throughout the second half, the Bears’ lead was never questioned. Sophomore Bradley Stillman drained a three at the end of the third quarter to solidify M-A’s lead, 59-42. A team effort contributed to the victory, with a final score of 65-50.
The Bears host Half Moon Bay on Thursday, March 3 at Ayers Gym and will compete for fifth place in Open CCS. Be sure to come out and support M-A!
