Threes rained down all evening long in Phil Roarke Gymnasium as boys’ varsity basketball beat Archie Williams 63-43 in the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) semifinals. The Giants spread the wealth on Wednesday night, with five different seniors nailing shots from deep, totaling 12 three-pointers as a team.
“I loved our performance from behind the arc. We shoot a lot of threes and have been up and down this year with our shooting. It was nice to see it all [come] together in a playoff game,” Head Coach Jay Demaestri said.
Typically the leading scorer for Redwood, senior Semetri “TT” Carr found other ways to contribute on Wednesday night; he racked up 12 rebounds and four assists, along with a monstrous two-handed block off the backboard. Carr still managed to tally 12 points, but he bore the brunt of Archie Williams’ “2-3” zone, leaving open opportunities for other Giants.
Senior Noah Tanaka was a beneficiary of this treatment, with four of his five three-pointers coming off assists from Carr. Tanaka finished with 17 points, leading all scorers. He was accompanied in double figures by seniors Brennan Woodley, who scored 14 points, Tyler White, who scored 10, and Carr.
It wasn’t always easy for the Giants, as a slow Redwood start from the field kept the Falcons within striking distance. The Giants managed just eight points in the first quarter and didn’t build their double-digit lead until Woodley and Tanaka drilled consecutive threes right before halftime.
Redwood came out of the break strong, as White knocked down two triples and Tanaka nailed one of his own. Falcons’ senior Dante Stallone did just enough to keep the Giants from pulling away, responding with two three-pointers, forcing Demaestri to call a timeout to stop the momentum.
But Redwood’s three-point attack was too powerful, with Tanaka, Woodley and senior Zach Dinowitz each converting from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter to put the game away. Dinowitz also starred on the boards, setting his season-high with six rebounds. Demaestri was able to rest the starters for the last few minutes, letting the reserves in to close the game out. Archie Williams’ passionate student section began to file out with a few minutes left, and the Giants cemented their 20-point victory.
On Friday night, Redwood will take on the Branson Bulls, marking the fourth consecutive year the schools have met up in the MCAL championship. Hot off a six-game win streak, Demaestri is confident in the Giants and driven to beat the Bulls after two consecutive losses in the title game.
“We feel great. We’re healthy, we’re motivated and we’re playing really good basketball. Any time you make it to the championship game, you should be motivated. But to beat Branson is always nice,” Demaestri said.
