Sports
Boys Basketball: El Cerrito Survives a Scare
Gauchos advance to Northern California semifinals.
El Cerrito 46, Burlingame 43
The star: Jamontee Condor led the Gauchos with 12 points off the bench.
The turning point: A Burlingame 3-point attempt rimmed out seconds before the buzzer, as the Gauchos held on.
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The quote: “We decided at halftime we were going to push the ball no matter what. We would not slow down.” - El Cerrito coach Michael Booker
What's next?: El Cerrito will travel to
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Bottom line: El Cerrito hit free throws late to hang on for the impressive win.
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After nearly squandering a double-digit lead, held off Burlingame for a 46-43 win in the California Interscholastic Federation Northern California boys basketball quarterfinals Thursday night.
The Gauchos forced an up-and-down style of play, pushing the tempo in the second half to get the win.
“They applied pressure, and they got out in transition,” Burlingame coach Jeff Dowd said. “They got good looks, and they converted.”
The win advances El Cerrito to Saturday's semifinals at top-seeded Sacramento, with the winner playing the following Saturday at Arco Arena for the NorCal title.
“We knew this was probably going to be our last game on our home court for the seniors,” said Gauchos senior center Eric Nelson. “So we had to keep our focus, because we couldn’t lose a game like this.”
Burlingame controlled the first quarter, taking a 12-8 lead by keeping the tempo slow and defending well in the half-court.
“They do a tremendous job of slowing people down,” El Cerrito coach Michael Booker said. “That’s a great, championship-quality team. They know how to control a game.”
But El Cerrito took control in the second and third periods, triggering the fast break and taking a 31-24 lead going into the fourth.
“We decided at halftime we were going to push the ball no matter what,” Booker said. “We would not slow down.”
After El Cerrito stretched the lead even further in the fourth period, Burlingame began a barrage of 3-pointers to get back in the game.
“Our seniors started to get serious about the fact that this could be their last game,” Dowd said. “They made a run.”
“That’s a great team, and they don’t die easy,” Booker added. “They were getting open shots, and they made them.”
Burlingame pulled within one, and Jabri Jenkins made a pair of free throws to stretch El Cerrito’s lead to three. A Burlingame missed 3-pointer as time expired sealed the win for El Cerrito.
El Cerrito 46, Burlingame 43
1 2 3 4 F Burlingame
12 4 8 19 43 El Cerrito 8 10 13 15 46 Individuals — (fg ftm-fta tp) Burlingame
Bailey 2 5-6 9, Ferrari 1 0-0 3, Haupt 1 2-2 5, Grotz 1 5-6 8, D. Ferrari 2 0-0 6, Pulceno 2 3-4 7, Shaefer 2 1-2 5. El Cerrito Nelson 1 2-2 4, Syvanthong 1 4-6 7, Condor 4 3-4 12, Jenkins 1 6-8 8, Keith 2 0-0 4, Pippins 2 0-0 4, Streets 0 2-2 2, Johnson 1 3-4 5. 3-point goals: Burlingame 5 (Ferrari, Haupt, Grotz, D. Ferrari 2). El Cerrito 2 (Syvanthong, Condor).
Records: El Cerrito 24-7, Burlingame 27-5. Boys Basketball, Thursday, March 10, 2011
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