BOYS BASKETBALL: Menlo Advances to Meet Palma

The Score: Menlo School 65, Marina 48.

The Star: Menlo School’s Richard Harris dominated in the post, scoring a game-high 24 points in the Central Coast Section Division IV second-round game. The 6-foot-6 junior started fast (eight points in the first quarter) and then scored three straight baskets to open the final period as the host Knights pulled away on Thursday night.

The Turning Point: Pesky Marina, which dressed just seven players, never led but used a 10-0 run to pull within 41-39 late in the third quarter. But then Menlo reserve Tommy Ford hit a 3-pointer to kick off a 17-2 blitz over the next five minutes that proved to be the knockout blow.

The Quote: “Our goals are the same as the teams of a couple years ago. We like we have all the pieces to win a championship like those teams in the past did. That’s our expectation. … I was a sophomore and got called up for CCS (for Menlo’s 2009 section championship team). When those guys come back and play pickup in five years, I don’t want them to say we were the weak year.” – Menlo senior wing Jonny Halprin, who had 17 points, on the winning tradition the Knights hope to uphold with a strong CCS showing after a mediocre regular season.

What’s Next? Sixth-seeded Menlo (13-12) advances to the CCS Division IV quarterfinals where it will meet a familiar opponent in No. 3 seed Palma (16-8) on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Menlo. Palma, which eliminated the Knights in the quarterfinals last year, has squared off with Menlo in three of the last four postseasons. Palma beat Menlo in the 2007 Division IV final, and the Knights returned the favor to claim the first of back-to-back titles a year later.

The Bottom Line: Menlo will need to play much better than it did against No. 11 seed Marina (14-12) to advance any further in the playoffs. The Knights played carelessly – poor offensive execution, porous defense -- for long stretches, allowing a lesser opponent to hang around. Menlo coach Kris Weems said rebounding, ball control and transition defense will be keys against a Palma team he expects to crank up the fast break. Perhaps the Knights were in cruise control against a Marina team they surely expected to beat. But a comparable effort against Palma is likely to lead to a very different result.

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Menlo School 65, Marina 48

Marina – 14 8 19 7 – 48

Menlo – 14 16 21 14 -- 65

Marina: Anderson 6 2-2 16, Villigrana 2 2-2 6, Esparaza-Ponce 5 4-4 17, Davis 0 0-2 0, Drinovsky 3 3-4 9. Totals: 16 11-14 48.

Menlo: Lacob 2 4-5 8, Osborne 4 0-0 9, Halprin 8 0-0 17, Bowman 1 0-0 2, Harris 12 0-0 24, Miller 0 1-2 1, Ford 1 0-0 3, Huber 0 1-2 1. Totals: 28 6-8 65.

3-point goals: Marina: Esparaza-Ponce 3, Anderson 2. Menlo: Osborne, Halprin, Ford.

Records: Marina 14-12. Menlo School 13-12.