“With this single-game format, every game feels like the playoffs,” Marin Catholic head coach Mike Saia said after the Wildcats rallied for a 64-56 victory over San Marin on Tuesday.
The new year has been a series of action-packed games against MCAL competition for Marin Catholic, and the excitement continued in Tuesday’s taut battle at San Marin as both squads try to position themselves early for the playoffs.
“With this single-game format, every game feels like the playoffs,” Marin Catholic head coach Mike Saia said after the Wildcats rallied for a 64-56 victory over the Mustangs. “Playing each team only once means each game is that much more important.”
Marin Catholic bounced back from a 69-47 loss to Archie Williams on Jan. 5, to stun Redwood, 67-64, in Saturday’s non-league contest. The Wildcats (7-11, 1-1 MCAL) rode the momentum from that win into Tuesday’s showdown.
“At the end of December, we were missing a few people, but now everyone’s back and we’re looking strong,” said Marin Catholic sophomore Joe Hammond, who finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals.
The Wildcats’ Charles Williams scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a back-and-forth contest with San Marin’s Nick Cubley, who scored 23 points Tuesday.
Marin Catholic’s shooting woes to open Tuesday night’s contest didn’t shake the Wildcats’ confidence, and when they needed an extra boost, Hammond had the magic touch.
San Marin held a single-digit lead throughout most of the third quarter, but Hammond opened the final quarter with a midrange jumper and a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a two-point edge, which Marin Catholic never surrendered.
“Our Achilles’ heel has been defense this season,” Saia said. “Tonight, the guys stayed active all night. They know that to stay on the floor, they have to stay active.”
It took a couple minutes and a barrage of misfires before Marin Catholic’s shooters found their range in the first quarter. After Kelly Storms’ 3-pointer broke the drought, the Wildcats got baskets from Williams and Jake Ryan for a five-point lead that didn’t hold up. San Marin’s Cubley and Zack Farbstein hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Cubley closed out the first quarter with an energetic dunk for a one-point Mustangs lead.
“The shots were maybe too wide open and it got in our heads,” Saia said. “I told the guys to keep shooting the ball and go for the rebound. Jake Ryan and Joe Hammond and the guys stayed with it and hit the three when we need it.”
The momentum swung back and forth in the middle two quarters, with Williams and Cubley trading baskets in the second. Cubley hit two of his five 3-pointers and scored 10 points in the second quarter for San Marin. Meanwhile Williams scored 11 points for Marin Catholic. Williams hit three of his four 3-pointers in the second, punctuated by one in the final seconds to help energize the Wildcats, who trailed 28-26 at halftime.
Hammond, scoreless in the first half, came alive in the second half as he hit a pair of big shots early in the third quarter.
“The first half was rough, but we just stuck with it,” Hammond said. “The shots weren’t going in early on, so I focused on playing defense and making an impact that way. Later on, the openings were there and the shots started to fall.”
Corey Nicholson took a steal to the hoop to help keep Marin Catholic within striking distance. Williams, who was 7 of 13 from the free-throw line in the game, hit five shots from the charity stripe and another 3-pointer during an eight-point quarter.
Hammond was running full steam ahead in the fourth quarter as he lifted the Wildcats into the lead. Chase Merrick got into the act as he scored all seven of his points in the final eight minutes.
The Mustangs, facing a seven-point gap with 5 minutes to play, came to within two points after Cubley’s 3-pointer with 2 minutes left to play. Marin Catholic went on an eight-point run, though, before McDonagh scored the game’s final points on a putback with 9 seconds left.
“This was a great opportunity to challenge ourselves against a really good team,” Hammond said.
