Junior forward collects double-double as Sobrato wins 54-45
Tuesday
MORGAN HILL — During a crucial part of Tuesday’s game, Sobrato’s Kenneth Mounteer — all 5 foot, 10 inches of him — had the fortune of being guarded by 6-foot-5 center Marshall Grasty of Evergreen Valley.
Oh, goody.
“I looked at him, and he’s pretty muscular — kind of bigger than me,” said Mounteer, a junior wing. “Most guys already have a size advantage against me. I was afraid he was going to block me if I went up for a shot.”
Sobrato forward Charley Bynum told Mounteer to stay low. The Bulldogs had just watched their comfortable lead disappear — and were in danger of having ther playoff hopes do the same against the upstart Cougars.
What better time to listen to your team co-captain?
With just over a minute remaining, Bynum bounced a quick pass to Mounteer under the hoop. Mounteer pumpfaked to get Grasty into the air, then moved underneath for a smooth reverse layup. The play sparked a game-ending scoring run that preserved victory, 54-45, and order for the Bulldogs in Sobrato Gym.
“Charley was big for us tonight,” Mounteer said. “He knew he had to be. He helped us pull through.”
Bynum carried Sobrato on his back through the fourth quarter, collecting four points, three rebounds and two assists in the final five minutes after Evergreen Valley trimmed an 11-point deficit to one. The 6-foot-2 junior finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds as the only Bulldog to score in double figures.
“He came up big — not only from a scoring standpoint, he rebounded and made some big passes,” Sobrato coach Lawrence Crawford said. “That’s what I told him after the game. I said, ‘You played like the beast you can be.’ ”
Bryan Bradley added nine points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Bulldogs, and his twin brother, Chris Bradley, matched Mounteer and Ryan Williams with eight points apiece.
Sobrato, which earned its fourth straight victory, stayed alive in the Blossom Valley Athletic League-Santa Teresa Division title race heading into a pivotal final three games versus the league’s top teams.
At most, the Santa Teresa will advance two squads to the CIF-Central Coast Section playoffs. The Bulldogs (18-5 overall, 8-3 BVAL), who are tied for second place with Independence and Andrew Hill, have little room for error. Their odyssey starts Friday on the road against first-place Willow Glen.
“We always say the next game is our biggest game. But it is hard not to look ahead, especially knowing which games we have to win,” Mounteer said. “Every game is important. But everyone in the back of their minds knows if we get this game, we can focus on the bigger one.”
Even without standout forward Jordan Adkins (18 points per game), who missed the game because of night school, the Cougars (10-13, 3-8) were not a team to overlook.
After trailing 28-17 at halftime, Evergreen Valley caught fire behind forward Larry Melton in the third quarter. Melton netted seven of his 13 points in the period, including a deep 3-pointer that pulled his team within 35-34 heading into the fourth quarter.
Sobrato committed three turnovers — each leading to points — and was outscored 17-7 in the third.
“We kind of went through a rough patch there. They started to press us, and we started turning it over,” said Bynum, who shot 6 for 12 from the field. “Once we slowed down and just — we do this thing called ultimate basketball, where, basically, we can’t dribble and we have all this pressure. So once we started playing ultimate basketball, we really started getting up.”
The Cougars also got a game-high 14 points from Danny Pham and 10 points and eight rebounds from Mark Milioto.
The Bulldogs pulled ahead by seven — 45-38 — after Bynum made a putback with 3:43 remaining. Pham, who scored nine points on 4-for-4 shooting in the final period, answered with back-to-back buckets, cutting the lead to two.
“He made some crucial shots,” Evergreen Valley coach Dennis Fernandez said of Pham. “Danny, that guy’s what 5 (foot), 6 (inches), 5-7 and he’s taking it to the hole; got a couple layups. We’re proud of him.”
Bynum fed Bryan Bradley for a runner, and Williams knocked down a midrange jumper to make it 49-43 with 1:37 left. After Bynum dialed Mounteer for his reverse layup, Williams scored the rest of Sobrato’s points from the free-throw line.
“We had a spurt — a couple of spurts — there where … we just didn’t flow well at all,” said Crawford, who rotated 10 players. “Sometimes, the kids just take turns making key errors at key points. And they just kind of spread it around. And that just kind of happens.
“The other thing — the other most important thing I’m concerned about is we didn’t really have a transition going tonight. We played half court. And when we reduce the game to half court, it allows anybody to stay close. You allow somebody to stay close, you’re apt to get beaten.”
Behind the Bradleys, Sobrato stayed ahead in the opening half with big scoring runs. Bryan Bradley nailed a short jumper and a long trey to spark a 10-0 run in the first quarter. And Chris Bradley hit from 3-point range and inside the paint during a 9-2 stretch that ended the second quarter.
