Boys’ varsity basketball entered their Jan. 27 contest against San Marin with ultimate confidence after their upset victory over Marin Catholic last Friday, where they shot over 50 percent from the field and held the Wildcats to their fewest points of the season. The Giants brought the energy early, jumping to an early 12-1 lead with the same swarming defense and fast-paced offense that disoriented Marin Catholic. Senior Leo Centeno and junior Max Monterastelli each knocked down two 3-pointers, and senior Jake Post rattled in a mid-range jumper, while the San Marin Mustangs went scoreless to open the game. But, as the Giants cooled off, a couple of Mustang layups and a senior Jason Gillen 3-pointer trimmed the deficit to 14-10 by the end of the first quarter.
Centeno dropped in another 3-pointer to start the second quarter, and junior Harrington White followed with a fast-break dunk as Redwood quickly rebuilt a double-digit lead. San Marin responded with back-to-back buckets in the mid-second quarter, but were shortly overwhelmed by an 11-0 Giants run as the Mustangs’ shooting woes returned—missed threes, missed layups and most importantly, missed free throws. San Marin finally broke the scoring drought with a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half, but found themselves deep in a 32-19 hole.
The game appeared all but over as Centeno continued his barrage from long range to open the second half, burying his third triple of the night and bringing the score to 36-19. But the Giants grew sloppy, and the offense stalled. The Mustangs scored twice in the paint and lived at the free throw line for much of the third quarter. Despite missing more free throws than they made, San Marin slowly chipped away, cutting the deficit to 40-33 as Redwood’s defense looked half asleep in the paint and its offense went limp.
Once San Marin junior Joey Engler knocked down a 3-pointer to make it a four-point contest, the Giants realized it was time to wake up. Senior captain Charlie Poser made that message clear to his teammates as he stood on the free-throw line.
“Wake up. We’re not shooting well—let’s push the paint,” Poser said, visibly frustrated.
Redwood responded immediately. On the ensuing possession, Poser drove to the rim, drew a double-team and kicked the ball out to Centeno for a dagger 3-pointer that pushed the Giants’ lead up to nine with less than three minutes remaining. Then, after a defensive stop, freshman Pedro Silva drove to the basket and finished to make it 48-36. San Marin didn’t score for the remainder of the game.
Redwood closed out the 54-36 victory with a few more strong defensive possessions and a couple of free throws. Centeno’s 20-point performance led the team and marked a season high, while Poser backed him up with nine points.
The Giants will play another home game this Friday, Jan. 30, against Marin County Athletic League rival Archie Williams, looking to build on recent momentum with wins in five of their last six games.
