CCS: Boys’ basketball champions!

CCS Champions 2021-22
Credit: P. McKenney

2.26.2022 – The Menlo boys’ basketball team used every second to top Palma for the Central Coast Section Div. IV Championship 63-58 on the road Saturday afternoon.
It was the first CCS title for the Knights since 2017 and its first under Knights first-year coach Ben Batory.
Credit: P.McKenneyAs expected, the game came down to the wire. Menlo, which held a slight lead through three quarters staved off a last-ditch effort by the top-seeded Chieftains. Menlo trailed 58-53 with 1:30 left before Daniel Solomon sank a three-pointer on a feed from Will Eggemeier with 1:01 left. Menlo sophomore Sam Reznik, on Solomon’s assist, banked a three-pointer for the go-ahead score. Lucas Vogel, who’s virtually unshakeable at the line, sank a pair fo free throws and a Solomon basket wrapped up the win.
“Will was able to find me on my three and I think that started some momentum, then Lucas came up big time in second half,” Solomon said. “Then, I was coming down the court and I saw Sam. He has confidence, and I’ve built trust with him over the year. I told him to always look, always look and I’ll get it to you, and it Credit: P.McKenneywas a bank (shot) but I think he stepped up with confidence, and that’s really a reason why we won the game.
Menlo junior Lucas Vogel led the charge, scoring 17 points and contributing four assists and six rebounds.

“We had to fight for every single bucket, every single play, everyone stepped up,” Vogel said. ” It was huge. We were down, and we just clawed back at the end.”
Solomon posted 14 points and five assists while sophomore Sam Reznik added 11 points, four rebounds and three steals. Junior Brooks Mead added five assists and eight points.

Credit: P.McKenney“It was a great team, collaborative effort to win that.” Solomon said. “It was a great feeling to close CCS with a medal.”

The third-seeded Knights, which beat Harker, then avenged a loss in last year’s CCS semifinals to The King’s Academy, head into NorCals with a 20-7 record.

 

Menlo 20 5 20 18 - 63
Palma 19 6 15 18 - 58
Mead 2 3-4 6, Vogel 6 2-2 17, Enright 2 0-0 5, Solomon 5 1-1 14, Eggemeier 2 0-0 6, Halsey 1 0-0 2, Reznik 4 0-0 11. Three-point goals: Mead, Vogel 3, Enright, Solomon 3, Eggemeier 2, Reznik 3. Total: 22 6-7 63. P: Jean-Pierce 3 1-1 7, Amaral 6 3-3 19, Roggio 4 0-0 15, Kosta 5 0-2 10, Finley 4 3-5 11. Three-point goals: Amaral 4, Roggio 3. Total: 22 7-11 58.

 

Menlo 61, The King’s Academy 45

2.24.2022 – Menlo and The King’s Academy boys’ basketball teams split the West Bay Athletic League season series, and each game was decided by three or fewer points. The third time was a charm, and told a different story as Menlo dominated in a 61-45 victory over host TKA in the CCS Div. IV semifinal Thursday.
Credit: Buffie Ward WilliamsThird-seed Menlo (19-7) will face top seed Palma (20-4), which defeated No. 5 San Lorenzo Valley 57-53 in the other semifinal. The championship match will be Saturday in Salinas.
“It was a good team win,” said junior Lucas Vogel, who had a team-high 13 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. “I think what set us apart was our 1-3-1 zone, and I think it caught them a little off guard. We also had the team mentality going in - we knew what we had to do and it was a collective effort.”
Sophomore Sam Reznik added 12 points and three assists while senior Daniel Solomon posted 11 points and three steals, Nine scored for Menlo. Tylek Barnett paced TKA with a game-high 21 points.
Menlo led 17-12 after the first quarter, but a 19-4 run in the second set the tone for the game and gave Menlo a 20-point halftime lead.
“It was a great playoff atmosphere,” Vogel added. “We kept our composure, and the guys showed a lot of poise.”

Menlo School            17 19 9 16 - 61
The King’s Academy 12 4 11 16 - 45

M: Mead 3 1-2 7, Vogel 4 3-4 13, Murphy 0 1-2 1, Enright 2 0-0 6, Parasnis 1 0-2 2, Solomon 5 0-0 11, Eggemeier 2 0-0 5, Halsey 2 0-0 4, S. Reznik 5 2-2 12, Three-point goals: Vogel 2, Enright 2, Solomon, Eggemeier. Total: 24 7-12 61. TKA: Taylor 2 2-2 7, Chen 1 0-0 3, Cheng 1 2-2 5, Mills 2 0-0 6, Barnett 10 0-2 21, Taddie 0 3-4 3, Kiang 0 0-2 0. Three-point goals: Taylor, Chen, Cheng, Mills 2, Banett. Total: 16 7-12 45.

 

Menlo 65, Harker 49

2.22.22 – In a CCS Div, IV quarterfinal, Menlo boys’ basketball sailed to a 65-49 victory over visiting Harker on Tuesday,
What’s surely to be a thrilling matchup, No. 3 seed Menlo will meet another WBAL foe at No. 2 The King’s Academy in the semifinals at 7:00 pm Thursday at The King’s Academy. The teams split the season series, each game decided by three points or less.
Against Harker, junior Lucas Vogel poured in 18 points, and senior Daniel Solomon had 17 points and four steals. Menlo sophomore Sam Reznik posted seven rebounds and junior Brooks Mead added five more.
Menlo extended its lead over Harker 33-16 by halftime, then a 20-9 third-quarter run put the game out of reach.