Coming off of a devastating loss to Marin Catholic in the final seconds last Tuesday, the boys’ varsity basketball team and their faithful fans were expecting an easy victory on Friday against Terra Linda.
Oh, how they were wrong.
The Trojans (1-5) came out and surprised a lethargic Redwood team, perhaps still suffering from the hangover of Tuesday’s loss.
The Giants (5-1) regrouped at the half on their way to a 58-44 victory, but not before receiving a scare from their feisty opponent.
Terra Linda’s Dom Martinez made a few big shots in the first half and carried the Trojans into the half with a 31-28 lead. As a team, the Trojans shot 44 percent from behind the arc in the first half, executing far better than the Giants expected.
“We knew that they were going to play hard,” said junior Alex Wilson, who scored 11 points and gathered 12 rebounds. “But they played above our expectations and after the first quarter we kind of knew what was happening and we tried to see what they were doing so we could match it.”
The second half was a whole different story for a Giants team that was looking for a bounceback win after Tuesday’s loss. Undefeated heading into last Tuesday’s showdown, they now find themselves competing for the top spot in a competitive MCAL field.
Senior Mike Sullivan led the way for the Giants in the second half, hitting some crucial three-pointers and finishing with 27 points, which led all scorers. Junior Jordan Jackson finished with 13 points and had 3 assists.
The Giants outplayed an overmatched Terra Linda team in the second half, slowing down the Trojans’ high-octane offense and outscored them 13-2 in the third quarter.
Wilson acknowledged after the game that the Giants must stay focused and avoid looking backwards.
“We need to get faster,” Wilson said. “[We need to] get in transition quicker and not think about the last play.”
Junior Brendan Shepard agreed that the Giants cannot take anyone lightly.
“We just need to approach every game as if it’s the MCAL championship, regardless of who we play,” Shepard said.
Redwood will face arguably its biggest test of the regular season when it faces Drake (5-1) with sole possession of first-place in MCAL on the line. The Giants will play at Drake on Tuesday Jan. 19, at 7:30 p.m.
