Davis Louie (#1) contributed nine points in the victory Photo Andy Scheck
The Miramonte Matadors boys' varsity basketball team used a combination of a powerful defense and a spirited offensive effort to defeat the Terra Linda Trojans on Friday, December 18th.
The Matadors, under Coach Dave Brown, were undefeated DFAL league champions last year with a 24-6 (12-0) record and were finalists in the North Coast Section championship playoffs. The Terra Linda Trojans, under Coach Steve Farbstein, had a 20-11 record last year in the Marin County League and have a 3-2 record in the pre-season.
The Mats came out strong in the first quarter, quickly took the lead and led the rest of the game to achieve their fourth victory, 75-55.
Brown attributed the victory to strong leadership by the three senior co-captains -forward Chris Hatfield, forward Spenser McDonald and guard Davis Louie - and to a great overall team defensive effort. "The Mats held the up-tempo Trojans to a low scoring game with the Trojans only scoring 22 points in the first half. This is one of the best team efforts of the year. All 12 team members played well together and I'm very proud of them and their accomplishment tonight," said Brown.
The Matadors' offensive success was a team effort with balanced scoring from five of the returning varsity players; Hatfield with 14 points, senior guard Troy Akin with 12 points, senior guard Payam Vadi with 12 points, McDonald with 10 points and Louie with nine points.
Coach Brown noted McDonald's defensive effort in holding Terra Linda's Christian Manoli to far less than his average. Hatfield's double-digit rebounding and four assists were also influential in the game's outcome.
McDonald and Hatfield agreed that it was "...great defense and playing hard. Now that we have our football guys back and they've played a few games we're really coming together as a team."
Friday night's game was part of a very tough pre-season for the Mats. Miramonte will be going to the Torrey Pines Tournament in San Diego in December.
Front Row from left to right: Kazz Tamura, Nick Mora, Troy Akin, Grant Huhn, co captain Davis Louie, Brian Henson
Back Row from left to right: Payam Vadi, Ross Dolbec, co -captain Chris Hatfield, Co captain Spenser
McDonald, Ross Anderson, Anthony Piganelli, Jack Pietrykowski Photo Jordan Fong
Spenser McDonald (#2) added ten points for the home team
#11 Grant Huhn, #3 Kazz Tamura
#35 Anthony Piganelli, #10 Jack Pietrykowski Photos Andy Scheck
The Matadors, under Coach Dave Brown, were undefeated DFAL league champions last year with a 24-6 (12-0) record and were finalists in the North Coast Section championship playoffs. The Terra Linda Trojans, under Coach Steve Farbstein, had a 20-11 record last year in the Marin County League and have a 3-2 record in the pre-season.
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA