Serra Takes Flight in Second Half
Half Moon Bay put a scare into the Padres before the hosts went on a decisive run.
Seeing the Half Moon Bay Cougars pull even in the third quarter woke something up in the Serra Padres.
The moment Gio Garduno Martin hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 30, the Padres found another gear, firing off a 17-3 run and opening up a lead of as much of 24 points as they beat the Cougars, 69-50.
“It should never have been 30-30. We needed to throw the first punch,” said point guard Ryan Pettis, who scored a game-high and season-high 22 points.
Pettis hit a 3-pointer to answer Garduno Martin’s, then scored off back-to-back steals, including a one-handed dunk as Serra (6-1) took a 39-32 lead. Sophomore Sebastian Margate scored the final five points of the quarter to extend the lead to 14, and Pettis hit back-to-back threes to start the fourth to put the Padres up 53-33.
“It was like a bell went off. We started playing with a sense of urgency,” head coach Chuck Rapp said. “I thought our defense picked up, Pettis did a good job turning them over and the ball started moving. Once that ball moves, we’re a whole different team. I told the kids, this is a perfect example of the importance of moving the ball.”
A pair of threes by Andrew McDowell, one by sophomore Wyatt Von Blanco and another from Margate gave the Padres their largest lead at 69-45 before Serra emptied the bench.
“I thought this was a pretty good lesson to teach us the importance of ball movement and sharing the ball,” Rapp said.
Aside from jumping out to an early 12-2 lead, the Padres looked sluggish in the first half. They led 20-9 when Alton Robenalt scored off one of Alex Naber’s five assists, but allowed Half Moon Bay (6-3) to trim the lead to five before halftime. Gavin Glynn scored nine of his team-high 13 points in the second quarter, including a pair of threes in the final minute. He hit one to cut the Padre lead to 26-21, then connected at the buzzer from just beyond half-court to answer a 25-footer from Pettis.
Garduno Martin scored 12, hitting a pair of threes early in the third. The latter tied the game with 5:29 left in the quarter, but Serra ratcheted up the intensity from there.
“Everybody knows how they play, the pressure defense, the denying and all of that,” Cougars head coach John Parsons said. “We were able to hold them off, but then the dam kind of broke with live-ball turnovers.”
6-foot-8 sophomore Owen Perez had seven points and nine rebounds despite struggling at the free throw line, while Asher Meighen scored six. Anthony Acosta scored eight off the bench, all inside the final three minutes.
“It’s a tremendous challenge and a tremendous opportunity to be able to play a team like this,” Parsons said. “Hopefully it pays dividends down the road for our guys.”
McDowell scored 13 for Serra, Angelo Ghattas scored 12 and Margate added eight. Ghattas electrified the crowd, with lacked a substantial student section but still featured a decent draw considering the holidays, with a one-handed dunk early in the second quarter.